Typeshift vs Up Spell by Up Games
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Typeshift
This word puzzle game challenges you to unscramble letters within stacked words to form new words in the center row. It offers daily challenges with global leaderboards and special clue-based puzzles. Unlock additional content and remove ads with in-app purchases.
- Anagram and word search mechanics
- Shift letter columns to spell words
- Daily challenges with leaderboards
- Special clue puzzles
- Unlockable puzzle packs
- Themes and statistics
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From the creator of SpellTower, comes a new and completely original word game! Anagrams meets Word Search, with a sprinkle of Crosswords. Typeshift is the modern anagram puzzle; re-imagined from the ground up, combining wordplay, modern game design, and a mobile-first approach. In most anagram games, you search for new combinations within a single word, but in Typeshift, you search within three to five words stacked & scrambled up together. Shift columns of letters up and down as you try to spell words in the center row. Play continues until you have used all letters in a puzzle at least once. Special Clue Puzzles combine Crosswords with Anagrams as you match clever clues provided by Typeshift's various puzzle authors. - Daily Word Game Play with Global Leaderboards - Typeshift features a free daily challenge with global leaderboards. The easiest challenge for the week appears on Monday, and progressively more challenging puzzles build throughout the week. Compare your fastest Typeshift daily solving times with players around the globe! ------WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING "Addictive and edifying, like popping a special kind of bubble wrap that expands your vocabulary.” - The Verge "Typeshift is a unmissable entry to the [word] genre." Gold Award. - Pocket Gamer "Typeshift is f*cking awesome" - Giant Bombcast "The Word Puzzle Game You've Been Waiting For" - Waypoint "Well worth your time" - Sixcolors ------WHATS IN THE “BOX”? Typeshift comes with over a hundred free puzzles, with more coming soon, plus new free daily puzzles every day. Additional puzzle packs may be purchased in-app. Purchasing any puzzle pack removes ads, and unlocks themes & detailed statistics. ------A WORD FROM THE DEVELOPER Typeshift continues my quest to re-imagine classic newspaper games in the digital era. Where SpellTower tackled word search and Really Bad Chess handled chess puzzles, Typeshift re-examines Anagrams and Crosswords. Typeshift has been a joy to develop, and I hope you have as much fun playing it as I had making it. As always, thanks so much for your support! -zach
Up Spell by Up Games
Engage in a rapid-fire word game that challenges your vocabulary and speed. Test your word-building skills in this exciting and fast-paced experience.
- Fast-paced gameplay
- Word building challenges
- Vocabulary testing
- Speed-focused
- Engaging word puzzles
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A fast-paced word game.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Up Spell by Up Games at none against Typeshift's 10. Up Spell by Up Games also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (78% vs 50%). Typeshift's advantage is ratings volume (499 vs 71). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Typeshift sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Up Spell by Up Games asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.3 for Typeshift against 4.4 for Up Spell by Up Games. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Typeshift has 499 ratings behind it against 71, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Typeshift's written reviews are positive against 78% of Up Spell by Up Games's.
Typeshift ships an update every 6 weeks, Up Spell by Up Games fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Typeshift | Up Spell by Up Games |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (499 ratings) | 4.4 (71 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 49.6% of reviews | 78.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 499 — better | 71 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Zach Gage | Kenneth Kocienda |
Customer experience
Typeshift
Up Spell by Up Games
User reviews
Typeshift
From 499 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Challenging and fun
- 👍 Unique and innovative game concept
- ⭐ Great brain workout
- 🎨 Elegant and minimalistic design
- 📚 Helps expand vocabulary
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔍 Obscure/uncommon words used
- 🔇 Intrusive ads
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- ⚠️ Compatibility issues with newer devices
Up Spell by Up Games
From 71 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- addictive gameplay
- Simple, clean design
- Fun, fast-paced escape
- Delightful music
- Slick interface
Room to improve
- Dictionary needs expansion
- Missing many words
- iPad screen display issues
- Game appears at bottom left on iPad
- Developer focused on iPhone only
Bugs and requests
Typeshift
Reported bugs
4 issues- Puzzle timer inaccuracies
- Purchased content not restoring properly
- Letters not registering correctly
- Puzzles not displaying properly on some devices
Requested features
5 requests- More clue puzzles and puzzle packs
- Option to reset/replay completed puzzle packs
- Sync progress across devices
- Support for British/Australian English
- Built-in dictionary with better word definitions
Up Spell by Up Games
Reported bugs
17 issues- Game rejects many perfectly fine English words
- Game does not recognize valid words like 'Grok'
- Game appears at the bottom left edge of the screen on iPad
- App automatically compressed after upgrading Apple system and won't fix
- Issues with iOS 15
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Cannot get Duel to work
- Cannot get the Send arrow to work in Duel mode
- Sharing doesn't work, just get a blank screen
- Letter selection doesn't seem well randomized
- When you put up letters that don’t make a word, you have to hit the down arrow to clear them, which is inconvenient
- Letter trays do not appear to be random
- Single version of a word is accepted but the plural is rejected
- You can only play in horizontal mode
- Encountered an issue where audio is no longer available after using earbuds
- Duel mode not working
- Text message with the link to the game isn’t being created and sent properly
- Completely inaccessible for voiceover
Requested features
27 requests- Expand the dictionary
- Increase character amount
- Increase time
- Make game show up correctly on iPad screen
- Add portrait mode
Show 22 moreShow fewer
- Improve Duel mode
- Connect via AirDrop or Bluetooth for Duel mode
- See partner's score on my side in Duel mode
- Add functionality to remove a placed letter by re-tapping
- Add a shuffle letters function
- Add a replay game button
- Add a way of competing with other players without sending a link
- Add endless mode
- Add stats for best words, missed opportunities, tendencies
- Add a post-game screen showing highlights
- Add a personal high scores board
- Add a non-timer version
- Add more interaction in duel feature (real-time opponent scores)
- Add proper iPad support
- Add a high score board
- Add Game Center integration
- Improve Duel mode sharing and comparison
- Add ability to review game after playing
- Add option to play without a clock
- Add ability to see own scores
- Add a way to denote double score background change
- Add ability to turn tunes off entirely
In-app purchases
Typeshift
- Chocolate Puzzle Pack$0.99
- Peppermint Puzzle Pack$0.99
- Pecan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Walnut Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Parmesan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Umami Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Pistachio Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Starter Bundle$1.99
- Sophomore Bundle$1.99
- Gumshoe Clue Bundle$3.99
Up Spell by Up Games
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Typeshift free?
Is Up Spell by Up Games free?
Which has better reviews, Typeshift or Up Spell by Up Games?
Do Typeshift or Up Spell by Up Games have ads?
Which is updated more often, Typeshift or Up Spell by Up Games?
Other comparisons
