Sidewords vs Word Forward
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sidewords
This app offers a unique blend of logic and word puzzles with no timers or penalties. It provides hundreds of puzzles of varying difficulty, with new ones added daily, and includes a bonus game. Users can customize the color scheme to suit their mood.
- Logic and word puzzle blend
- Hundreds of puzzles
- Daily new puzzles
- Bonus game included
- Customizable color schemes
- No timers or penalties
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Grab a cup of coffee and relax with Sidewords. Sidewords is part logic puzzle, part word game, all original. No timers. No penalties. No pressure. Just you and a good puzzle. Sharpen your mind with hundreds of puzzles, from small and quick, to large and captivating. Plus three new puzzles to do every day! There’s even a bonus game included! Choose a color scheme that fits your mood and environment. Get your morning started with bright colors, or unwind at the end of a long day with a dark theme. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a good puzzle. You deserve your Sidewords time. ----- Critics Are Saying ----- "If you're looking for a truly new word game experience, this is the game to get." - 148Apps "The word and logic elements mashed together create a special experience that I’ve never seen before in a word game" - AppAdvice "If you’re looking for a word game with some unique ideas, go download Sidewords" - AppUnwrapper "Sidewords isn't quite like anything else you've ever played before." - PocketGamer
Word Forward
This word puzzle game challenges players to clear a 5x5 grid by forming words. It requires strategic use of every letter tile to solve 500 unique puzzles, offering an endlessly challenging brain teaser.
- Spell words by tracing lines
- Swap letters with tokens
- Jumble tiles for new letters
- Change letters with modifiers
- Eliminate tiles with bombs
- Solve 500 puzzles
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The #1 Word Game! Played by millions! “Equally a brain-teaser and a brain-pleaser” - MacWorld “An excellent buy for solo players” - TechRadar “A really fun and well-executed word game” - PocketGamer Beautifully simple. Endlessly challenging. Word Forward is the word puzzle game where every choice matters. Can you use all of the letters in the 5x5 grid to make words disappear and clear the board? Word Forward isn’t about spelling the longest words or the most clever - it’s about carefully using every tile to declare victory in 500 puzzles. It requires cunning and strategy -- Word Forward is a brain teaser that will really make you think! • SPELL words by tracing a line between tiles in any direction, including diagonally • SWAP any two letters on the grid by using a SWAP TOKEN, earned during gameplay • JUMBLE the tiles on the grid to replace all the letters with new ones when all else fails • CHANGE the letter on a tile to any other letter you choose using the SWAP MODIFIER • ELIMINATE stubborn tiles with BOMBS to get yourself out of a tight spot The latest brain-tingling puzzle game from the creators of Block Droppin Blitz.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Sidewords at free against Word Forward's paid. Sidewords also leads on ratings volume (295 vs 11) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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
Sidewords costs $2.99 and Word Forward $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sidewords holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sidewords has 295 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Sidewords's written reviews are positive against 76% of Word Forward's.
Sidewords ships an update every 2 months, Word Forward every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sidewords | Word Forward |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (295 ratings) — better | 4.5 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.8% of reviews — better | 76.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 295 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #84 | #61 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 9.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 70 MB | 122 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Milkbag Games | Thalamus Digital Publishing Ltd. |
Customer experience
Sidewords
Word Forward
Bugs and requests
Sidewords
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crash when clicking 'share solution'
- Applies unreal words
- Sometimes rejects real words
Requested features
9 requests- Improve tutorial or add clear instructions
- Sync between devices
- Add a scoring system or way to measure excellence
- Allow iPad rotation to landscape
- More puzzles/daily puzzles
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Undo option after tapping a word
- Fix crash when sharing solution
- Algorithm for randomly creating levels
- Ability to rotate iPad in all directions
Word Forward
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sidewords
No in-app purchases
Word Forward
No in-app purchases
