Comparison

tint. vs Dear Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

tint.

Solve relaxing puzzles by mixing watercolors to match target colors. Enjoy a calming experience with no timers or pressure, set against changing natural environments. Features multiple solutions per level and a special Zen Mode for ultimate relaxation.

Highlights
  • Watercolor mixing puzzles
  • No timers or pressure
  • Multiple solutions per level
  • Changing nature environments
  • Binaural audio experience
  • Zen Mode for relaxation
  • Colorblind/vision impaired mode
Features
Read full description

Tint lets you solve puzzles by painting. Mix watercolors to match the color of the origami - all at a soothing pace and in the comfort of your own garden studio. Here are no timers, no countdowns, no points and certainly no rush, whenever you feel like a break. 330 LEVELS AND COUNTING Each level can often be solved in multiple ways, feel free to try a stroke of genius. More levels and challenges will continuously be added at no extra cost. Enable notifications and we will let you know when more are available. NATURE SOOTHES YOU Nature is all around you when playing ‘tint’. Play on a warm summer morning or a light drizzle of rain - with every chapter the weather will change around you. HEAR THE BIRDS Your headphones give you the full binaural audio experience. Every sound has been carefully crafted by hand using real objects found in nature and in an art studio. PLAY TINT IN ZEN MODE Zen Mode is a full book of relaxing and easy levels. Zen Book unlocks right after you complete 50 levels of Book I. It will take you to the sunny shore of a crystal clear stream, where you can focus on the art process and simply enjoy painting the most beautiful solutions. Great for children and the whole family to experiment with watercolor. COLORBLIND & VISION IMPAIRED MODE Each color has its own unique tune, and if you are colorblind or vision impaired, you can enable a special mode in the menu that will help you better see the color differences with unique patterns on each color. NO IN-APP PURCHASES, ADS OR TRACKING That’s it. We simply want you to enjoy the game we created for the Apple Arcade. To protect your privacy no information is collected and we will never try to sell you anything at any point during the game, promise. A perfect mix of passion, sweat and tears has gone into this game, we hope you like it! Mika, Tomek , Jakob

About

Dear Reader

Engage with classic literature through unique word puzzles. Unscramble passages, unlock new books, and complete challenges to discover special abilities. This game transforms beloved stories into interactive wordplay experiences.

Highlights
  • Play with over 130 classic books
  • Unlock dozens of wordplay puzzle types
  • Acquire new books from a rotating selection
  • Earn Rare Books by completing goals
  • Embark on Research missions for abilities
  • Solve daily word challenges
Features
Read full description

• Play with more than a hundred classic books • Unlock dozens of ways to Wordplay • Acquire new books from a rotating selection in the Bookstore • Earn Rare Books by completing challenging Reading Goals • Embark on Research missions to unlock special abilities • Puzzle through increasingly difficult Daily Challenges “If I’m not actually reading in my down time then I’m likely playing Dear Reader.” -one of our dear players Dear Reader lets you curl up and play your favorite books, turning classic literature into clever word puzzles. Unscramble passages from famous books, unlock unique puzzles, and add new books to your library. Dear Reader includes over 130 literary classics and dozens of different types of word puzzles, from unscrambling anagrams to swapping lines of text. Dear Reader is the first and only game where you can play with the actual written words of so many tempting books of classic literature! As Game Developer’s Alissa McAloon wrote, Dear Reader is “a game that’s as difficult to put down as a good book.” Best Apple Arcade Games, IGN Top 5 Apple Arcade recommended games, Bustle Magazine 12 Best Apple Arcade games, Gamespot 10 Best Mobile Games of the Year, Paste Magazine Official Finalist, IndieCade Official Selection, Indie Megabooth GDC Showcase Official Selection, Wordplay Festival Best Gameplay Finalist, Games for Change Best Meaningful Play, International Mobile Gaming Awards

Screenshots

tint.4 screens
Dear Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: tint. at monthly against Dear Reader's every 3 months. tint. also leads on ratings volume (8.7K vs 572) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

tint. holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: tint. has 8.7K ratings behind it against 572, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of tint.'s written reviews are positive against 75% of Dear Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

tint. ships an update monthly, Dear Reader every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
tint. versus Dear Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametertint.Dear Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.7K ratings) — better4.5 (572 ratings)
Positive reviews78.5% of reviews — better74.7% of reviews
Number of ratings8.7K — better572
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size449 MB387 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLykkegaard Europe LimitedLocal No. 12

Customer experience

tint.

All ratings8,730 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews297 reviews
Positive78.5%
Neutral9.1%
Negative12.5%

Dear Reader

All ratings572 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral5.1%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews277 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral9.4%
Negative15.9%

User reviews

tint.

From 8.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌳 Relaxing and calming atmosphere
  • 🎨 Beautiful visuals and art style
  • 🧠 Challenging yet satisfying puzzles
  • 💎 High-quality, ad-free experience
  • 🤗 Great for all ages

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔄 Repetitive level transitions
  • 🔍 Difficulty progression could be improved
  • 📱 Usability issues on smaller screens

Dear Reader

From 572 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Engaging word puzzles
  • 📚 Variety of classic books
  • 👍 Relaxing gameplay
  • 💡 Unique concept of 'playing books'
  • 🤓 Helps improve reading and language skills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • 🤔 Heavily abridged book excerpts
  • 🙄 Repetitive daily challenges
  • 💰 Expensive rare books

Bugs and requests

tint.

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Levels not loading properly
  • Notification gestures interfering with gameplay
  • Progress getting reset after updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Free paint mode to create custom artwork
  • More levels and content updates
  • Undo/redo functionality for puzzles
  • Ability to skip or revisit previous levels

Dear Reader

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game progress being deleted
  • Inability to exit the library
  • Crashes when trying to purchase rare books

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more modern and popular book titles
  • Option to read full unabridged books
  • Dark mode
  • Ability to report typos and errors
  • More varied and engaging goals/achievements

In-app purchases

None

tint.

No in-app purchases

None

Dear Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is tint. free?
tint. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dear Reader free?
Dear Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, tint. or Dear Reader?
tint. is rated higher. tint. averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.7K ratings, while Dear Reader averages 4.5 from 572 ratings.
Do tint. or Dear Reader have ads?
Neither tint. nor Dear Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, tint. or Dear Reader?
tint. ships an update monthly, and Dear Reader every 3 months. Most recently, tint. was updated on September 30, 2026 and Dear Reader on September 29, 2026.

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