tint. vs Dear Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
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.
- 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
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• 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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
tint. ships an update monthly, Dear Reader every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | tint. | Dear Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (8.7K ratings) — better | 4.5 (572 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.5% of reviews — better | 74.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8.7K — better | 572 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 449 MB | 387 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Lykkegaard Europe Limited | Local No. 12 |
Customer experience
tint.
Dear Reader
User reviews
tint.
From 8.7K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
tint.
No in-app purchases
Dear Reader
No in-app purchases









