Dear Reader vs Crossword Explorer+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Crossword Explorer+
Engage your mind with daily crossword puzzles and trivia. Access thousands of puzzles with new themes each day to expand your vocabulary and general knowledge. Play anytime, anywhere on your iOS device.
- Daily new puzzles
- Thousands of puzzles available
- Variety of daily themes
- Hints for difficult words
- Vocabulary and general knowledge improvement
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Keeping your mind sharp and active these days is hard with so many distractions to make you lose focus. Sitting down and solving a crossword is a time-tested formula to ensure that your brain stays active while you have a lot of fun answering questions on your favorite topics. With a different theme each day of the week, there is just the right amount of variety to satisfy all kinds of interests! With Crossword Explorer+, you will have access to thousands of puzzles, right on your iOS device, so that you can play your favorite crosswords when you want, wherever you want! As you solve more and more of our crosswords, your vocabulary and general knowledge will grow by leaps and bounds! In no time, you will become a master crossword solver while having tons of fun! What does Crossword Explorer+ offer? - Fun puzzles for everyone - A new puzzle every day, 365 days a year - Hints to get you past those obscure words - Bragging rights for your ever-improving general knowledge and vocabulary What are you waiting for? Download Crossword Explorer+ right now, join thousands of crossword enthusiasts and see why everyone is hooked! Write back to us with any issues or suggestions, we are all ears! Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: https://playsimple.in/privacy_aa
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dear Reader at 68% against Crossword Explorer+'s 22%. Crossword Explorer+'s advantage is rating (4.9 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 572). On price, update cadence, 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.
Crossword Explorer+ holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 572 and 2.3K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 68% of Dear Reader's written reviews are positive against 22% of Crossword Explorer+'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dear Reader | Crossword Explorer+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (572 ratings) | 4.9 (2.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.4% of reviews — better | 22.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 572 | 2.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 387 MB | 266 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Local No. 12 | PlaySimple Games Pte Ltd |
Customer experience
Dear Reader
Crossword Explorer+
User reviews
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
Crossword Explorer+
From 2.3K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Relaxing and fun gameplay
- 🚀 Smooth and intuitive controls
- 💡 Bite-sized crossword puzzles
Room to improve
- 🤔 Puzzles too easy and repetitive
- 📍 Heavily US-centric content
- 🔍 Lack of difficulty options or progression
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported
Bugs and requests
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
Crossword Explorer+
Reported bugs
3 issues- Black screen on startup
- Incorrect answers and spelling errors
- Syncing issues between devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add difficulty settings or skip easy levels
- Improve crossword variety and reduce repetition
- Optimize for landscape mode on iPad
- Implement cloud save/sync across devices
In-app purchases
Dear Reader
No in-app purchases
Crossword Explorer+
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Dear Reader free?
Is Crossword Explorer+ free?
Which has better reviews, Dear Reader or Crossword Explorer+?
Do Dear Reader or Crossword Explorer+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Dear Reader or Crossword Explorer+?
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