Comparison

Dear Reader vs puffies.

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

Head to head
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

About

puffies.

Engage in a nostalgic puzzle game where you combine puffy stickers to solve levels and build a unique collection. Compete on leaderboards, tackle daily challenges, and enjoy a relaxing, family-friendly experience with accessibility features.

Highlights
  • Puffy sticker puzzle solving
  • Unlockable sticker packs
  • Ranking system and tasks
  • Daily challenges
  • Accessibility features
  • Relaxing gameplay
Features
Read full description

puffies. is a puzzle game that reimagines the classic jigsaw experience with a charmingly nostalgic twist of puffy stickers. Solve engaging levels of varying difficulty by combining fun, hand-designed puffy stickers and building a stunning collection along the way. STICKER COLLECTIONS & PACK VOLUMES Unlock sticker packs of various themes, sizes, difficulty levels, and volumes to build your unique puffy collection. Each collection is thoughtfully designed by our in-house artists. RANKING SYSTEM & TASKS Sharpen your skills and grow your puffy sticker collection by completing tasks, earning points, and climbing the ranks. Compete with fellow puffy puzzle enthusiasts on our All-Time and Weekly leaderboards. DAILY CHALLENGES Return each day to tackle fun Daily Challenges and boost your score. Daily Challenges are available for 24 hours only, so don't miss out! ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES puffies. offers a range of accessibility features that make puzzle-solving easier and create a more comfortable gameplay experience for kids, players with visual impairments, motion sensitivity, and more. RELAXING & FAMILY FRIENDLY puffies. is a family-friendly game designed for players of all genders and ages to enjoy. The game offers a relaxing and stress-free experience that you can jump into anytime. (IGRS rating: 3+)

Screenshots

Dear Reader4 screens
puffies.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: puffies. at 4.8 against Dear Reader's 4.5. puffies. also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (89% vs 75%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

puffies. holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: puffies. has 6.9K ratings behind it against 572, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Dear Reader's written reviews are positive against 89% of puffies.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dear Reader ships an update every 3 months, puffies. monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Dear Reader versus puffies.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDear Readerpuffies.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (572 ratings)4.8 (6.9K ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.7% of reviews88.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5726.9K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size387 MB652 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLocal No. 12Lykkegaard Europe Limited

Customer experience

Dear Reader

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

puffies.

All ratings6,872 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews476 reviews
Positive88.7%
Neutral5.5%
Negative5.9%

User reviews

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

puffies.

From 6.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 No ads
  • 👍 Relaxing and satisfying gameplay
  • 👍 Cute and funny art style
  • 👍 Addictive sticker collecting
  • 👍 Calming and inclusive experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Repeatedly asks to enable analytics and notifications
  • 🔍 Lacks a way to see how many packs are left

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

puffies.

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Puzzle pieces don't always fit together properly

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add a way to use stickers in iMessages
  • Include a zoom-in feature
  • Add a way to 'rip' open sticker packs

In-app purchases

None

Dear Reader

No in-app purchases

None

puffies.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dear Reader free?
Dear Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is puffies. free?
puffies. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Dear Reader or puffies.?
puffies. is rated higher. Dear Reader averages 4.5 out of 5 from 572 ratings, while puffies. averages 4.8 from 6.9K ratings.
Do Dear Reader or puffies. have ads?
Neither Dear Reader nor puffies. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dear Reader or puffies.?
Dear Reader ships an update every 3 months, and puffies. monthly. Most recently, Dear Reader was updated on September 29, 2026 and puffies. on October 18, 2026.

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