SmartFriends vs NRC Puzzels
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SmartFriends
Engage in daily brain training challenges with friends to boost cognitive skills. Compete in IQ tests covering logic, spatial reasoning, and number sequences. Track progress and climb leaderboards in a fun, competitive environment.
- Daily IQ challenges
- Logic puzzles
- Spatial reasoning tests
- Number sequence problems
- Leaderboard competition
- Score sharing
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Tired of endless scrolling and mindless TV? Time to switch your brain back on. With SmartFriends, you train your brain every day — and more importantly, in a fun way. Why fun? Because you do it together with friends. That keeps you motivated. ••• Only for real smarties ••• One IQ challenge every day. The same for everyone. Logic, spatial reasoning, number sequences, and more. No excuses. No distractions. Just you versus the brainteaser. Beat your friends and climb the leaderboard. Solved it? Share your score and challenge them. That healthy competition keeps you coming back. Get smarter. Download SmartFriends. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
NRC Puzzels
Engage your mind daily with a variety of puzzles, from quick challenges to more demanding brain teasers. Track your progress and maintain your puzzle streak with a fresh, user-friendly interface designed for on-the-go fun.
- Daily new puzzles for all levels
- Track puzzle streaks and status
- Modern, user-friendly design
- Newspaper puzzles playable online
- Brain-teasing challenges
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Met de splinternieuwe app van NRC Puzzels hoef je je nooit meer te vervelen (of nutteloos te scrollen). Van de unieke Precies Vier die je hersenen laat kraken tot Vorto voor bij de koffie - we hebben elke dag iets unieks voor je klaarstaan. Het ontwerp van NRC Puzzels is helemaal in het nieuw gestoken: fris, snel, overzichtelijk en zo gemaakt dat je zelfs je puzzelreeks moeiteloos bijhoudt. Of je nu snel een puzzeltje oplost in de trein of jezelf ’s avonds uitdaagt met iets pittigers - deze app maakt van puzzelen elke dag weer een hoogtepunt. Slimmer worden en je ego strelen in één klap? Het kan met NRC Puzzels! De app van NRC Puzzels: - Dagelijks nieuwe puzzels, voor elk niveau - Houd je puzzelreeks bij, bouw aan je puzzelstatus - Modern ontwerp, fijne gebruikerservaring - Jouw vertrouwde puzzels uit de krant, online speelbaar Veel puzzelpret!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SmartFriends at 4.6 against NRC Puzzels's 3.3. SmartFriends also leads on ratings volume (139 vs 3). NRC Puzzels's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence and device support 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. SmartFriends sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. NRC Puzzels asks for nothing beyond the download.
SmartFriends holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SmartFriends has 139 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of SmartFriends's written reviews are positive against 100% of NRC Puzzels's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
SmartFriends ships an update every 2 weeks, NRC Puzzels every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SmartFriends | NRC Puzzels |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (139 ratings) — better | 3.3 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 83.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 139 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 73 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | SmartFriends B.V. | NRC Media |
Customer experience
SmartFriends
NRC Puzzels
Bugs and requests
SmartFriends
Reported bugs
5 issues- App not loading puzzles
- Diagrams not accessible with screen readers
- Glitchy when enlarging challenge images
- Issues with lifetime access purchases
- Landscape mode for larger images when app is portrait only
Requested features
7 requests- Fix advertisements interrupting gameplay
- Improve puzzle logic and presentation
- Enhance graphics clarity (e.g., yellow on white)
- Make puzzles more varied and adult-oriented
- Improve accessibility for visually impaired users (diagram descriptions)
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- Allow larger puzzle/choice display in portrait mode
- Make the app free or more accessible without constant purchases
NRC Puzzels
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SmartFriends
- Premium Special Offer!3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Premium Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$4.491 Month
- Free Trial | Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.491 Month
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- Premium Special Offer!3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Premium Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Free Trial | Premium Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- 3 x genius challenges$0.99
- 10 x genius challenges$2.49
- Tip 1$4.99
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- Tip 3$14.99
NRC Puzzels
No in-app purchases
