Comparison

Cracking the Cryptic vs Pathways

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

Head to head
About

Cracking the Cryptic

This app offers a curated collection of handcrafted Sudoku puzzles from world-renowned constructors. Explore classic and unique variants, with new puzzle packs released regularly. A free introductory pack is included with download.

Highlights
  • Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
  • Curated by expert constructors
  • Classic and unique variants
  • Regularly released puzzle packs
  • Free introductory puzzle pack
Features
Read full description

OUR NEWEST PACK – CLASSIC VOLUME #2! Classic sudoku is where it all began, and there is still lots of skill to be deployed to solve classic puzzles, and new techniques to be explored. Nikoli, the Japanese puzzle house, named and popularised sudoku from 1984, and we have commissioned 20 puzzles from them for this Classic Sudoku 2 app. We have also created 20 ourselves, and sourced 20 more from Sam Cappleman-Lynes, the brilliant British sudoku expert. The result is a wonderful 60-puzzle pack which will delight and challenge you. -------------------- Welcome to the brand new Sudoku app from the most popular Sudoku channel, Cracking The Cryptic. Unlike other Sudoku apps, we feature handcrafted and curated puzzles from the world’s best Sudoku constructors. Each collection features puzzles made by various authors that are now familiar names to those who follow the channel. Authors like Phistomefel, Clover, Sam Cappleman-Lynes, Christoph Seeliger, Richard Stolk, jovi_al, Qodec, Prasanna Seshadri and of course, Simon and Mark! Downloading Cracking the Cryptic will give you access to our first free collection – a variety pack by Prasanna Seshadri featuring 7 puzzles inspired from our previous Sudoku apps; Sandwich, Classic, Chess, Thermo, Miracle, Killer and Arrow Sudoku. We also have purchasable packs designed for all skill levels and featuring many unique variants not seen previously. We’ll be releasing more free and paid packs in the future so keep an eye on the app for more Sudoku content from Cracking The Cryptic!

About

Pathways

A minimalist logic puzzle game where players guide a dot to its home space by drawing colored paths. It offers increasing difficulty levels and daily challenges, with an option for advanced features like custom level creation.

Highlights
  • Draw colored paths to guide a dot
  • Solve spatial reasoning puzzles
  • Progress through increasing grid sizes
  • Daily timed puzzles with score sharing
  • Create and share custom levels
  • No ads, playable offline
Features
Read full description

Pathways is a spatial reasoning logic puzzle with a clean, minimalist design. The goal is simple: move the dot home! How it works: -Each grid has one dot, and one home space -The dot can only move to colored spaces -Use tabs on the side of the grid to draw paths of color -Retract and redraw paths as necessary -Move that dot home! Easy to learn, difficult to master -Start with 3x4 grids to learn the ropes -Up the challenge with 4x4 grids -Put yourself to the real test with 4x5 grids Daily Puzzles -Timed puzzles, share your score with friends -Puzzles increase in difficulty throughout the week -Build your streak! Pathways PRO -Access all packs (375 puzzles + future packs) -Access Daily Puzzle archive to play old puzzles (100+ Daily Puzzles) -Create your own levels, share with friends and/or submit to Pathways to be featured Why Pathways? -Clean, minimalistic design -Simple rules, yet challenging solutions -No ads, no wifi required Up for the challenge? Download Pathways today!

Screenshots

Cracking the Cryptic4 screens
Pathways4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pathways at 4.8 against Cracking the Cryptic's 4.4. Pathways also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 72%). Cracking the Cryptic's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (210 vs 27). 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. Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases and Pathways sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pathways holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cracking the Cryptic has 210 ratings behind it against 27, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Cracking the Cryptic's written reviews are positive against 90% of Pathways's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cracking the Cryptic ships an update every 3 weeks, Pathways every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cracking the Cryptic versus Pathways: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCracking the CrypticPathways
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (210 ratings)4.8 (27 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.1% of reviews90.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings210 — better27
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size234 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNick CarneyWilliam Arbuckle

Customer experience

Cracking the Cryptic

All ratings208 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive72.1%
Neutral13.6%
Negative14.3%

Pathways

All ratings26 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative5.0%

Bugs and requests

Cracking the Cryptic

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzle progress and purchases disappearing after updates
  • Incorrect rules or hints in certain puzzles
  • Crashes and freezes, especially on older devices or Macs
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more color options for pencil marking and highlighting
  • Implement a way to clear progress or start puzzles from scratch
  • Integrate all CTC apps into a single app for better organization
  • Add keyboard support, especially on Mac
  • Improve the quality and clarity of hints

Pathways

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Cracking the Cryptic

One-time13
  • CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
  • CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
  • CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
Show 10 more
  • CTC Worms - Blobz$1.99
  • CTC Worms - Michael Lefkowitz$1.99
  • CTC Worms - Phistomefel$1.99
  • GAS Volume #1$2.99
  • GAS Volume #2$2.99
  • CTC Approachable Sudoku #1$2.99
  • Domino Sudoku Pack$4.99
  • Lines Variety Pack$4.99
  • Classic Volume #2$4.99
  • CTC Fog Pack #1$4.99
9 purchases

Pathways

One-time9
  • Support Developpment$0.99
  • Support Developpment$1.99
  • Support Developpment$4.99
Show 6 more
  • Pathways PRO$7.99
  • Support Developpment$7.99
  • Support Developpment$9.99
  • Support Developpment$14.99
  • Support Developpment$19.99
  • Support Developpment$29.99

Questions

Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Cracking the Cryptic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pathways free?
Pathways is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cracking the Cryptic or Pathways?
Pathways is rated higher. Cracking the Cryptic averages 4.4 out of 5 from 210 ratings, while Pathways averages 4.8 from 27 ratings.
Do Cracking the Cryptic or Pathways have ads?
Neither Cracking the Cryptic nor Pathways shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cracking the Cryptic or Pathways?
Cracking the Cryptic ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pathways every 2 months. Most recently, Cracking the Cryptic was updated on October 25, 2026 and Pathways on October 24, 2026.

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