Cracking the Cryptic vs Sigmar's Garden
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
- Curated by expert constructors
- Classic and unique variants
- Regularly released puzzle packs
- Free introductory puzzle pack
Read full descriptionHide 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!
Sigmar's Garden
Read full descriptionHide full description
Sigmar's Garden is an elegant puzzle game inspired by the classic alchemical matching game from Opus Magnum. Clear the board by matching pairs of mystical marbles following ancient alchemical rules. GAMEPLAY Match pairs of free marbles to remove them from the hexagonal board. A marble is free when it has three consecutive empty spaces around it. Plan your moves carefully – one wrong match could leave you stuck! ALCHEMICAL RULES • Cardinal Elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) – Match two of the same element • Salt – Matches with any cardinal element or another salt • Mors & Vitae – Life and Death only match with each other • Metals – Use Quicksilver to transmute metals in order: Lead → Tin → Iron → Copper → Silver → Gold • Gold – The final piece, removed alone when the board is clear THREE DIFFICULTY LEVELS • Easy (7×7) – Perfect for learning the mechanics • Medium (9×9) – A balanced challenge • Hard (11×11) – The ultimate test for puzzle masters FEATURES • Beautiful minimalist design • Intuitive touch controls • Game Center leaderboards for each difficulty • 8 achievements to unlock • Track your best times and solve counts • No ads, no in-app purchases COMPETE GLOBALLY Compare your best times and total solves with players worldwide through Game Center leaderboards. Can you become the fastest solver? ACHIEVEMENTS Earn achievements for your first win, mastering each difficulty, completing speedruns under 60 seconds, and becoming a true perfectionist with 100 total solves. Challenge your mind with Sigmar's Garden – the perfect puzzle game for quick sessions or extended play!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sigmar's Garden at none against Cracking the Cryptic's 13. Sigmar's Garden also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks). Cracking the Cryptic's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price and ads 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. Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Sigmar's Garden asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cracking the Cryptic ships an update every 3 weeks, Sigmar's Garden daily. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cracking the Cryptic | Sigmar's Garden |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (208 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 72.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 208 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 234 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nick Carney | Omer Faruk Mesebuken |
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
Sigmar's Garden
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cracking the Cryptic
- CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
- CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
- CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- 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
Sigmar's Garden
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Is Sigmar's Garden free?
Do Cracking the Cryptic or Sigmar's Garden have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cracking the Cryptic or Sigmar's Garden?
Other comparisons















