Comparison

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.

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

Sigmar's Garden

Read 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

Cracking the Cryptic4 screens
Sigmar's Garden3 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Sigmar's Garden asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cracking the Cryptic versus Sigmar's Garden: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCracking the CrypticSigmar's Garden
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (208 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings208 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size234 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNick CarneyOmer 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

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
None

Sigmar's Garden

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Cracking the Cryptic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sigmar's Garden free?
Sigmar's Garden is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Cracking the Cryptic or Sigmar's Garden have ads?
Neither Cracking the Cryptic nor Sigmar's Garden shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cracking the Cryptic or Sigmar's Garden?
Cracking the Cryptic ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sigmar's Garden daily. Most recently, Cracking the Cryptic was updated on October 14, 2026 and Sigmar's Garden on October 7, 2026.

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