Comparison

Bluster! vs ABC SPELLING MAGIC

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

Head to head
About

Bluster!

This word matching game enhances vocabulary and word comprehension for school-aged children and adults. Engage in single-player practice, team collaboration, or competitive head-to-head battles with weather-themed attacks. It offers over 800 words and various skill-building activities.

Highlights
  • Vocabulary building
  • Word matching
  • Single-player mode
  • Two-player collaboration
  • Head-to-head versus mode
  • Over 800 vocabulary words
  • Grade-level appropriate content
Features
Read full description

Breeze through vocabulary building with Bluster! This word matching game develops vocabulary and word understanding for school-aged children, or anyone brave enough to battle the elements. Shine bright in single-player mode as you learn and practice important word skills. Match rhyming words, prefixes and suffixes, synonyms, homophones, adjectives, and more. Collaborate with a friend in team mode. The multi-touch iPad screen allows both players to play simultaneously, so you can work together to weather the vocabulary storm. Switch to versus mode and play head-to-head for the ultimate test of your lightning quickness. Disrupt your opponent with weather attacks like tornadoes and blizzards - it’s thunderous fun and just might give you the edge you need to reign supreme! Bluster includes over 800 vocabulary words. Players choose a skill to practice and then try to make matches of three. Ten matches wins a round. Features: • Three different play modes - including two-player action. • A variety of grade level appropriate content. • Engaging animated gameplay with sound effects. • Head-to-head and High Scores tables. • Plays on the iPad in both landscape and portrait mode. • In app purchases for additional vocabulary. ***** Want to get all the vocabulary packs? Consider Bluster Deluxe! *****

About

ABC SPELLING MAGIC

This educational app helps children learn to spell CVC words using the principles of the Science of Reading. It focuses on letter sounds and word construction with two levels of challenge, aiding early literacy development.

Highlights
  • Teaches letter sounds
  • Word construction with CVC words
  • Two levels of challenge
  • Incorporates Science of Reading principles
  • Montessori-inspired learning
  • Customizable voice and font options (DELUXE)
Read full description

Introducing ABC Spelling Magic, where learning to spell is fun and engaging! ABC SPELLING MAGIC incorporates the main principles of the Science of Reading. This app is designed to teach children the sounds of the letters and how to construct words, aligning with the science of reading. With two levels of challenge, it indirectly imparts the essential reading skill of segmenting while focusing on the skill of learning to spell words with three phonetic sounds using short vowel words. Incorporating the science of reading, the app's comprehensive approach is tailored to assist children in learning the sounds of the alphabet and honing their blending and segmenting skills, essential for early literacy development based on the science of reading. SPELLING MAGIC 1 focuses on CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, such as cat, box, and pig, which are fundamental for phonics instruction based on the science of reading. The app categorizes words by middle vowel sounds in the first part and by categories in the second part, offering a well-rounded approach to phonics and word construction, rooted in the principles of the science of reading. The DELUXE version provides 245 words and offers a variety of options in the menu, including two types of voices, three types of fonts, two letter color styles, a special feature to connect the letters together, and over 185 additional words from the free version, enhancing the learning experience based on the principles of the science of reading. Developed by a team of educators utilizing accelerated learning techniques and Montessori principles, this app has been tested and approved by preschoolers, aligning with the science of reading and providing an enjoyable and beneficial experience in learning letter sounds. We welcome your feedback and suggestions as we strive to provide an enriching educational experience for young learners, rooted in the science of reading.

Screenshots

ABC SPELLING MAGIC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Bluster! at 4.5 against ABC SPELLING MAGIC's 3.8. Bluster! also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.4). ABC SPELLING MAGIC's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 13 months) and review sentiment (94% vs 73%). 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. Bluster! sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and ABC SPELLING MAGIC sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Bluster! holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ABC SPELLING MAGIC has 42 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of Bluster!'s written reviews are positive against 94% of ABC SPELLING MAGIC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bluster! ships an update every 13 months, ABC SPELLING MAGIC every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Bluster! versus ABC SPELLING MAGIC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBluster!ABC SPELLING MAGIC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings) — better3.8 (42 ratings)
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews94.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings842 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.4
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB132 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMcGraw-Hill School Education GroupPRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY

Customer experience

Bluster!

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral18.2%
Negative9.1%

ABC SPELLING MAGIC

All ratings42 ratings
Positive69.0%
Neutral11.9%
Negative19.0%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive94.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative1.9%

Bugs and requests

Bluster!

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

ABC SPELLING MAGIC

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Letters will not move to be dragged into place
  • Screen freezing

Requested features

8 requests
  • Ability to hear the full word, slowly articulated
  • Option for English accent
  • Vowels in red and consonants in blue
  • More advanced content
  • Animated graphics for interactivity
Show 3 more
  • Option to pick letters from the full alphabet
  • Improve sound quality
  • Improve graphics and sounds

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Bluster!

One-time7
  • Base Words$0.99
  • Extra Rhyming Words2 variants$0.99
  • Extra Prefixes$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Extra Synonyms$0.99
  • Extra Words2 variants$0.99
  • Extra Word Roots$0.99
  • Extra Adjectives$0.99
1 purchases

ABC SPELLING MAGIC

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$1.99

Questions

Is Bluster! free?
Bluster! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ABC SPELLING MAGIC free?
ABC SPELLING MAGIC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bluster! or ABC SPELLING MAGIC?
Bluster! is rated higher. Bluster! averages 4.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while ABC SPELLING MAGIC averages 3.8 from 42 ratings.
Do Bluster! or ABC SPELLING MAGIC have ads?
Neither Bluster! nor ABC SPELLING MAGIC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bluster! or ABC SPELLING MAGIC?
Bluster! ships an update every 13 months, and ABC SPELLING MAGIC every 6 weeks. Most recently, Bluster! was updated on November 6, 2026 and ABC SPELLING MAGIC on November 1, 2026.

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