Bluster! vs SPELLING MAGIC 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Vocabulary building
- Word matching
- Single-player mode
- Two-player collaboration
- Head-to-head versus mode
- Over 800 vocabulary words
- Grade-level appropriate content
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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! *****
SPELLING MAGIC 2
This app teaches children to read by focusing on consonant blend words. It uses interactive activities to help build words and understand letter sounds, aligning with Science of Reading principles. Two versions are available, offering different word counts and customization options.
- Teaches CVCC and CCVC words
- Focuses on letter sounds and word construction
- Word Building section
- Moveable Alphabet section
- Two levels of challenge
- Developed with educators and Montessori principles
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Introducing SPELLING MAGIC 2, a key to your child's future reading success. SPELLING MAGIC 2 incorporates the main principles of the Science of Reading. SPELLING MAGIC 2 is tailored to focus on CVCC (consonant-vowel-consonant-consonant) words like "hand," "sent," and "gift," as well as CCVC (consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant) words such as "spin," "flap," and "stop." These types of words are also known as "consonant blend words" and are categorized into themes for enhanced learning. This app is designed to teach children the sounds of letters and how to construct words. It emphasizes the skill of building CCVC/CVCC words with four phonemes using short vowel words, indirectly imparting the essential reading skill of segmenting. With two levels of challenge, it offers a comprehensive learning experience. In the "Word Building" section of the app, only the components (letters) of the word are used for building, while the "Moveable Alphabet" section utilizes the entire alphabet for word construction. Please note that the purpose of this app is to provide ample opportunities for practicing building CCVC & CVCC words, presenting a chance to expand vocabulary. When tapped, the pictures always pronounce the sound of the word that the app prompts the child to build. The free version of SPELLING MAGIC 2 includes 72 words, while the DELUXE version offers 235 words and provides several choices in the options menu, including two types of voices, three font styles, two letter color options, a special feature to connect letters, and over 160 additional words from the free version. Developed by a team of educators using accelerated learning techniques and Montessori principles, this app has been tested and approved by preschoolers, who found it enjoyable and beneficial for learning letter sounds. We eagerly await your feedback and suggestions as we strive to provide a rewarding educational experience for young learners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: SPELLING MAGIC 2 at every 4 months against Bluster!'s every 13 months. SPELLING MAGIC 2 also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Bluster!'s advantage is review sentiment (73% vs 63%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.4). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Bluster! sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and SPELLING MAGIC 2 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bluster! holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Bluster!'s written reviews are positive against 63% of SPELLING MAGIC 2's.
Bluster! ships an update every 13 months, SPELLING MAGIC 2 every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Bluster! | SPELLING MAGIC 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (8 ratings) — better | 4.3 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews — better | 62.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 8 | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 12.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 185 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | McGraw-Hill School Education Group | PRESCHOOL UNIVERSITY |
Customer experience
Bluster!
SPELLING MAGIC 2
In-app purchases
Bluster!
- Base Words$0.99
- Extra Rhyming Words2 variants$0.99
- Extra Prefixes$0.99
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- Extra Synonyms$0.99
- Extra Words2 variants$0.99
- Extra Word Roots$0.99
- Extra Adjectives$0.99
SPELLING MAGIC 2
- Deluxe Upgrade$1.99
Questions
Is Bluster! free?
Is SPELLING MAGIC 2 free?
Which has better reviews, Bluster! or SPELLING MAGIC 2?
Do Bluster! or SPELLING MAGIC 2 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Bluster! or SPELLING MAGIC 2?
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