Comparison

Bluster! vs SPELLING MAGIC 2

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

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

SPELLING MAGIC 24 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Bluster! versus SPELLING MAGIC 2: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBluster!SPELLING MAGIC 2
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (8 ratings) — better4.3 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews72.7% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings816 — better
Update frequencyEvery 13 monthsEvery 4 months — 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 MB185 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%

SPELLING MAGIC 2

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%

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

SPELLING MAGIC 2

One-time1
  • Deluxe Upgrade$1.99

Questions

Is Bluster! free?
Bluster! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SPELLING MAGIC 2 free?
SPELLING MAGIC 2 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bluster! or SPELLING MAGIC 2?
Bluster! is rated higher. Bluster! averages 4.5 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while SPELLING MAGIC 2 averages 4.3 from 16 ratings.
Do Bluster! or SPELLING MAGIC 2 have ads?
Neither Bluster! nor SPELLING MAGIC 2 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bluster! or SPELLING MAGIC 2?
Bluster! ships an update every 13 months, and SPELLING MAGIC 2 every 4 months. Most recently, Bluster! was updated on November 6, 2026 and SPELLING MAGIC 2 on November 13, 2026.

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