KenKen Classic vs Cracking the Cryptic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KenKen Classic
Engage your mind with this addictive logic and math puzzle game. It offers a virtually unlimited supply of challenges with adjustable difficulty and grid sizes. Enjoy a fun way to train your brain with a trusted source of daily puzzles.
- Unlimited puzzles
- Adjustable difficulty and grid size
- Multiple input modes
- Hints, Undo, Redo, Reset
- Online leaderboards
- Color schemes and music options
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KenKen® - Brain Training Puzzle Train your brain with KenKen®, the unbelievably fun, exciting and addictive logic and math puzzle! KenKen is an amazing puzzle that is frequently described as “sudoku on steroids.” If you like other brain games such as sudoku, 2048, Threes, Kakuro, Unblock Me, Tricky Test, Tetris, Flow, jigsaw puzzles, word search puzzles, or crossword puzzles, then you will LOVE KenKen! This is the ONE-AND-ONLY Original KenKen app, created by acclaimed Japanese mathematics educator Tetsuya Miyamoto. Don’t be fooled by unauthorized versions such as mathdoku and calcudoku, and don't get stuck in a sudoku rut. Play KenKen math puzzles today! KenKen appears daily in the New York Times and hundreds of other publications around the globe. NY Times puzzle editor, Will Shortz, calls KenKen "the most addictive puzzle since sudoku." There are virtually unlimited KenKen puzzles available to you on this app. The first 50 are included FREE with the download. If you need more...no problem! Just order them and they'll appear immediately. YOU select the size, difficulty level, and operations. KenKen Classic includes: - 50 FREE fun math puzzles of every size and difficulty level - Unlimited FREE 3x3 size puzzles to learn from and enjoy - Virtually unlimited puzzles, ranging from 3x3 to 9x9 grids, from Easy to Expert - A variety of color schemes and music (you can even set your own music to play in the background) - 3 input modes for digits and notes - Great extra features such as Hints, Check, Undo, Redo, Reset, Pause, and Timer - Online leaderboards - Ability to post results directly to Twitter - Ability to email results and invite friends
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
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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!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Cracking the Cryptic at none against KenKen Classic's shown. Cracking the Cryptic also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). KenKen Classic's advantage is ratings volume (3.2K vs 208). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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. KenKen Classic sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year and Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
KenKen Classic holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KenKen Classic has 3.2K ratings behind it against 208, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 72% and 72% positive.
KenKen Classic ships an update every 4 months, Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KenKen Classic | Cracking the Cryptic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (3.2K ratings) — better | 4.4 (208 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.3% of reviews — better | 72.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.2K — better | 208 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KenKen Puzzle | Nick Carney |
Customer experience
KenKen Classic
Cracking the Cryptic
User reviews
KenKen Classic
From 3.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun and challenging puzzles
- 🧠 Helps improve math and logic skills
- ⭐ Great variety of puzzle sizes and difficulties
- 🏆 Satisfying to solve puzzles
- 💻 Clean and intuitive user interface
Room to improve
- 🔒 Limited number of free puzzles
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for more puzzles
- 🐛 Buggy undo/redo functionality
- 🔀 Cursor/selection issues when switching between note-taking and number entry
- 📢 Intrusive ads
Cracking the Cryptic
From 208 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best sudoku app
- 👍 Great variety of puzzles
- 👍 Excellent user interface
- 👍 Challenging and fun puzzles
- 👍 Constant updates with new puzzles
Room to improve
- 🐛 Hints are often incorrect or unhelpful
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes, especially after updates
- 🔋 Battery draining issues
- 🔒 Too many in-app purchases required to access content
Bugs and requests
KenKen Classic
Reported bugs
3 issues- Puzzles disappearing after device reset or upgrade
- Purchased puzzles not syncing across devices
- App crashing or freezing
Requested features
4 requests- Dark mode option
- Ability to save and revert puzzle progress
- No-op puzzles for advanced players
- Improved puzzle loading and syncing across devices
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
In-app purchases
KenKen Classic
- Full Year Subscription NO ADS!$19.991 Year
- 500 KenKen toKENs$0.99
- 31 Puzzles PLUS removal of all ads!$1.99
- 250 Puzzles PLUS removal of all ads!$7.99
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- 1000 Puzzles PLUS removal of all ads!$14.99
- Annual Unlimited Subscription - Ad Free$19.99
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
Questions
Is KenKen Classic free?
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Which has better reviews, KenKen Classic or Cracking the Cryptic?
Do KenKen Classic or Cracking the Cryptic have ads?
Which is updated more often, KenKen Classic or Cracking the Cryptic?
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