Comparison

Microsoft Wordament vs Starlace

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

Head to head
About

Microsoft Wordament

Engage in a dynamic word search game with both relaxing single-player modes and thrilling real-time multiplayer tournaments. Compete against thousands, track your progress with detailed statistics, and earn achievements. Offers daily challenges and adventure maps for endless fun.

Highlights
  • Single-player adventure map
  • Daily challenges with badges
  • Real-time multiplayer tournaments
  • Continuous word tournaments
  • Rich gameplay statistics
  • Xbox Live achievements
  • Cloud progress saving
Read full description

Single Player: De-stress with a relaxing word game all to yourself. We’ve added hundreds of non-timed puzzles and new daily challenges so the fun never has to end! Complete levels on the adventure map one-by-one, play all the daily challenges in a given month to earn badges, or try Quick Play to jump right into your favorite difficulty mode. Some of our top players have reached up to level 300, how far can you get? Multiplayer: Why play against one person in a turn when you can play against thousands at once? Wordament® is a real-time continuous word tournament. Players compete on the same board with everyone at once. Rounds offer challenges such as two- and three-letter tiles, themed words, speed rounds and more. You can be a champion in many ways: find the most words possible, earn the best score, find the longest words, best your Frenemies, or beat your top score. How you win is up to you. Wordament tracks your progress by maintaining rich statistics about your gameplay including your best word found, total score, best word count, first place finishes and more. Leaderboards show you who's rocking it for the day, hour and overall. Climb the ranks and earn achievements and bragging rights along the way. Will you be our next champion? Xbox Live Support: Sign in with your Microsoft account to earn Xbox Live achievements and save your progress in the cloud across all your Apple devices. You can now get the Microsoft Wordament Premium Subscription for $1.99 per Month or $9.99 per Year. With Premium Subscription you get these great features: • No Advertisements • More coins for completing Daily Challenges • Double experience points in all game modes • NOTE: this will not grant Premium on other platforms Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account on confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews monthly or annually depending on the subscription type purchased. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period ($1.99 monthly, or $9.99 annually, depending on the subscription type purchased). You can turn off auto-renewal by going to your Account Settings after purchase. If auto-renewal is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, you will not be charged for the next period. All cancellations will take effect at the end of the current period. For more information visit: https://aka.ms/wordamentiossupport/ © Microsoft 2025. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Microsoft Casual Games, the product logos and Wordament, and the Wordament logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Acceptance of Microsoft Services Agreement and Privacy Statement are required to play. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/servicesagreement, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement) Microsoft account registration required for cross-platform play. Game offers in-app purchases. Persistent internet connection required. Features, online services and system requirements may vary by country and are subject to change or retirement over time.

About

Starlace

This word puzzle game offers a relaxing experience with no timers or pressure. Discover hidden words by tracing paths through lettered stars, creating constellations as you progress. Customize your gameplay with various audio and visual settings for a tranquil experience.

Highlights
  • Bendable word tracing
  • Constellation creation
  • No timers or lives
  • Offline play
  • Customizable settings
  • Stardust hints
Features
Read full description

Starlace is a word puzzle that lets you breathe. Every level is a night sky. The stars carry letters, and hidden among them are words - not in straight lines, but bending and turning through the grid. Press a star and drag through its neighbours to lace a word together. Each word you find leaves a glowing thread behind, and when you find them all, the threads become a constellation with a name of its own: The Lantern. The Ferryman. The Copper Hare. There is no timer. There are no lives, no hearts to refill, no streak that punishes you for missing a day. You cannot lose Starlace. You can only take longer, and taking longer is the point. HOW IT PLAYS - Trace between neighbouring stars - sideways, up, down, diagonally - Words bend as they go, so you learn to read whole neighbourhoods - Slots at the top show you how long each hidden word is - Every real word you spot that isn't on the list pays a bonus find - Grids grow from four by four up to seven by seven as your eye sharpens - Sixty named constellations, and more nights beyond them QUIET BY DESIGN Ambient pads drift under a slowly turning starfield. Letters chime softly as you drag through them. If you would rather have silence, or a calmer background, or larger and brighter letters, all of it is in Settings - including a left-handed layout and a reduced motion mode. PLAY ANYWHERE Starlace works completely offline. No account, no sign-in, no connection needed. Your progress is saved on your device, and the puzzles are identical for everyone, forever - night 40 is night 40 whether you play it today or next year. STUCK IS FINE Spend stardust to reveal a single letter or a whole word, or watch a short video for more. You earn stardust just by playing, and by finding bonus words. Nothing is locked behind a wall. Starlace is a game about noticing things. Take it slowly. --- Optional purchases include stardust packs, a one-time purchase to remove ads, and the Stargazer Pass - an auto-renewing monthly subscription that removes ads and adds stardust weekly. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in your device Settings. Terms of use: https://johnrouda.com/terms Privacy policy: https://johnrouda.com/privacy

Screenshots

Microsoft Wordament4 screens
Starlace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Starlace at daily against Microsoft Wordament's every 4 months. Starlace also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Microsoft Wordament's advantage is ratings volume (12K vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). 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. Microsoft Wordament sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Starlace sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Starlace holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft Wordament has 12K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Microsoft Wordament ships an update every 4 months, Starlace daily. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Microsoft Wordament versus Starlace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft WordamentStarlace
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (12K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings12K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsDaily — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size202 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationJohn Rouda

Customer experience

Microsoft Wordament

All ratings12,339 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral2.4%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews631 reviews
Positive50.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative35.2%

Starlace

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Microsoft Wordament

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game freezes at certain levels
  • Sync issues causing data loss
  • Ads not loading properly, locking up the game

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dictionary lookup for defined words
  • Provide more variety in map designs and challenges
  • Improve cloud sync reliability
  • Optimize performance for older devices
  • Offer a one-time ad removal purchase option

Starlace

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Microsoft Wordament

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium Subscription$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium Subscription$9.991 Year
5 purchases

Starlace

One-time5
  • 300 Stardust$0.99
  • 1,000 Stardust$2.99
  • Removes every ad$4.99
Show 2 more
  • 3,600 Stardust$7.99
  • 9,000 Stardust$9.99

Questions

Is Microsoft Wordament free?
Microsoft Wordament is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Starlace free?
Starlace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Microsoft Wordament or Starlace?
Starlace is rated higher. Microsoft Wordament averages 4.6 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while Starlace averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Microsoft Wordament or Starlace have ads?
Both Microsoft Wordament and Starlace show ads.
Which is updated more often, Microsoft Wordament or Starlace?
Microsoft Wordament ships an update every 4 months, and Starlace daily. Most recently, Microsoft Wordament was updated on November 11, 2026 and Starlace on October 31, 2026.

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