CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM vs Spell the Beans
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM
A unique word game blending crossword and cryptogram puzzles. Solve puzzles with no clues, revealing parts of the solution as you progress through increasing difficulty levels. Hints are available to assist with challenging stages.
- Crossword and cryptogram puzzle blend
- Three difficulty modes (Easy, Medium, Hard)
- Progressive difficulty with level-ups
- Partial solution exposure per level
- Five hints per level
- Challenging word puzzle gameplay
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Crossword Cryptogram is a unique word game, that combines elements of crossword and cryptogram word puzzles. You are given a crossword with no clues, The challenge is to complete the puzzle with a cryptogramesque gameplay. Three Difficulty modes. (Easy, Medium, Hard), The early levels of the Easy category will get you up to speed with the gameplay. Each Level exposes part of the solution. The higher the level the less exposed solution. Incrementing difficulty as you level up! Easy - 50% to 75% of correct letters exposed. Medium - 25% to 49% of correct letters exposed. Hard - 0% to 24% of correct letters exposed. To help you complete the most difficult levels, five hints are provided for each level. Use Hints wisely, Each hint will expose a wrong letter placement or notify you that all letter placements are correct. This is a very challenging word puzzle game. A real workout for your gray matter.
Spell the Beans
This word game offers a unique twist by having players place letters as they appear into various containers, creating words in multiple directions. It features several distinct game modes with different mechanics and scoring systems for endless replayability.
- Dynamic letter placement into beans, bubbles, or hearts
- Words created in any direction
- Multiple game modes (8-Spot, Cyrano, etc.)
- AI opponent (Blu Yonder)
- Fifty color schemes
- Intuitive drag-and-highlight interface
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Tired of word games that fall into the same old patterns? This game won't. Trust us. Spill a handful of slightly magical coffee beans, and as letters come up, put them in any bean you choose. As you place more letters, you create words in every direction, including a lot you weren't even looking for. We keep track of your words and score so you can focus on where you put the letters. Besides beans, you can drop letters into bubbles of spilled hot coffee if even more jam-packed jumbled fun is your cup of tea. Or slow the pace with colored candy hearts, where shorter words carry more weight. Our fourth variation, 8-Spot, forces you to adapt by "spotting" randomly pre-placed letters in fixed locations, taking you slightly out of your comfort zone. The latest mode, Cyrano, chooses three special random letters that boost the score of any word you put them in. What's outside the box about Spell the Beans? For one thing, you're building words, not simply finding them. You place letters as they come up one at a time, anticipating what might come, in a randomly spilled pattern that's different every time, as opposed to facing a fixed grid pre-filled with letters from the start. This game is anything but repetitive. The letters, hearts, bubbles and beans spill deliciously differently every time, making each game a fresh challenge. Or a sandbox of see-what-happens finger-fidgeting, if it's been that kind of day. You can play the no-look challenge and you'll be hard-pressed not to score. Or use your wits to create a web frankly teeming with words. Think as much or as little as you want. Pour spelling either way. Spell the Beans. Come for the coffee. Stay for the play. Features: • Carefully roasted blend of letters – This is not your grandparents' RSTLNE. We're confident no one has quite this fine-tuned mix. You’ll love the difference. • Endless variation in random bean, bubble and heart patterns – Never face the same setup twice. Get your cognitive shuffle here. And just leave the spilling and cleanup to us. The leading soft, absorbent paper towel not required. • Scoring in any direction - any connected beans, bubbles or hearts can make a word. Literally lateral thinking. People love getting words they didn't even see coming. Great spelling is optional. • Play alone or against Blu Yonder, an opponent who’ll always keep you on your toes. Sometimes beatable, often unbelievable. Always Blu. • Fifty color schemes to choose from. Intuitive interface lets you drag anywhere to highlight word locations easily.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM at Free against Spell the Beans's $0.99. CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 50%). Spell the Beans's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM is free to download; Spell the Beans costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Spell the Beans holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM's written reviews are positive against 50% of Spell the Beans's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM ships an update every 2 months, Spell the Beans every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM | Spell the Beans |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (10 ratings) | 4.5 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.5% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | ROBERTO MANONGDO | Bradley Stanton |
Customer experience
CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM
Spell the Beans
In-app purchases
CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM
No in-app purchases
Spell the Beans
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM free?
Is Spell the Beans free?
Which has better reviews, CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM or Spell the Beans?
Do CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM or Spell the Beans have ads?
Which is updated more often, CROSSWORD CRYPTOGRAM or Spell the Beans?
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