Comparison

Simon Tatham's Puzzles vs Cracking the Cryptic

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

Head to head
About

Simon Tatham's Puzzles

Explore a diverse collection of 38 engaging single-player puzzle games designed for mobile devices. Enjoy a wide variety of challenges, from logic and spatial reasoning to pattern recognition and strategy.

Highlights
  • 38 single-player puzzle games
  • Variety of puzzle types
  • Logic and strategy challenges
  • Spatial reasoning puzzles
  • Pattern recognition games
Features
Read full description

This is a collection of 38 single-player puzzle games for the iPhone and iPad. Included games are: Black Box - Bridges - Cube - Dominosa - Fifteen - Flip - Flood - Filling - Galaxies - Guess - Inertia - Keen - Light Up - Loopy - Magnets - Map - Mines - Net - Netslide - Pattern - Pearl - Pegs - Range - Rectangles - Same Game - Signpost - Singles - Sixteen - Slant - Solo - Tents - Towers - Tracks - Twiddle - Undead - Unequal - Unruly - Untangle

About

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.

Highlights
  • Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
  • Curated by expert constructors
  • Classic and unique variants
  • Regularly released puzzle packs
  • Free introductory puzzle pack
Features
Read full description

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

Simon Tatham's Puzzles4 screens
Cracking the Cryptic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simon Tatham's Puzzles at none against Cracking the Cryptic's 13. Simon Tatham's Puzzles also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.4) and review sentiment (95% vs 72%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Simon Tatham's Puzzles asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Simon Tatham's Puzzles holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 220 and 210 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of Simon Tatham's Puzzles's written reviews are positive against 72% of Cracking the Cryptic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simon Tatham's Puzzles ships an update every 2 weeks, Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Simon Tatham's Puzzles versus Cracking the Cryptic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimon Tatham's PuzzlesCracking the Cryptic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (220 ratings) — better4.4 (210 ratings)
Positive reviews94.6% of reviews — better72.1% of reviews
Number of ratings220 — better210
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB234 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGreg HewgillNick Carney

Customer experience

Simon Tatham's Puzzles

All ratings220 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews148 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.4%

Cracking the Cryptic

All ratings208 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.6%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive72.1%
Neutral13.6%
Negative14.3%

User reviews

Simon Tatham's Puzzles

From 220 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great variety of puzzles
  • 👍 No ads or in-app purchases
  • 👍 Simple, intuitive interface
  • 👍 Customizable difficulty levels
  • 👍 Offline playability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with iOS 14
  • 👎 Lack of zoom/scaling options
  • 👎 Reliance on long-press controls can be awkward
  • 👎 Some puzzles not as intuitive on mobile

Cracking the Cryptic

From 210 App Store ratings

What 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

Simon Tatham's Puzzles

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crashes on startup with iOS 14
  • Filling/marking not working properly in some puzzles

Requested features

3 requests
  • Zoom/scaling options for larger puzzles
  • Alternative control schemes (e.g. tap-to-flag)
  • Inclusion of all puzzles from desktop version

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

None

Simon Tatham's Puzzles

No in-app purchases

13 purchases

Cracking the Cryptic

One-time13
  • CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
  • CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
  • CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
Show 10 more
  • 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 Simon Tatham's Puzzles free?
Simon Tatham's Puzzles is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Cracking the Cryptic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simon Tatham's Puzzles or Cracking the Cryptic?
Simon Tatham's Puzzles is rated higher. Simon Tatham's Puzzles averages 4.8 out of 5 from 220 ratings, while Cracking the Cryptic averages 4.4 from 210 ratings.
Do Simon Tatham's Puzzles or Cracking the Cryptic have ads?
Neither Simon Tatham's Puzzles nor Cracking the Cryptic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simon Tatham's Puzzles or Cracking the Cryptic?
Simon Tatham's Puzzles ships an update every 2 weeks, and Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. Most recently, Simon Tatham's Puzzles was updated on October 15, 2026 and Cracking the Cryptic on October 20, 2026.

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