Penanagrams vs Enigma
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Penanagrams
A daily word puzzle game where you find near-anagrams of a five-letter starting word. Each day presents a new challenge to discover words by changing one letter and rearranging the remaining ones. Aim for three stars by finding a specific number of valid penanagrams.
- Daily five-letter starting word
- Find near-anagrams (penanagrams)
- Change exactly one letter
- Rearrange remaining letters
- Star system for progress
- Three-star daily goal
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Penanagrams is a free daily anagram-style word puzzle. Each day there is a new five-letter starting word. Find as many penanagrams (near-anagrams) as you can: (a) change exactly one letter in the starting word, then (b) use this new letter and the remaining four letters of the starting word in any order to form a new word. For example START -> RANTS or START -> RATES. For RANTS, a T is changed to an N. Changing a T to any other letter and rearranging in the same way, e.g. T -> F to produce RAFTS, does not count as a new penanagram. To show this, the changed letter shows up as a blank green square in your list of penanagrams. You get a star when you have found 1/4, 2/4, and 3/4 of the possible penangrams. Try for three stars every day!
Enigma
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SOLVE PUZZLES TO BUILD LITERACY Transform your literacy skills with engaging, puzzle-solving gameplay. Learn to recognize letters, build words, and read and write sentences by deciphering the ancient language of Atlantis. PRACTICE EVERYDAY SKILLS Play fun, timed mini-games that test your reading skills in everyday situations, from figuring out a bus schedule to paying the correct amount of cash when you go shopping. PLAY IN ENGLISH OR SPANISH Whether you are a native English speaker looking to boost your literacy skills or a Spanish speaker learning to read English, we support you with instructions delivered in your native language. VISIT REAL-WORLD LOCATIONS Visit real locations in Peru. UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF ATLANTIS Seek out hidden ancient relics and energize the mysterious crystals that power Atlantis. As you learn more, you can dig deeper into the history of the once great civilization. WHY WE MADE THIS GAME In the United States alone, 32 million adults cannot read, including almost 20% of high-school graduates. Reading is a key skill in today’s modern, fast-paced, and dynamic lifestyle. Programs targeting our adult learner population are few and far between. Engima: Essentials I presents a new approach to learning, combining university developed and tested teaching methods with the game development expertise of industry professionals and a premier game development university program. We focus on how adults learn to read and respect their sensibilities and character, while still making a game suitable for all ages.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Penanagrams at every 4 days against Enigma's every 3 months. Enigma's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Penanagrams ships an update every 4 days, Enigma every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Penanagrams | Enigma |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 466 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Noah Daniel Stein | Corey Clark |
In-app purchases
Penanagrams
No in-app purchases
Enigma
No in-app purchases









