Comparison

Penanagrams vs Enigma

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Daily five-letter starting word
  • Find near-anagrams (penanagrams)
  • Change exactly one letter
  • Rearrange remaining letters
  • Star system for progress
  • Three-star daily goal
Read full description

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!

About

Enigma

Features
Read full description

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

Penanagrams4 screens
Enigma4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Penanagrams versus Enigma: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPenanagramsEnigma
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (9 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings9 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB466 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNoah Daniel SteinCorey Clark

In-app purchases

None

Penanagrams

No in-app purchases

None

Enigma

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Penanagrams free?
Penanagrams is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Enigma free?
Enigma is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Penanagrams or Enigma have ads?
Neither Penanagrams nor Enigma shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Penanagrams or Enigma?
Penanagrams ships an update every 4 days, and Enigma every 3 months. Most recently, Penanagrams was updated on October 24, 2026 and Enigma on October 25, 2026.

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