Comparison

Explain the Word vs Decoder Terminal

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

Head to head
About

Explain the Word

A thrilling word guessing game for parties and gatherings. Players must describe a word without using forbidden terms, adding a creative challenge. Suitable for various settings and skill levels, it offers endless fun for groups.

Highlights
  • Forbidden word challenges
  • Multiple difficulty levels
  • Supports multiple languages
  • Team or competitive play
  • Combines quiz, charades, and word game elements
Features
Read full description

Explain the Word is the perfect word game for your party! This exciting game, "Explain the Word," will make you and your friends think quickly and creatively. Forbidden words that cannot be used while explaining the word add a thrill. The app offers multiple difficulty levels, allowing you to play in any setting: with friends and family, at a party, or during New Year's celebrations. Enjoy a fun card game that is perfect for family evenings and group gatherings. Whether you're looking for a social game to warm up the crowd or an intellectual game to improve your vocabulary, "Explain the Word" has it all. Join "Explain the Word" to compete with friends, or team up for a collaborative word challenge. This game combines the best elements of quizzes, charades, and word games, ensuring endless fun and laughter. Additionally, you can practice other languages by selecting the appropriate card language in the game settings. Download now and turn any event into an unforgettable game night with "Explain the Word"!

About

Decoder Terminal

Features
Read full description

A secret cipher of four colored keys is hidden inside the system. You have seven attempts to crack it. DECODER is a code-breaking puzzle — a modern take on the classic Mastermind — wrapped in the aesthetic of a green-on-black decryption terminal. Lock in a guess, hit RUN, and the system reports back: • HIT — right color, right slot • NEAR — right color, wrong slot The hints never tell you WHICH slot is right. Read them, reason it out, and narrow the cipher down before your attempts run out. Crack it in four hits to breach the system. Burn all seven and the cipher stays sealed. NO LUCK. JUST LOGIC. Every cipher is solvable by pure deduction. There are no power-ups, no timers, no ads, no accounts — just you against the code. TWO CLEARANCE LEVELS • EASY · 6 colors — learn the ropes • ADVANCED · 8 colors — for hardened operators Colors can repeat, so don't assume the obvious. BUILT FOR THE CRAFT • A tactile CRT terminal interface — scanlines, glow, and a blinking cursor • Colorblind-friendly: every key carries a letter, never color alone • Honors Reduce Motion • Tracks your stats per clearance level: solve rate, current streak, and best run • Fully offline. No sign-up, no tracking, no nonsense. Read the hints. Breach the system.

Screenshots

Explain the Word4 screens
Decoder Terminal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Explain the Word at none against Decoder Terminal's shown. Explain the Word also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). Decoder Terminal's advantage is update cadence (daily vs fortnightly). On price, 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

Explain the Word ships an update fortnightly, Decoder Terminal daily. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Explain the Word versus Decoder Terminal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplain the WordDecoder Terminal
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVitalii VovchokTwinning Trails LLC

In-app purchases

None

Explain the Word

No in-app purchases

None

Decoder Terminal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Explain the Word free?
Explain the Word is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Decoder Terminal free?
Decoder Terminal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Explain the Word or Decoder Terminal have ads?
Decoder Terminal shows ads; Explain the Word does not.
Which is updated more often, Explain the Word or Decoder Terminal?
Explain the Word ships an update fortnightly, and Decoder Terminal daily. Most recently, Explain the Word was updated on October 8, 2026 and Decoder Terminal on September 22, 2026.

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