Comparison

Cryptic Mind vs The Completionist

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

Head to head
About

Cryptic Mind

Features
Read full description

Enter the world of Cryptic Mind, an exciting puzzle game that demands your mental agility! With over 100 levels across two distinct modes, Cryptic Mind compels you to decode hidden words from cryptic numeric codes. Are you ready to tackle the mysteries and uncover the words concealed within the numbers? - Game Modes: / Numeric Mode In this mode, numbers directly correspond to letters based on the layout of old mobile keypads. For instance, the number 44 stands for "HI," and 4263 spells "GAME." Your mission is to master this classic coding method and unravel the hidden word on each level. Decode the sequences swiftly to reveal the answer and advance to the next challenge! / Alphabetic Mode Here, the challenge intensifies. Numbers now correspond to the letters' positions in the alphabet. For example, 312 translates to "CAB," where 3 = C, 1 = A, and 2 = B, following strict alphabetical order. Apply this logic to piece together the scrambled letters and reveal the correct word. Each mode ramps up the difficulty with increasingly complex codes, pushing your problem-solving and decoding skills to their limits. Are you capable of solving every level and uncovering every word? Step into Cryptic Mind and unleash your deciphering prowess!

About

The Completionist

Manage a 1980s pop culture magazine, hiring staff and commissioning stories. Navigate deadlines and finances with a retro aesthetic and a Kanban workflow. Your choices impact the magazine's success and unlock new narrative quests.

Highlights
  • Run a 1980s pop culture magazine
  • Hire writers, editors, and researchers
  • Kanban workflow for story management
  • Retro pixel art and sound design
  • Thousands of 1980s headlines
  • Prestige system for permanent upgrades
  • Narrative quests and story progression
Features
Read full description

Run a scrappy pop culture magazine through the golden age of print. Hire writers, editors, and researchers. Commission stories about the movies, music, games, and news that defined the 1980s. Move work across a Kanban board from idea to published think piece. Try not to go broke. It's 1980. MTV hasn't launched. Keyboards click and coffee brews and nobody's heard the word "Internet." You just have tight deadlines, a small team, and a whole decade of pop culture to write about. Part strategy game. Part idle. Part workflow sim. Part love letter to the 1980s. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT * Your Choices Matter — Build a team of specialists or balanced generalists. Rush stories to hit deadlines for the bonus, or slow down and chase 5-star quality for the milestone payout. Hire aggressively and spend yourself thin, or run lean and invest in equipment. Prestige early with a handful of legacy points, or grind deeper for a bigger haul. Every run surfaces a new question. * Old School Aesthetic — Commodore 64 color palette, pixel art sprites, and sounds. It looks like it crawled out of a floppy disk. In a good way. * Thousands of 1980s Headlines — Empire Strikes Back opening weekend. The NES launch. Live Aid. The Challenger disaster. The stuff that shaped a generation. * Kanban Workflow — Research, draft, create, edit, publish. Manage stories across the board like a project manager who's really into Depeche Mode. * Build Your Team — Creators write. Editors catch typos. Researchers break down leads. Project Managers keep the whole operation from falling apart. Hire smart, level up skills, and equip your crew with keyboards, desks, and headphones. * Prestige System — Hit $300K and complete a Volume. Start your next run with permanent legacy upgrades that pull your strategy in different directions. Revenue Boost or Inflation Shield. Quality Boost or Fast Learners. There's no correct order. There's your order. Each Volume is faster, deeper, and harder to put down. * Speed Boosts — Coffee, pizza, donuts. The fuel of journalism. Buy consumables for a temporary push. Buy an office dog for permanent motivation. * Narrative Quests — Story-driven progression through your magazine's rise across the decade. Not just numbers going up — a real arc. * NO ADS. NO ENERGY GATES. One optional speed boost. That's it. The first Volume teaches you the mechanics. Volumes 2 through 10 are where you discover what kind of editor you actually are.

Screenshots

Cryptic Mind4 screens
The Completionist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cryptic Mind at Free against The Completionist's $1.99. Cryptic Mind also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). The Completionist's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). On ads 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

Cryptic Mind is free to download; The Completionist costs $1.99 up front. The Completionist sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cryptic Mind asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cryptic Mind ships an update every 2 months, The Completionist every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cryptic Mind versus The Completionist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCryptic MindThe Completionist
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating—4.7 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—69.2% of reviews
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB20 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperADAVII (PVT) LTDFrosty Pop

In-app purchases

None

Cryptic Mind

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

The Completionist

One-time1
  • Monday Motivation$1.99

Questions

Is Cryptic Mind free?
Cryptic Mind is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Completionist free?
The Completionist costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Do Cryptic Mind or The Completionist have ads?
Neither Cryptic Mind nor The Completionist shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cryptic Mind or The Completionist?
Cryptic Mind ships an update every 2 months, and The Completionist every 3 days. Most recently, Cryptic Mind was updated on November 8, 2026 and The Completionist on November 9, 2026.

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