Comparison

Cipher Challenge vs Squiggle

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

Head to head
About

Cipher Challenge

Engage your mind with a variety of cipher decoding challenges. Practice different cipher types, track your progress, and compete with friends. Unlock quotes and sync your achievements across devices.

Highlights
  • Multiple cipher modes
  • Letter frequency analysis
  • Multiplayer competition
  • Unlocked quote gallery
  • Score history tracking
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Hard mode challenge
Features
Read full description

A cipher decoding game. Cipher modes: Aristocrat, Patristocrat, Caesar, Random substitution cipher, K1 cipher, K2 cipher Additional features: - See letter frequency table and cipher letter -> original letter mapping table - Share link or game id to friends and compete on the same puzzle - View all the unlocked quotes - See score history - Unlocked quotes and scores are sync'ed across iPhone, iPad and Mac computers through iCloud - Enable hard mode for a special challenge Also perfect for Science Olympiad (SciOly) Codebusters practice.

About

Squiggle

Features
Read full description

Squiggle is a warm, hand-drawn app for kids ages 3 to 6. Your child picks a word, draws it, spells it letter by letter, then writes it and turns their drawings into little scenes and stories. Calm, child-led play. No timers, no badges, no scores. Just space to focus, at their own pace. Every screen answers one question. Pick a colour, draw the dog, find the letter. There's nothing to get lost in. THE LOOP: DRAW → SPELL → WRITE → PLAY • Draw — Tap a word like "dog" and Squiggle sketches a friendly version, simpler at 3, more detailed at 6. Trace the ghost lines, colour inside the outline, or peek at a pinned reference. Eight crayon colours, one eraser, no menus. • Spell — The word comes back as blank slots. Squiggle calls out one letter at a time; your child finds it among the tiles and taps to place it. One letter at a time — never overwhelming. A wrong tile gently wobbles. We never flash red. • Write — Each letter appears huge in literacy-safe Andika, ready to trace. An "easy" mode adds stroke-order dots; tap it off when they're ready. Encouragement at every letter, not just at the end. • Play — Every finished drawing becomes a sticker. Drag stickers onto a scene — a park, a kitchen, the moon — and build a tiny world that's theirs. MADE FOR LITTLE HANDS • Drawings tuned to your child's age — chunkier lines at 3, finer detail at 6. • Letters use Andika, a typeface designed for pre-readers. • Fingers are first-class; Apple Pencil is supported and feels great. • Every tap target is big and forgiving. • No reading required — every word is paired with a picture. CALM, PRIVATE, PARENT-FRIENDLY • No ads. No third-party trackers. No accounts to start drawing. • We don't collect personal information about your child. • Built to the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). • A long-press opens the parent dashboard: see this week's drawings, set the age, set a gentle daily time limit, and more. • Drawing, spelling, writing, and scenes work offline. Squiggle is the early-literacy app we wanted for our own kids: quiet, kind, and made with patience and crayon. ——— Squiggle Plus is an auto-renewable subscription: • Weekly — $2.99 / week • Monthly — $5.99 / month (Lifetime is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.squigglepad.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.squigglepad.com/terms

Screenshots

Cipher Challenge4 screens
Squiggle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cipher Challenge at none against Squiggle's 3. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Squiggle sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Cipher Challenge asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Cipher Challenge versus Squiggle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCipher ChallengeSquiggle
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBao LeiRaymond Yeh

In-app purchases

None

Cipher Challenge

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Squiggle

Subscriptions2
  • Squiggle Plus - Weekly$2.997 Days
  • Squiggle Plus - Monthly$5.991 Month
One-time1
  • Squiggle Plus - Lifetime$89.99

Questions

Is Cipher Challenge free?
Cipher Challenge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Squiggle free?
Squiggle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cipher Challenge or Squiggle have ads?
Neither Cipher Challenge nor Squiggle shows ads.

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