Comparison

Cryptograms by Lex.Games vs Nonogame

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

Head to head
About

Cryptograms by Lex.Games

Engage your mind with cryptogram puzzles where letters are substituted to reveal hidden quotes. Solve daily puzzles or themed packs to uncover jokes, inspiration, and moving messages. Optional hints and mistake highlighting are available.

Highlights
  • Letter substitution puzzles
  • Daily cryptograms
  • Themed puzzle packs
  • Optional hint system
  • Mistake highlighting
  • Reveal letters
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Cryptograms from Lex.Games! Cryptograms are letter cypher puzzles. Each letter in the puzzle represents another letter. In some puzzles, A might mean F. In others, A might mean D instead. By looking for smaller words, apostrophes, common letter groupings, and the like, you can start to solve the Cryptogram puzzle — and words slowly reveal themselves as you figure out key letters! The quotes you solve might be jokes, they might be inspirational, and they might be moving. And trust me — they're fun! You may optionally choose to highlight mistakes or reveal individual letters in the puzzle, too. There's a fresh daily cryptogram each day, plus a slew of packs filled with cryptograms. Privacy Policy: https://lexfriedman.com/cryptograms/privacy Terms of Use: https://lexfriedman.com/cryptograms/terms

About

Nonogame

Solve logic puzzles by filling in squares based on number clues to reveal a hidden picture. Offers daily puzzles of varying difficulty, competitive features with friends, and customization options. An optional subscription unlocks archives, curated collections, and endless play.

Highlights
  • Daily logic puzzles (small, medium, large)
  • Picture reveals as you solve
  • Competitive features with friends
  • Customizable themes and modes
  • Offline play available
  • Optional subscription for more content
Features
Read full description

Nonogame is a clean, quiet place to play nonograms (also called picross or griddlers): the logic puzzles where the numbers along the edges tell you which squares to fill, and a picture appears as you solve. THREE PUZZLES A DAY Every day brings a small, a medium, and a large puzzle. They start gentle at the beginning of the week and get harder toward the weekend. Finish all three and the day is done, with your total time and how you compared with everyone else who played. BUILT FOR SOLVING A board that feels like paper. Drag to fill a whole run of squares, switch to cross mode to mark what cannot be filled, and let the app cross out finished lines for you. Turn on confirm mode to pencil in a guess before you commit. Hints when you are stuck, mistakes shown if you want them, and haptics and sound you can turn off. Full support for iPad, including Apple Pencil hover. STREAKS AND FRIENDS Keep a streak for each size and for the day as a whole. Add friends to see who finished today and who was fastest. Twice a week, the Brain Teaser sets one big puzzle for everyone to race. ACHIEVEMENTS More than a hundred achievements to chase, from your first solve to the long streaks. MAKE IT YOURS Four themes, light and dark modes, and seven colours for the app icon. A home screen widget shows today's puzzles and your streak, and Siri shortcuts open the puzzle you ask for. PLAY ANYWHERE Your progress lives in your Nonogame account, so you can pick up on the website exactly where you left off. No account is needed to play the daily puzzles. NONOGAME PLUS Members also get the Archive of every past day, curated Collections to play in any order, and Endless mode for as many puzzles as you like. Subscribe in the app, monthly or yearly. Plus belongs to your Nonogame account, so it works on nonogame.app too. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://nonogame.app/privacy

Screenshots

Cryptograms by Lex.Games4 screens
Nonogame4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Cryptograms by Lex.Games at 17.6 against Nonogame's 26.0. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Cryptograms by Lex.Games sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Nonogame sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Cryptograms by Lex.Games against 5.0 for Nonogame. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 8 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cryptograms by Lex.Games ships an update every 4 days, Nonogame every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Cryptograms by Lex.Games versus Nonogame: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCryptograms by Lex.GamesNonogame
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings78 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB51 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLex FriedmanMatt Birchler

Customer experience

Cryptograms by Lex.Games

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Nonogame

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Cryptograms by Lex.Games

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Subscription$4.991 Month
One-time9
  • Comedians Pack 3$5.99
  • Song Lyrics Pack 2$7.99
  • Late Night Hosts 1$8.99
Show 6 more
  • Thinkers$8.99
  • Comedians Pack 1$8.99
  • Song Lyrics Pack 1$8.99
  • Movie Quotes 1$9.99
  • Comedians Pack 2$9.99
  • Unlock Everything$50.00
2 purchases

Nonogame

Subscriptions2
  • Plus - Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Plus - Yearly$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Cryptograms by Lex.Games free?
Cryptograms by Lex.Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nonogame free?
Nonogame is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cryptograms by Lex.Games or Nonogame?
Cryptograms by Lex.Games and Nonogame are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Cryptograms by Lex.Games or Nonogame have ads?
Neither Cryptograms by Lex.Games nor Nonogame shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cryptograms by Lex.Games or Nonogame?
Cryptograms by Lex.Games ships an update every 4 days, and Nonogame every 5 days. Most recently, Cryptograms by Lex.Games was updated on October 24, 2026 and Nonogame on October 29, 2026.

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