Comparison

Associations! vs Three by Three Category Puzzle

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

Head to head
About

Associations!

Features
Read full description

Can you find the hidden links between words? Associations! is the fun word puzzle game that challenges you to discover what 16 words have in common. 【HOW TO PLAY】 You're given 16 words arranged in a grid. Your mission is to find 4 groups of 4 words that share a hidden connection. Tap words to select them, then submit your guess. Solve all four categories before making 4 mistakes to win! Each category has a difficulty level shown by color: - Yellow: Easiest, straightforward connections - Green: Medium difficulty - Blue: Harder to spot - Purple: Trickiest, often involves wordplay 【DAILY PUZZLE】 A fresh puzzle awaits you every day. Complete the daily challenge to build your streak and track your progress. How many consecutive days can you solve? 【PRACTICE MODE】 Sharpen your skills with unlimited puzzles! Choose from three difficulty levels: - Easy: Perfect for warming up - Medium: A balanced challenge - Hard: For true puzzle masters Track your best times and aim for perfect games with zero mistakes. 【FEATURES】 - New daily puzzle every day at midnight - Unlimited practice puzzles - Streak tracking for daily puzzles - Timer with best time records - "One away" hints when you're close - Shuffle tiles to see new patterns - Works completely offline - Sound effects and haptic feedback - Light, Dark, and System appearance modes 【PREMIUM】 Subscribe to Premium for an enhanced experience: - Remove all advertisements - Custom category color themes (Sunset, Ocean, Forest, Berry, Mono) - Custom font colors and styles - Support ongoing development 【Terms of Use (EULA)】 https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Whether you have 5 minutes or an hour, Associations! offers the perfect brain workout. Download now and discover more!

About

Three by Three Category Puzzle

This word puzzle challenges you to find three secret categories and a single word that connects them all. With a "build a puzzle" tool, you can create and share your own challenges with the community.

Highlights
  • Identify secret categories
  • Find the connecting word
  • Build and share custom puzzles
  • Compete on leaderboards
  • Engaging word gameplay
Features
Read full description

Three by Three is a word puzzle. Figure out the 3 secret categories and the 1 word that's in all 3. Every round shows you nine words. Among them are three secret groups of three. One word, the golden word, belongs to all three groups. Tap three words you think share a rule, then hit Guess. Solve two groups and the golden word reveals itself. Solve the rest of the puzzle and earn points on our leaderboard. If you want to create a puzzle to share with the community, use the "build a puzzle" tool! If we find your puzzle acceptable, we will add it to the game, credit your username as the author, and reward you leaderboard points every time people play your puzzle!

Screenshots

Associations!4 screens
Three by Three Category Puzzle3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Three by Three Category Puzzle at none against Associations!'s 3. Three by Three Category Puzzle also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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

Both are free to download. Associations! sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Three by Three Category Puzzle asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Associations! ships an update every 4 days, Three by Three Category Puzzle weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Associations! versus Three by Three Category Puzzle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAssociations!Three by Three Category Puzzle
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Ad-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIkuhei KureAccessible Ethical Apps llc

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Associations!

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Quarterly$4.993 Months
  • Yearly$8.991 Year
None

Three by Three Category Puzzle

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Associations! free?
Associations! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Three by Three Category Puzzle free?
Three by Three Category Puzzle is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Associations! or Three by Three Category Puzzle have ads?
Both Associations! and Three by Three Category Puzzle show ads.
Which is updated more often, Associations! or Three by Three Category Puzzle?
Associations! ships an update every 4 days, and Three by Three Category Puzzle weekly. Most recently, Associations! was updated on November 9, 2026 and Three by Three Category Puzzle on October 31, 2026.

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