Lone Star Puzzles vs Cipher
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lone Star Puzzles
This logic puzzle game challenges you to place stars on a grid so that each row, column, and region has the correct number of stars, without any touching. Solve puzzles to reveal constellations and enjoy daily challenges and competitive modes.
- 12,500 unique puzzles
- Interactive constellation sky map
- Daily challenges with leaderboards
- Challenge mode with opponents
- Battle Rush mode
- Intelligent hint system
- Offline play
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Somewhere in the night sky, the stars have scattered. Each one sits alone in its region, waiting to be placed — waiting to be found. Your mission: reunite them all. Lone Star is a beautifully crafted star-placement puzzle game inspired by the classic Star Battle logic genre. Place stars on the grid so that every row, column, and region contains exactly the right number — but no two stars may touch, not even diagonally. Simple to learn, deeply satisfying to master. A Sky Full of Stories Every puzzle you solve lights up a star in the constellation map. Watch as scattered points of light connect into the shapes of real constellations — Orion, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major, and more. Complete entire constellations to see the night sky come alive. Can you reunite every lone star with its constellation? 12,500 Puzzles Across Five Difficulty Levels - Beginner (6×6) — Learn the ropes with compact grids - Easy (7×7) — Build confidence with a bit more room - Medium (8×8) — A satisfying challenge for steady solvers - Hard (9×9) — Push your logic to the limit - Expert (10×10) — Only the sharpest minds prevail Three Daily Challenges Come back every day for fresh puzzles. Track your streak and compete on Game Center leaderboards for the fastest solve times. Challenge Mode Play against opponents in three difficulty levels. In the special Battle Rush mode, you race through five puzzles in a row! Features: - 12,500 unique puzzles - Interactive constellation sky map — trace 87 real constellations as you progress - Three daily challenges with separate leaderboards and streak tracking - Challenge mode, play against your opponent in three difficulty levels - Battle Rush: race through five puzzles in a row. The fastest wins! - Intelligent hint system when you need a gentle nudge - Undo, auto-save, and pick up right where you left off - Detailed statistics — track your times, streaks, and completion - No internet required — all puzzles included, play anywhere For Every Stargazer Whether you have five minutes or an hour, Lone Star offers the perfect balance of calm focus and logical challenge. Start with Beginner and work your way up to Expert as the puzzles grow in size and complexity. Every star has a place. Every constellation has a story. Find them all.
Cipher
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No ads during puzzles. Every day, a new encoded quote waits for you. Crack the cipher, reveal the message, keep your streak alive. Tap a coded letter. Tap what you think it means. Watch the quote unlock - one letter at a time. - Daily puzzle, fresh every day - Free play with hundreds of quotes - Earn coins, use hints when stuck - Track your streak and stats - Dark, clean design built for focus Simple to learn. Satisfying to solve. By using this app, you agree to the Apple Standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Cipher at none against Lone Star Puzzles's shown. Cipher also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. Lone Star Puzzles sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Cipher sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Lone Star Puzzles ships an update every 6 weeks, Cipher every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lone Star Puzzles | Cipher |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexander Sehlke | Eldar Tutnjic |
In-app purchases
Lone Star Puzzles
- Pro+$0.991 Month
- Pro Upgrade$2.99
Cipher
- Cipher Pass Monthly$2.991 Month
- Cipher Pass Yearly$17.991 Year
- 50 Coins$0.99
- 120 Coins$1.99
- 300 Coins$3.99
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- Cipher Pass Lifetime$34.99









