Comparison

Phantom Words vs Villain!

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

Head to head
About

Phantom Words

Unscramble letters by sliding rows and columns to form words. Discover hidden letters as you play, with increasing complexity and new mechanics introduced. Offers multiple game modes for varied challenges.

Highlights
  • Sliding row and column puzzles
  • Hidden letter discovery
  • Progressive difficulty
  • Multiple game modes (Classic, Endless, Daily, Lightning)
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Game Center leaderboards
Features
Read full description

We made Phantom Words for anyone who loves that small, satisfying moment when a jumble of letters suddenly turns into a word. Each board begins scrambled, with most of the letters hidden behind ghost tiles. Slide rows and columns like a 2D Rubik’s Cube, then look for words running across or down the board. Whenever you make one using a tile for the first time, another letter appears. Once every tile is used, the puzzle is complete. Longer words are worth more, while tiles lose value each time you use them. Yellow means a tile is nearly spent; red means you’ve leaned on it too often. Later boards introduce gaps that split rows and columns, multi-letter tiles that keep their letters together, wildcards that can stand in for any letter, and locked tiles that stay fixed until you use them in a word. And if a solution feels messy, you can always come back and find a more elegant one. There are four ways to play: • Classic has 99 handmade levels with increasing difficulty and evolving mechanics. • Endless starts small and procedurally grows while you play. • Daily Challenge gives everyone a new board each day, plus a streak to keep going. • Lightning Mode is the same word hunting, but against the clock. Classic, Endless, and Daily Challenge aren’t timed, so there’s no rush. You get a full score breakdown after each level and can replay it whenever you want. Your progress and settings sync across your devices with iCloud. There are also Game Center leaderboards if you care about high scores. We hope you enjoy discovering the words we’ve hidden for you.

About

Villain!

Engage in a theatre-themed logic puzzle game where you manage actor personalities, wishes, and fears. Rearrange the cast, costumes, and story elements to create a performance that satisfies everyone involved.

Highlights
  • Theatre-themed logic puzzles
  • Rearrange modular stories
  • Discover actor preferences
  • Strategic puzzle choices
  • Create unique performances
Features
Read full description

A Story You Control Villain! is a theatre-themed logic puzzle game where every actor has their own personality, wishes, and fears. Rearrange the cast to create a performance that works for everyone. Give Every Actor Their Perfect Role Match each actor with the role they want, the partner they prefer, and the situations they feel comfortable with. Change costumes, rearrange the cast, and reshape the story to keep everyone happy. Features Solve clever theatre-themed logic puzzles. Rearrange modular stories to create different performances and outcomes. Discover each actor’s preferences, ambitions, and fears. Make strategic choices as puzzles become increasingly challenging. Create unique performances every time you play. Can you create the perfect show?

Screenshots

Phantom Words4 screens
Villain!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Villain! at Free against Phantom Words's $2.99. Villain! also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3). Phantom Words's advantage is chart position (#14 vs unranked). On rating, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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

Villain! is free to download; Phantom Words costs $2.99 up front. Phantom Words sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Villain! asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Phantom Words against 4.7 for Villain!. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 18 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Phantom Words versus Villain!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhantom WordsVillain!
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (22 ratings) — better4.7 (18 ratings)
Positive reviews93.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better18
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB532 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperFleon LabsTriomatica Games

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Phantom Words

One-time3
  • Kind Supporter$2.49
  • Generous Supporter$4.99
  • Huge Supporter$9.99
None

Villain!

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phantom Words free?
Phantom Words costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Villain! free?
Villain! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phantom Words or Villain!?
Phantom Words is rated higher. Phantom Words averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Villain! averages 4.7 from 18 ratings.
Do Phantom Words or Villain! have ads?
Neither Phantom Words nor Villain! shows ads.

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