Comparison

Crosswords vs Rithmo

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

Head to head
About

Crosswords

Enjoy daily crossword puzzles from various newspapers and sources, with features like hints, clue lookups, and progress tracking. Upgrade for automatic puzzle downloads and access to an extensive library of challenging crosswords.

Highlights
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Hints and clue lookups
  • Progress tracking
  • US and UK Cryptic puzzles
  • Automatic background downloads
  • Extensive puzzle sources
Features
Read full description

"… the definitive source for puzzles for iOS…" -- the New York Times Play the Award Winning Crosswords on your iPad or iPhone, optimized for iOS 27! Each day many newspapers provide their crossword puzzles online; wake up each day to new puzzles, solve them, get hints, view clues, and track how quickly you're improving! • Touch and hold a square to view hints • US and UK Cryptic puzzles available • Hints, Websites, and Clue lookups • Enter answers in 'ink' or 'pencil' • Quickly see your recently played, or sort by date, difficulty or source • Detailed info on each puzzle • Post your solve times online and compare with other solvers After upgrading, you can also: • Automatically get new puzzles every day • Access nearly unlimited puzzles from many different sources • Grab older puzzles with a tap • Download new puzzles automatically in the background Upgraded Puzzle Sources: • Brendan Emmett Quigley's Weekly Puzzle • Inkwell Crossword (Archives only) • Village Voice (Archives only) • Chronicle of Higher Education (Archives only) • King Features Crosswords (Joseph, Sheffer, and Premier) • People Magazine (Archives only) • Newsday (Archives only) • Andy Kravis, Cruciverbist at Law • Glutton for Pun • MacNamara’s Band • Murchie’s Monday Fills • Neville Fogarty • Puzzle Express • The Stickler Weekly • World of Crosswords Premium Crosswords subscription required: • Matt Gaffney’s Crossword Contest • American Values Crossword • Crooked Crosswords Providers list subject to change. •• For support, please visit our website at http://www.standalone.com •• Privacy Policy: https://www.standalone.com/legal/ EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Rithmo

Features
Read full description

Rithmo brings back rithmomachia, the legendary "Philosophers' Game": a strategy duel born in 10th-century monasteries, where pieces are captured by the power of numbers. Evens on one side, odds on the other. Every piece carries a number; to capture, line up an equality, a sum, a product… or trap your opponent in an arithmetic, geometric or harmonic progression. Easy to learn, dizzying to master: rithmomachia fascinated mathematicians and philosophers for seven centuries, and was long considered the great rival of chess. PLAY YOUR WAY • Solo against the AI, two levels (800 and 1200) • Two players on the same device • Online with friends: turn-based games, get notified when it's your move • Blind matchmaking with Elo rating • One-tap rematch at the end of every game LEARN AS YOU PLAY • Guided tutorial: eight progressive exercises to master every type of capture • Complete illustrated rules, available even mid-game • Visual move hints (can be turned off) • Simple mode to get started, expert mode to control everything: victory conditions, allowed captures BUILT FOR MOBILE • Smooth 3D board, optional 2D view • Replay every move of a game at any time • Elo history and tracking of your ongoing games • English and French • No ads Born a thousand years ago to teach Boethius's arithmetic, codified in print in the 16th century, rithmomachia deserved to live again. Now it fits in your pocket. Your move.

Screenshots

Crosswords4 screens
Rithmo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rithmo at none against Crosswords's 10. Rithmo also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). 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. Crosswords sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Rithmo asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crosswords ships an update every 3 days, Rithmo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Crosswords versus Rithmo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrosswordsRithmo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (579 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews29.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings579 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStand Alone, Inc.rithmo.app

Bugs and requests

Crosswords

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Puzzle grid freezing or displaying blank
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between apps
  • Inability to access or download certain puzzle sources

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to delete puzzles
  • Comprehensive error checking and feedback
  • Customizable keyboard and gestures

Rithmo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Crosswords

One-time10
  • Dell Crosswords$1.99
  • Edited by Ben Tausig, Vol. 1$1.99
  • Ridonkulous Crosswords$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Brendan Emmett Quigley's Faves #1$2.99
  • Jonesin' Crosswords$2.99
  • Edited By Tausig 2$2.99
  • Brendan Emmett Quigley Freestyle$2.99
  • Crosswords Pro (Upgrade)$3.99
  • Crossword Nation's Centennial Edition$7.99
  • Crosswords Pro$9.99
None

Rithmo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crosswords free?
Crosswords is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rithmo free?
Rithmo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Crosswords or Rithmo have ads?
Neither Crosswords nor Rithmo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Crosswords or Rithmo?
Crosswords ships an update every 3 days, and Rithmo every 5 days. Most recently, Crosswords was updated on November 1, 2026 and Rithmo on October 28, 2026.

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