Comparison

Crossword Puzzles! vs ChainMaker Game

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

Head to head
About

Crossword Puzzles!

Enjoy daily crossword puzzles with stunning travel destination backgrounds. Thousands of puzzles are available for all skill levels, with hints and solution checking. Unlock more content and features with an optional subscription.

Highlights
  • Daily new puzzles
  • Thousands of puzzles for all skill levels
  • Beautiful travel destination backgrounds
  • Hints and solution checking
  • Portrait and Landscape support
  • Unlimited hints with subscription
  • Access to full puzzle library with subscription
Features
Read full description

Take your passion for crosswords around the world with Crossword Puzzles! Crosswords set in the world's most beautiful places. Solve a free puzzle every day, collect stunning destinations as you play, and take on special Weekend Challenges. “This is the most beautiful crossword app I’ve ever seen!” A FREE PUZZLE EVERY DAY Play every daily puzzle in the current month for free, not just today's. Each month has its own calendar showing your stars, your streak and the stamps still to earn. COLLECT BREATHTAKING DESTINATIONS Dozens of high-resolution nature photographs from around the world fill your screen as you solve. Unlock new ones by playing, mark your favorites, and let your background change daily. NEW MINI PUZZLES EVERY MONTH A fresh set of 24 quick minis each month. Finish the set to earn a brand-new destination. WEEKEND CHALLENGES Special sets of puzzles every few weekends. Score points for solving on your own and solving fast, earn bronze, silver and gold medals, see where you rank on the leaderboard, and collect a souvenir pin for each one you complete. STAMPS, PINS AND BADGES Earn a bronze, silver and gold passport stamp each month, and dozens of badges for streaks, perfect solves and more. Keep your daily streak going with a streak freeze. THOUSANDS OF PUZZLES Puzzles for every skill level, from easy to challenging. Hints when you need them: reveal a letter, reveal a word, or check for mistakes. Plays beautifully on iPhone and iPad, in portrait or landscape on iPad. WANDERLUST PASS Subscribe for the full experience: • Every destination unlocked, plus new seasonal destinations every three months • Unlimited puzzles, including every past daily puzzle • Free hints • Free streak freezes • No ads The Wanderlust Pass is available as a 1-month, 3-month or 1-year subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://dexcheck.com/privacy

About

ChainMaker Game

This daily word puzzle challenges you to connect words by forming compound words. Start with one word and reach the target by creating a chain where the end of one word begins the next. It's a quick, engaging brain teaser with a new puzzle each day.

Highlights
  • Daily compound word puzzles
  • Chain-reaction word linking
  • Global leaderboards
  • Streak building
  • Unlockable achievements
  • Smart hints
  • Previous day puzzles
Features
Read full description

Chainmaker is the daily word puzzle that turns compound words into a chain-reaction brain teaser. Start with one word. Reach the target word. The catch: every link has to be a real compound word, where the end of one word becomes the start of the next. COWBOY → BOYFRIEND → FRIENDSHIP → SHIPYARD Simple to learn, tricky to master — and there's a brand-new puzzle every single day. WHY YOU'LL GET HOOKED • A new daily word puzzle — same puzzle for everyone, every day • Race the clock — your time is your score • Global leaderboards: daily, weekly, monthly, and all-time • Build a streak — come back every day and watch it grow • 20+ achievements to unlock, from Speed Demon to Iron Will • Stuck? Smart hints nudge you without giving it all away • Browse the previous 7 days and see a recommended solution for each • Great brain training for your daily coffee break or commute A PERFECT DAILY HABIT Chainmaker is a quick, satisfying word game you can finish in a couple of minutes — then challenge your friends to beat your time. If you love word games, word puzzles, brain teasers, vocabulary challenges, and daily word challenges, Chainmaker is your new everyday ritual. No clutter. No endless levels. Just one clever puzzle a day. Think you can forge the perfect chain? Play today's Chainmaker.

Screenshots

Crossword Puzzles!4 screens
ChainMaker Game4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChainMaker Game at none against Crossword Puzzles!'s 11. ChainMaker Game also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Crossword Puzzles!'s advantage is ratings volume (8.9K vs 7). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Crossword Puzzles! sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. ChainMaker Game asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ChainMaker Game holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crossword Puzzles! has 8.9K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Crossword Puzzles!'s written reviews are positive against 100% of ChainMaker Game's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Crossword Puzzles! ships an update every 2 months, ChainMaker Game weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Crossword Puzzles! versus ChainMaker Game: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrossword Puzzles!ChainMaker Game
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (8.9K ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.9K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size189 MB32 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDexCheck, LLCElement 115 Industries

Customer experience

Crossword Puzzles!

All ratings8,909 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral4.1%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews467 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral7.3%
Negative7.9%

ChainMaker Game

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Crossword Puzzles!

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Puzzle download failures
  • Incorrect letter input
  • Puzzle progress not saving
  • Ads getting stuck and preventing gameplay

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to remove ads
  • More free puzzles or ways to earn tickets
  • Improved navigation and cursor control
  • Option to choose background/color scheme
  • Ability to access past puzzles
Show 1 more
  • Inclusion of more British/European vocabulary

ChainMaker Game

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Crossword Puzzles!

Subscriptions1
  • Wanderlust Pass (1 Month)$5.991 Month
One-time10
  • Pack of 200 Tickets$0.99
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$0.99
  • Tickets - Tier 1$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$1.99
  • Pack of 100 Tickets$2.99
  • Tickets - Tier 2$2.99
  • Tickets - Tier 3$4.99
  • Pack of 500 Tickets$11.99
  • Pack of 1250 Tickets$23.99
  • First Class Ticket: Unlimited$99.99
None

ChainMaker Game

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Crossword Puzzles! free?
Crossword Puzzles! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChainMaker Game free?
ChainMaker Game is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Crossword Puzzles! or ChainMaker Game?
ChainMaker Game is rated higher. Crossword Puzzles! averages 4.7 out of 5 from 8.9K ratings, while ChainMaker Game averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Crossword Puzzles! or ChainMaker Game have ads?
Both Crossword Puzzles! and ChainMaker Game show ads.
Which is updated more often, Crossword Puzzles! or ChainMaker Game?
Crossword Puzzles! ships an update every 2 months, and ChainMaker Game weekly. Most recently, Crossword Puzzles! was updated on November 3, 2026 and ChainMaker Game on October 31, 2026.

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