Cross Boss vs Crossly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cross Boss
This app transforms traditional crosswords into a competitive two-player word game. It adds tactical elements to the familiar crossword format, allowing you to challenge friends or random opponents. Enjoy a vast library of puzzles and engage with opponents through chat.
- Two-player competitive word game
- Tactical game elements
- Challenge friends or random opponents
- Play over the net or locally
- In-game chat
- Over 200 high-quality crosswords
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Cross Boss – transforms regular crosswords into an exciting word game! The game is based on the crosswords we all know and love. However, we’ve spiced them up with a whole new set of tactical game ingredients, which make Cross Boss a competitive social game for two. Trying it out is a no-brainer for all word gamers and crossword solvers! With Cross Boss in your iPhone you can: * Challenge friends or try your luck against random opponents. * Play over the net or use the same mobile for both players. * Encourage or trash talk your opponent in the chat. * Enjoy over 200 high quality crosswords, created by the best specifically for Cross Boss. * Delight in the spectacular savings of downloading and playing for free. * Liberally share the fun with your friends via Facebook or email. Now show the world who is the boss! Download and challenge someone already today!
Crossly
Engage in a strategic word game with friends, blending classic crosswords with competitive play. Earn points for correct answers, hinder opponents, and enjoy endless unique puzzles with interactive features like stealing turns and revealing letters.
- Endless unique crossword puzzles
- Steal turns and send taunts
- Peek at letters for difficult clues
- Pencil in and change answers
- Offline saving of penciled words
- Premium mode with bonus peeks and themes
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Challenge your friends in the fun strategic word game that combines classic crosswords with the spirit of friendly competition! In Crossly™, two players take turns filling out the board, accumulating points for each correct clue by gaining a point for each letter in the clue and subtracting a point from their opponent for any of their intersecting answers. Clean design, fluid animations and playful messaging work together to make this the best crosswords experience in the App Store. Features: - Endless Gameplay: Crossly pulls from tens of thousands of clues to generate unique crossword puzzles on the fly for optimal replay value. No two boards are ever alike! - Steal & Taunt: When you or your opponent miss a word, the other player may choose to steal for an extra turn and send a friendly taunt using animated GIFs powered by GIPHY - Peeks: For hard-to-guess clues, you may use one Peek per turn to reveal a letter of your choice. That letter is only visible to the player who initiates the Peek. Bonus Peeks are awarded for completing games and Peek Packs may be acquired via In-App Purchase. - Penciling: Penciling allows you to work on the board at any time, changing answers and adjusting your strategy as more words are completed. All penciled words are saved, even when your network connection is offline. - Premium Mode: Play unlimited games for free, or unlock Premium Mode for 15 bonus Peeks and colorful themes. Show your love by choosing your own price to upgrade!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Crossly at 5.0 against Cross Boss's 4.2. Crossly also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (10 vs 15.6). Cross Boss's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 51%) and ratings volume (59 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Cross Boss sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Crossly sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Crossly holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cross Boss has 59 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Cross Boss's written reviews are positive against 51% of Crossly's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Cross Boss ships an update every 3 months, Crossly every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cross Boss | Crossly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (59 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.6% of reviews — better | 50.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 59 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 10 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 71 MB | 30 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KEP Games | Mercury Intermedia, Inc. |
Customer experience
Cross Boss
Crossly
Bugs and requests
Cross Boss
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Crossly
Reported bugs
16 issues- App crashes frequently
- App won't load / spins forever
- Games disappear or are lost
- Notifications are broken / badge issues
- Rematch issues (wrong person)
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- Board/clues mixed up or incorrect
- Games don't update automatically
- Inability to start games with friends
- In-game errors and glitches
- Crashing on launch
- Games stuck in 'waiting for their move' list
- Inconsistent turn notifications
- Cannot decline rematches
- Cannot end games without resigning
- Clues are sometimes backwards
- Words run into each other
Requested features
13 requests- iPad support
- UK version of the game
- Difficulty levels
- Chat feature
- Facebook integration
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- User-selectable usernames
- Stats page (wins/losses)
- Themes for puzzles
- Time limits for turns
- Ability to decline invitations
- Reminder for opponent's turn
- More American puzzle makers/content
- Color customization options
In-app purchases
Cross Boss
- Statistics$1.99
- No ads for six months$2.99
Crossly
- "Meh" Premium Upgrade$0.99
- Peek Pack - 5 Peeks$0.99
- "It's Cool" Premium Upgrade$1.99
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- Peek Pack - 15 Peeks$1.99
- "LOVE" Premium Upgrade$2.99
- Peek Pack - 25 Peeks$2.99
- Peek Pack - 100 Peeks$4.99









