Euclidea vs Cracking the Cryptic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Euclidea
Engage in geometric construction puzzles based on Euclidean principles. Solve increasingly difficult challenges using innovative tools, with options to explore, get hints, and compete with friends. Unlock new levels by earning stars or purchase an in-app item to remove restrictions.
- 156 geometric puzzle levels
- 10 innovative construction tools
- Explore mode with hints
- Dynamic drag, zoom, and pan interface
- Game Center competition
- Unlockable tools and shortcuts
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Euclidea is geometrical puzzles based on classical Euclidian constructions. > 156 Levels: from very easy to really hard > 10 Innovative Tools > "Explore" Mode and Hints > Easily Drag, Zoom & Pan > Compete with Friends via the Game Center > No Advertising! New levels are unlocked as you solve the previous ones. You can complete the whole game only if you earn all the stars (L, E, and V). But you can buy an IAP that removes this restriction. Find more useful hints on Euclidea on our site: https://www.euclidea.xyz/faq. “Euclidea has been shown to help with imagination, intuition, and logic, all wonderful skills to develop.” – appPicker “Euclidea is an absolute joy to play…it’s a game that every math student should have and, in an ideal world, every adult should like.” – Non-Trivial Games ***About Euclidea*** Euclidea is a brilliantly original way to learn about, explore and have fun with Euclidian Constructions! Your task is to solve interesting challenges by building geometric constructions with a straightedge and compass. If you design the most elegantly simple solutions in the least number of moves, you’ll earn the highest scores. Solutions are scored in lines (L) and elementary Euclidean constructions (E). ***Start Simple and Get Smarter!*** Don’t worry if you aren’t a math wizard. Euclidea starts out with simple challenges that guide you through the basics. Once you master the fundamentals, you’ll move on to tougher, more mind-bending challenges such as inner/outer tangents, regular polygons, and more. There are 120 unique challenges in total, which are organized in packs for simpler navigation. ***Add Constructions to Your Interface*** When you learn certain significant constructions – such as angle bisectors, non-collapsing compass, and so on – they are automatically added to the Euclidea interface’s shortcut, which helps you save time and allows you to create clean, uncluttered drawings. ***Easily Drag, Pan & Zoom*** Euclidea-created constructions are completely dynamic. As such, you can drag to adjust angles, lines, radii and so on. You can also easily zoom and pan. This not only makes the experience more interactive, but it allows you to more deeply grasp the relationships between geometric elements, explore various possibilities, and analyze errors. ***Instant, Automatic Precision*** Don’t worry about spending time or effort trying to achieve perfect precision, because Euclidea automatically handles that task by pinning points, lines and circles to the app’s clean interface. ***Compete with Friends*** Who said that math isn’t a competitive sport? Challenge your friends to see who can come up with the most elegant solutions, and track your achievements and rankings via the Game Center. ***Additional Special Features*** > A helpful “Explore” mode that allows you to see the figure you need to construct > An inventory of tools that you create as you progress – you’ll need these to solve future challenges > Some challenges can be solved in more than one way, which means you can try a different approach and have even more fun ***Questions? Comments? Send in your inquiries and stay up-to-date on the latest Euclidea news at https://www.euclidea.xyz/
Cracking the Cryptic
This app offers a curated collection of handcrafted Sudoku puzzles from world-renowned constructors. Explore classic and unique variants, with new puzzle packs released regularly. A free introductory pack is included with download.
- Handcrafted Sudoku puzzles
- Curated by expert constructors
- Classic and unique variants
- Regularly released puzzle packs
- Free introductory puzzle pack
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OUR NEWEST PACK – CLASSIC VOLUME #2! Classic sudoku is where it all began, and there is still lots of skill to be deployed to solve classic puzzles, and new techniques to be explored. Nikoli, the Japanese puzzle house, named and popularised sudoku from 1984, and we have commissioned 20 puzzles from them for this Classic Sudoku 2 app. We have also created 20 ourselves, and sourced 20 more from Sam Cappleman-Lynes, the brilliant British sudoku expert. The result is a wonderful 60-puzzle pack which will delight and challenge you. -------------------- Welcome to the brand new Sudoku app from the most popular Sudoku channel, Cracking The Cryptic. Unlike other Sudoku apps, we feature handcrafted and curated puzzles from the world’s best Sudoku constructors. Each collection features puzzles made by various authors that are now familiar names to those who follow the channel. Authors like Phistomefel, Clover, Sam Cappleman-Lynes, Christoph Seeliger, Richard Stolk, jovi_al, Qodec, Prasanna Seshadri and of course, Simon and Mark! Downloading Cracking the Cryptic will give you access to our first free collection – a variety pack by Prasanna Seshadri featuring 7 puzzles inspired from our previous Sudoku apps; Sandwich, Classic, Chess, Thermo, Miracle, Killer and Arrow Sudoku. We also have purchasable packs designed for all skill levels and featuring many unique variants not seen previously. We’ll be releasing more free and paid packs in the future so keep an eye on the app for more Sudoku content from Cracking The Cryptic!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Euclidea at 4.8 against Cracking the Cryptic's 4.4. Euclidea also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 72%) and ratings volume (931 vs 208). Cracking the Cryptic's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads, 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. Euclidea sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Cracking the Cryptic sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Euclidea holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 931 and 208 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Euclidea's written reviews are positive against 72% of Cracking the Cryptic's.
Euclidea ships an update every 3 months, Cracking the Cryptic every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Euclidea | Cracking the Cryptic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (931 ratings) — better | 4.4 (208 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.4% of reviews — better | 72.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 931 — better | 208 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 223 MB | 234 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HORIS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED | Nick Carney |
Customer experience
Euclidea
Cracking the Cryptic
User reviews
Euclidea
From 931 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent interface
- 🚀 Smooth controls
- 👍 Challenging and engaging puzzles
- 👍 Helps learn and improve geometry skills
- 👍 No ads or in-app purchases
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes on launch for some users
- 🐛 Circle tool not snapping to points properly
- 🐛 Solutions not always accepted even when correct
- 🔒 Locked levels require in-app purchases to access
Cracking the Cryptic
From 208 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Best sudoku app
- 👍 Great variety of puzzles
- 👍 Excellent user interface
- 👍 Challenging and fun puzzles
- 👍 Constant updates with new puzzles
Room to improve
- 🐛 Hints are often incorrect or unhelpful
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes, especially after updates
- 🔋 Battery draining issues
- 🔒 Too many in-app purchases required to access content
Bugs and requests
Euclidea
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashing on launch
- Circle tool not snapping to points
- Solutions not being accepted correctly
Requested features
5 requests- Offline mode support
- Ability to mark points on free draw
- Protractor feature
- More supplemental educational content
- Ability to see when multiple solutions exist
Cracking the Cryptic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Puzzle progress and purchases disappearing after updates
- Incorrect rules or hints in certain puzzles
- Crashes and freezes, especially on older devices or Macs
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between portrait and landscape modes
Requested features
5 requests- Add more color options for pencil marking and highlighting
- Implement a way to clear progress or start puzzles from scratch
- Integrate all CTC apps into a single app for better organization
- Add keyboard support, especially on Mac
- Improve the quality and clarity of hints
In-app purchases
Euclidea
- Unlock the Rest Levels$0.99
- Unlock the Rest Hints$0.99
- Thanks to developers$0.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Night Mode$0.99
- Many thanks to developers$4.99
- Many, many thanks to developers$49.99
Cracking the Cryptic
- CTC Worms - James Sinclair$0.99
- CTC Worms - Marty Sears$0.99
- CTC Worms - Zetamath$1.99
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- CTC Worms - Blobz$1.99
- CTC Worms - Michael Lefkowitz$1.99
- CTC Worms - Phistomefel$1.99
- GAS Volume #1$2.99
- GAS Volume #2$2.99
- CTC Approachable Sudoku #1$2.99
- Domino Sudoku Pack$4.99
- Lines Variety Pack$4.99
- Classic Volume #2$4.99
- CTC Fog Pack #1$4.99
Questions
Is Euclidea free?
Is Cracking the Cryptic free?
Which has better reviews, Euclidea or Cracking the Cryptic?
Do Euclidea or Cracking the Cryptic have ads?
Which is updated more often, Euclidea or Cracking the Cryptic?
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