Comparison

Synonymy Lite vs Three Magic Words

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

Head to head
About

Synonymy Lite

This educational word game challenges you to find a path between random words by navigating through their synonyms. It features narration by Richard Dawkins and a unique word network visualization. The lite version offers an ad-free experience with some restrictions.

Highlights
  • Synonym pathfinding gameplay
  • Narration by Richard Dawkins
  • Word network visualization
  • Ad-free experience
  • Charitable donations
Features
Read full description

Synonymy is a non-profit, educational word game narrated by Richard Dawkins that challenges players to find a path between random words through their network of synonyms. By taking the synonym of a word, and then a synonym of that synonym, and so on, you can ultimately arrive at any other word in the English language. Version 3.0 has been rebuilt behind the scenes to make the game easier and more fun without sacrificing the spirit of the game. The lite version now has no external ads, just a pop-up prompt to buy the full version. Website: www.synonymy-game.com ————————————————— Try the game Stephen Fry and Steven Pinker are tweeting about! A lite version of the game with ads and restrictions on multiplayer and difficulty settings. The Full Game supports unrestricted multiplayer, and weekly challenges in which users can compete globally on set start and end words. Every time a path is uncovered by a user, it is tweeted from @synonymywords and posted to our Facebook page. Synonymy is the first game by filmmaker Christopher Cinq-Mars Jarvis and is narrated by world-renowned author and biologist, Richard Dawkins. All profits go to various charitable, education-based foundations. ** Works best using iPhone 5/iPad 2 or later and iOS8 or later. Requires iOS7 or later. The game seems to work on older devices but performance might suffer. Please address any concerns to www.synonymy-game.com/#contact A visualization of the game's network can be seen here -- http://www.gigapan.com/gigapans/159329 -- In order to compute relative distance, all synonyms were mapped using 3d graphing software, as if each word were a planet that had a gravitational pull proportional to its number of relationships to other nodes. Above is a 2D representation of that model, a 40,000 x 40,000 image.

About

Three Magic Words

This word game challenges players to complete three five-letter words using available letter tiles. Solve all words to advance, collect stars by getting the right letter before time runs out, and win by collecting nine stars. Difficulty can be adjusted with clues, and friends can be challenged via text, email, or social media.

Highlights
  • Complete three five-letter words
  • Test logic and language skills
  • Collect stars to advance
  • Adjust difficulty with clues
  • Challenge friends
  • Timed rounds
Features
Read full description

A word game for people who love word games. Much more than a word jumble, in each round of Three Magic Words you are challenged to complete three five-letter words with the available tiles in a test of logic and language skills. Solve all three words to advance to the next round. Get the right letter on a star before time runs out to collect it — increasing the difficulty of the next round. Collect nine stars to win! Challenge friends via text message, email, or social media. Having trouble? Adjust the difficulty by giving yourself more clues!

Screenshots

Synonymy Lite4 screens
Three Magic Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

Synonymy Lite and Three Magic Words both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Three Magic Words's written reviews are positive against 50% of Synonymy Lite's. Three Magic Words also leads on ratings volume (85 vs 7). Synonymy Lite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Three Magic Words sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Synonymy Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Synonymy Lite against 4.9 for Three Magic Words. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Three Magic Words has 85 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 50% of Synonymy Lite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Three Magic Words's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Synonymy Lite ships an update every 5 months, Three Magic Words every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Synonymy Lite versus Three Magic Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSynonymy LiteThree Magic Words
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better4.9 (85 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings785 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS6.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCinq-Mars MediaNathan Lamont

Customer experience

Synonymy Lite

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative43.8%

Three Magic Words

All ratings85 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Synonymy Lite

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Three Magic Words

One-time1
  • Full 3.7K+ Word Pack$3.99

Questions

Is Synonymy Lite free?
Synonymy Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Three Magic Words free?
Three Magic Words is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Synonymy Lite or Three Magic Words?
Synonymy Lite is rated higher. Synonymy Lite averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Three Magic Words averages 4.9 from 85 ratings.
Do Synonymy Lite or Three Magic Words have ads?
Neither Synonymy Lite nor Three Magic Words shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Synonymy Lite or Three Magic Words?
Synonymy Lite ships an update every 5 months, and Three Magic Words every 4 months. Most recently, Synonymy Lite was updated on November 5, 2026 and Three Magic Words on November 7, 2026.

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