Synonymy Lite vs Three Magic Words
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Synonym pathfinding gameplay
- Narration by Richard Dawkins
- Word network visualization
- Ad-free experience
- Charitable donations
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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.
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.
- Complete three five-letter words
- Test logic and language skills
- Collect stars to advance
- Adjust difficulty with clues
- Challenge friends
- Timed rounds
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Three Magic Words sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Synonymy Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Synonymy Lite | Three Magic Words |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | 4.9 (85 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 85 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cinq-Mars Media | Nathan Lamont |
Customer experience
Synonymy Lite
Three Magic Words
In-app purchases
Synonymy Lite
No in-app purchases
Three Magic Words
- Full 3.7K+ Word Pack$3.99
Questions
Is Synonymy Lite free?
Is Three Magic Words free?
Which has better reviews, Synonymy Lite or Three Magic Words?
Do Synonymy Lite or Three Magic Words have ads?
Which is updated more often, Synonymy Lite or Three Magic Words?
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