Comparison

Synonymy Lite vs Puzzmo

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

Puzzmo

Discover a universe of daily puzzles with original games and modern classics. Enjoy word puzzles, strategy games, and crosswords with helpful hints. It's a free and engaging way to challenge your mind.

Highlights
  • Daily original puzzles
  • Classic puzzle games
  • Word puzzles
  • Strategy games
  • Crosswords with hints
  • Memory and matching games
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Hello! If you're reading this you either really love Puzzmo or you are somehow undecided about our app. Let's be clear: you should download the app. We made it for you and it's free and it's really good! What do you have to lose? Puzzmo is the center of the puzzle universe. You'll find fresh original games by brilliant designers like Zach Gage and new daily puzzles for modern classics like Cross|word, SpellTower, Flipart, Typeshift, Pile-Up Poker, Memoku, and more. You'll also find a little puzzle at the bottom of this AppStore description. Go on, scroll to the bottom. NEW: MEMOKU Inspired by the classic memory game, Memoku invites you to match pairs of numbers, but there's a twist – like Sudoku, no number can appear in the same row, column, or box twice. BONGO Bongo challenges you to build a better board out of twenty five tiles, often picked on a theme by Puzzmo's friends, community members, and celebrity guests. There’s always a better board. PILE-UP POKER Pile-Up Poker is a twist on traditional poker where players build rows and columns of poker hands. The objective is to create the highest overall score by adding cards one by one to the gird, making strategic decisions along the way. FLIPART Flipart is a modern twist on digital jigsaw puzzles. This free daily puzzle challenges you to rearrange Tetris-like shapes by tapping the pivot points so that none of the shapes overlap and they all fit within the border. Flipart puzzles are enjoyable for kids and adults alike! TYPESHIFT Typeshift is our free, daily captivating word puzzle game that challenges your vocabulary, spatial reasoning, and wit. Solve puzzles by shifting columns of letters like a combination lock to form words. Each puzzle is a fun brain-teaser chock full of both word search and strategy. CROSS|WORD Puzzmo crossword puzzles are for everyone. Some of the world’s top solvers compete daily for the fastest solve on Puzzmo, but that doesn’t mean we’re here to stump you. In fact if you’re new to crosswords or struggling complete a grid, we’re here to help. Only Puzzmo crosswords offer an optional, easier hint with every single clue. CUBECLEAR Cube Clear is a word puzzle game where players spell words in a grid whose letters then disappear. Longer words score higher points, and adjacent tiles disappear after use, causing remaining tiles to tumble to the bottom of the grid. With only 36 letters, the challenge of Cube Clear is two-fold. Can you clear the board, and in how few words? WORDBIND Wordbind is a directional anagram game that challenges you to discover new words hidden within the chosen words of the day. You can only key in letters from left to right, you’re allowed to skip letters, and you can use the same letter twice to find the perfect word. With each word you find, you rise the ranks on your way to Luminary status. REALLY BAD CHESS Aside from the small advantage white gains by making the first move, chess is a battle of wits between two competitors with the same pieces in the same positions. Puzzmo’s free daily Really Bad Chess game turns all of that “fairness” on its head. For example, you might have a huge material advantage with three queens while your computer opponent might have no queens and five rooks. The pieces may look random, but your advantage is carefully calculated! SPELLTOWER SpellTower is a two-dimensional grid of letters that looks like your typical word search puzzle. But unlike a traditional word search, you can change directions, cross your own path, go diagonal, and even spell backwards! This freedom of movement allows you to find more complex and challenging words, but this isn’t the only twist with SpellTower. As you use letters, they disappear from the grid, with the ultimate goal being a perfect, total clear of the entire board. You found it! If you can solve this classic riddle, enter the answer at puzzmo.com/code "Forward I’m heavy, backwards I’m not. What word am I?" Happy puzzling!

Screenshots

Synonymy Lite4 screens
Puzzmo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Synonymy Lite at 5.0 against Puzzmo's 3.7. Synonymy Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). Puzzmo's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (178 vs 7). On price, review sentiment and device support 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. Puzzmo sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Synonymy Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Synonymy Lite holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puzzmo has 178 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Synonymy Lite's written reviews are positive against 43% of Puzzmo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Synonymy Lite ships an update every 5 months, Puzzmo every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Synonymy Lite versus Puzzmo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSynonymy LitePuzzmo
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better3.7 (178 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better42.9% of reviews
Number of ratings7178 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#170 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS6.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB12 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCinq-Mars MediaPuzzmo Inc.

Customer experience

Synonymy Lite

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

Puzzmo

All ratings177 ratings
Positive65.0%
Neutral6.2%
Negative28.8%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral16.9%
Negative40.3%

Bugs and requests

Synonymy Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Puzzmo

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Crossword clues not locking in correctly
  • Transitions between games could be smoother

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to resume games from where left off
  • Numerical order for crossword clues
  • Remove subscription, keep account option

In-app purchases

None

Synonymy Lite

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Puzzmo

Subscriptions2
  • Puzzmo Plus (monthly)7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Puzzmo Plus1 Month trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Synonymy Lite free?
Synonymy Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Puzzmo free?
Puzzmo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Synonymy Lite or Puzzmo?
Synonymy Lite is rated higher. Synonymy Lite averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Puzzmo averages 3.7 from 178 ratings.
Do Synonymy Lite or Puzzmo have ads?
Puzzmo shows ads; Synonymy Lite does not.
Which is updated more often, Synonymy Lite or Puzzmo?
Synonymy Lite ships an update every 5 months, and Puzzmo every 2 weeks. Most recently, Synonymy Lite was updated on October 18, 2026 and Puzzmo on October 27, 2026.

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