Cryptogram Tale vs Scioly Codebusters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cryptogram Tale
Decode encrypted messages to reveal hidden stories. This word puzzle game challenges you to break codes by substituting letters, offering hundreds of tales and thousands of cryptograms to solve. Customize your experience with various fonts and color schemes, and use hints when needed.
- Hundreds of tales
- Thousands of cryptograms
- Dozens of fonts
- Different color schemes
- In-game hints
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Break the code and unravel the story! Can you decode all of the passages and discover the story within? Challenge yourself with this puzzle word game! A Cryptogram is a message encoded by switching the actual letters with different letters. • Hundreds of Tales! • Thousands of Cryptograms! • Dozens of Fonts! • Different color schemes! • Hints for when you're stuck!
Scioly Codebusters
Practice codebreaking with a vast collection of quotes covering Aristocrats, Patristocrats, and Xenocrypts. Offers assisted modes with hints for beginners and manual modes for advanced users. Includes a dictionary to learn common word patterns and accelerate cipher-solving skills.
- Practice Aristocrats, Patristocrats, Xenocrypts
- Over a thousand quotes
- Assisted mode with hints
- Manual mode for challenges
- Unique dictionary feature
- Learn common word patterns
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Scioly Codebusters is the ultimate codebusters prep app! Practice with over a thousand different quotes with Aristocrats, Patristocrats, and Xenocrypts so you can level up your codebusting skills! For hobbyists and beginners, enjoy the assisted mode and hints to help you solve each cipher. If you are a science olympiad student or looking for a challenge, check out the manual mode, removing many helpful features like the autofill! Finally, we have a unique dictionary feature that teaches you common word patterns to accelerate your progress. This is the best way to learn and practice the 3 biggest ciphers in Scioly Codebusters! We are always accepting suggestions :) Developed by Suvan & Manoj. **WE ARE NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE OFFICIAL SCIENCE OLYMPIAD ORGANIZATION IN ANY WAY**
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scioly Codebusters at none against Cryptogram Tale's 3. Scioly Codebusters also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Cryptogram Tale's advantage is ratings volume (1.6K vs 17). On price, rating 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
Both are free to download. Cryptogram Tale sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Scioly Codebusters asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Cryptogram Tale against 4.6 for Scioly Codebusters. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cryptogram Tale has 1.6K ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Cryptogram Tale's written reviews are positive against 86% of Scioly Codebusters's.
Cryptogram Tale ships an update every 3 months, Scioly Codebusters weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cryptogram Tale | Scioly Codebusters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.6K ratings) — better | 4.6 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.5% of reviews | 85.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 160 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | GammaLateral LLC | Rohit Kumar |
Customer experience
Cryptogram Tale
Scioly Codebusters
Bugs and requests
Cryptogram Tale
Reported bugs
3 issues- Progress getting deleted
- Ads not loading properly
- Keyboard not opening automatically
Requested features
6 requests- More modern and diverse stories
- Ability to choose story titles
- Cursor that skips to next blank space
- Undo button
- Trigger warnings for dark/disturbing content
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- More classical music options
Scioly Codebusters
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Cryptogram Tale
- Get 30 Hints$0.99
- Get 70 Hints$1.99
- Remove Ads$9.99
Scioly Codebusters
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cryptogram Tale free?
Is Scioly Codebusters free?
Which has better reviews, Cryptogram Tale or Scioly Codebusters?
Do Cryptogram Tale or Scioly Codebusters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cryptogram Tale or Scioly Codebusters?
Other comparisons
