Comparison

Cryptogram Tale vs Words & Books

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of tales
  • Thousands of cryptograms
  • Dozens of fonts
  • Different color schemes
  • In-game hints
Features
Read full description

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!

About

Words & Books

Engage your mind with a unique blend of word puzzles, cryptograms, and logic challenges. Decode famous quotes, expand your vocabulary, and enjoy an uninterrupted, educational gaming experience suitable for all ages.

Highlights
  • Decode famous quotes
  • Cryptogram challenges
  • Logic puzzles
  • Vocabulary enrichment
  • Intuitive gameplay
  • Varied difficulty levels
Features
Read full description

Welcome to a world of word games where decoding meets conquest! This game is designed to challenge and entertain you with a unique blend of word puzzles, cryptograms, and logic games that ignite your mind and test your deduction skills. Perfectly crafted for word game enthusiasts, this experience combines the fun of word puzzles with the intrigue of cryptograms, creating a delightful brain-teasing adventure suitable for all ages. Immerse yourself in a game filled with fascinating quotes and endless word puzzles. Each level offers a fresh challenge, from simple word scrambles to complex cryptograms that will keep you engaged for hours. The intuitive gameplay ensures that both beginners and seasoned players can enjoy and find their perfect challenge level. As you advance, you’ll encounter a variety of quotes, from historical facts to inspirational proverbs and sayings by famous figures, enriching your vocabulary and broadening your knowledge. The game is meticulously designed to provide a distraction-free environment, allowing you to focus on solving word puzzles without any interruptions. The hand-curated quotes are carefully validated to be error-free, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience. With no typos, ads, or distractions, you can fully immerse yourself in the puzzle-solving fun. The game also features educational elements, blending word puzzles, cryptograms, and word games seamlessly. As you decode and advance through varying difficulty levels, you’ll unlock new knowledge and enrich your understanding of different topics. The game is designed to entertain and educate, making it a perfect choice for those who love word games and enjoy the challenge of guessing words. FEATURES: Enrich Vocabulary: Decode numerous words based on provided clues. Activate Thinking: Numerous levels with unique word codes to decipher will keep your mind agile. Intuitive Gameplay: Suitable for beginners and experienced players with varied difficulty levels. Diverse Difficulties: Multiple levels of difficulty from easy to complex. Inspirational Hints: Letter hints assist in solving challenging word puzzles. Embark on this unique word game adventure and discover as many quotes as possible across different categories. Whether you are a casual gamer or a word puzzle expert, this game offers an immersive and challenging experience that will keep you entertained and intellectually stimulated.

Screenshots

Cryptogram Tale4 screens
Words & Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Words & Books at none against Cryptogram Tale's shown. Words & Books also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.1). Cryptogram Tale's advantage is review sentiment (72% vs 40%) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 381). On price, rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Cryptogram Tale sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Words & Books sells 18 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Cryptogram Tale against 4.7 for Words & Books. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.6K and 381 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 72% of Cryptogram Tale's written reviews are positive against 40% of Words & Books's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cryptogram Tale ships an update every 3 months, Words & Books every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Cryptogram Tale versus Words & Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCryptogram TaleWords & Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.6K ratings)4.7 (381 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.5% of reviews — better40.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K — better381
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size160 MB303 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGammaLateral LLCMatryoshka Games (CY) LTD

Customer experience

Cryptogram Tale

All ratings1,591 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews138 reviews
Positive72.5%
Neutral8.7%
Negative18.8%

Words & Books

All ratings359 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative50.0%

User reviews

Cryptogram Tale

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Hundreds of cryptograms
  • 📚 Interesting stories and literature
  • 👍 No ads unless you want a hint
  • 💡 Hints available by watching ads
  • 🔒 No glitches or annoying ads

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Difficulty level not always clear
  • 🔍 Capitalized words revealed after first letter
  • 🔍 Some stories not well-suited for cryptograms
  • 🔍 Ads can't always be closed

Words & Books

From 381 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good game
  • 👍 Excellent game to keep mind sharp
  • 👍 Definitely challenging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Too many ads
  • 🐛 Janky typing interface causes errors
  • 🐛 Numbers are hard to see

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
Show 1 more
  • More classical music options

Words & Books

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Ad-free version still has ads
  • No response from support

Requested features

2 requests
  • Add French language support
  • Auto-populate letter/number combinations

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cryptogram Tale

One-time3
  • Get 30 Hints$0.99
  • Get 70 Hints$1.99
  • Remove Ads$9.99
18 purchases

Words & Books

One-time18
  • NoAds Pack!$0.99
  • Bundle Pack$0.99
  • Bundle Pack$1.99
Show 15 more
  • NoAds Pack!$1.99
  • Your Offer!$1.99
  • Your Offer!$2.99
  • Bundle Pack$4.99
  • NoAds Pack!$4.99
  • Your Offer!$4.99
  • Your Offer!$6.99
  • NoAds Pack!$9.99
  • Your Offer!$9.99
  • Bundle Pack$9.99
  • Your Offer!$14.99
  • Your Offer!$19.99
  • Bundle Pack$19.99
  • Bundle Pack$39.99
  • Bundle Pack$79.99

Questions

Is Cryptogram Tale free?
Cryptogram Tale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Words & Books free?
Words & Books is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cryptogram Tale or Words & Books?
Words & Books is rated higher. Cryptogram Tale averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Words & Books averages 4.7 from 381 ratings.
Do Cryptogram Tale or Words & Books have ads?
Cryptogram Tale shows ads; Words & Books does not.
Which is updated more often, Cryptogram Tale or Words & Books?
Cryptogram Tale ships an update every 3 months, and Words & Books every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cryptogram Tale was updated on October 29, 2026 and Words & Books on October 30, 2026.

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