There are tons of crossword apps on the internet, and not all of them are as good as they claim to be. So, I have created this list of my personal favorite crossword apps that have become my go-to companions for expanding my word power and having a great time.
It is exciting to learn new words every now and then. Especially when you are watching your favorite Netflix show, and you are curious as to what some of these words mean. In this blog post, some of the apps have exclusively captured my attention over the years and made learning new words an enjoyable adventure.
Now, we will be learning about these apps and everything you need to know about them. The best aspect here is that you can download it for free on your smartphone and enjoy your time playing and learning at the same time.
Let’s get on with it and learn more about what these crossword apps are and the benefits of using them.
What are Crossword Apps?
Crossword Apps serve as an interactive platform for smartphone users where they can play crossword puzzles for learning and entertainment. Such apps are often available for both iOS and Android users for free.
Moving on, such apps or games have various difficulty levels, themes, and challenges, which will only help you learn and grow while having the most fun. The apps typically include features such as auto-fill options, hint systems, and the ability to check and correct answers, making the puzzle-solving process smoother and more enjoyable.
There are multiple other sets of features that make the crossword experience better and worthwhile. These include features such as word suggestions or auto-complete functionality to assist users in solving challenging clues.
Educational Benefits of Crossword Puzzles
Crossword puzzles are not only meant for having fun or passing your time. It has numerous educational benefits that help you expand your vocabulary, develop language skills, general knowledge, and so much more.
Here are some of the advantages and benefits you can know more about below.
#1. Vocabulary Expansion ✍️
While solving puzzles, you will come across hundreds of new words, their definitions, and their usage in a different manner. This will eventually help you build up your vocabulary and improve your overall language proficiency.
#2. General Knowledge 📚
Crossword puzzles feature clues and challenges that cover a wide range of topics, including history, literature, science, and pop culture. If you are regularly playing with crossword puzzles, it will expand your general knowledge, and you’ll learn interesting facts and trivia about various subjects.
#3. Cognitive Stimulation 🧠
By cognitive stimulation, we mean that solving crossword puzzles will enhance your memory recall, attention to detail, problem-solving abilities, and other factors to give you mental flexibility while also keeping you entertained.
NYT Games: Word Games & Sudoku
The New York Times Games has one of the best crossword apps that combines Crossword, Wordle, Spelling Bee, and the Mini. All these games are available in a single app for both your iOS and Android smartphones.
One of the best features of this app is its user-friendly interface. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned puzzler, you’ll appreciate the app’s ease of use and smooth functionality.
Moving on, there are multiple arrays of games on this app that will keep you entertained throughout. From the iconic New York Times Crossword to the addictive Spelling Bee, the app covers every word challenge game you can find.
Furthermore, you can even visit their official site and play all these games without having to download any of the apps on your phone. This is my favorite app currently on my phone that I use every single day to take some time off from work.
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CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles
If you are looking for an interactive crossword puzzle game that makes learning easier, then CodyCross is for you. This app takes you on an adventure that will keep you hooked for hours.
You will be given one crossword puzzle to get started that has necessary clues, trivia, hints, and much more to help you solve the riddle. Each puzzle is uniquely themed, and you will move up one level after every correct answer.
The interface is clean yet intriguing. Another exceptional part of this app is that it features maps from around the world with unique words, trivia, and other scenarios to help you explore the world. The new update includes the country India and lets you explore the Taj Mahal and Golden Temple with hundreds of new puzzles.
Although the app is free of cost, you can get a subscription and choose the ad-free version. It also consists of unlimited crossword puzzles, games, and much more.
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Crossword Puzzle Redstone
The Crossword Puzzle by Redstone Games has been designed for crossword enthusiasts who love to play with words, not only for entertainment but as a hobby. You will find thousands of crossword puzzles on the platform that have been designed by some of the greatest names in the industry.
You might come across puzzles by Brendan Emmett Quigley, Sid Sivakumar, and hundreds of others who have their puzzles published in NYT, The Washington Post, and other leading publications around the world.
The app is free of cost for everyone looking to enjoy and learn new words each day. The game consists of four difficulty levels along with different sizes, such as mini, midis, and regular. You can even find intriguing features in this app, such as getting hints when there are two words involved, highlighting incorrect answers, solving puzzles offline, and other sets of features.
For beginners, the app might seem a bit difficult to navigate; however, once you get the hang of it and learn how to play, you will love every aspect of it.
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Crosswords With Friends
The new and improvised Crosswords with Friends is one of the best Crossword apps on this list. You can play new puzzles with different themes each day, such as TV Tuesday, Top 40 Thursday, Smartypants Saturday, and many more.
Once you are done with the daily puzzles, you can keep playing other puzzles throughout the day that will help you learn new words. The best part of this app is that industry experts have created the crosswords to give you the most interactive experience.
Apart from learning, you can look forward to completing weekly and daily challenges to compete with your friends on the leaderboard. The daily crossword puzzle gives you access to reveal the wrong and the right words, along with multiple hints to help you solve them.
To become the crossword master, you can keep completing your challenges to earn rewards. With these rewards, you can unlock different themed packs that have over 2000+ puzzles to add to your list.
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Cryptic Crossword
Are you a beginner? Cryptic Crossword is what you can get started with. You can get the free version of this Crossword app and play the 29 free puzzles to solve with it. Now, they are very easy for anyone who wants to get into the crossword industry.
If you are a seasoned puzzler or an enthusiast, you can get the subscription or the premium version that gives access to over 260+ professional Cryptic Crossword puzzles. Furthermore, this is for all age groups.
Whether you are a 5-year-old or a 90-year-old, there is no stopping you from sharpening your problem-solving skills. Moving on, the interface is pretty basic, and you can easily play on it. Some of the features here include zooming the grid to see it more clearly.
Other than this, the crosswords give you the option to access cheats, check answers, and do much more to make the guessing process easier.
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Wordalot – Picture Crossword
Have you ever played Picture Crossword? Wordalot is one of the most unique crossword apps I have ever come across. Ditch the boring and traditional crossword puzzles that only play with words.
This app features 1000+ puzzles that let you solve the clues from a picture. You will be given a regular picture and asked to pick out words from it. Look at the picture above; you can see balloons, candles, trucks, and many others. These are the words you have to guess and enter.
The game has hundreds of levels for it, and the more you play, the better you become at solving clues like a detective. Although it looks easy at first, with an easy level, the clue becomes more and more difficult to solve with each passing guess.
Even the professionals might miss a beat while solving these picture crosswords. However, you will love the entire concept, and it will keep you hooked for hours.
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5-Minute Crossword Puzzles
The 5-Minute Crosswords is a highly popular crossword puzzle game that has multiple difficulty levels. As a beginner, you can get started with the first few levels and learn your way through them. After each set of levels, more and more levels will be unlocked.
Considering the puzzles are very small and hardly take less than 5 minutes to solve, this is the major aspect of this puzzle game. It does not overwhelm you and boosts your confidence to solve the more difficult ones.
Above all, the puzzles are available in multiple languages, such as English, French, and Russian, catering to a larger audience worldwide. If at all you are stuck with any puzzle, choose to skip it and move forward simply.
Furthermore, with each word, you will be given a clue to enhance your skills, helping you solve future puzzles more easily.
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Picture Perfect Crossword
Picture Perfect Crossword is a unique styled Puzzle game that uses pictures as clues rather than words on your screen. You need to look at the picture and figure out the word connected to the image.
The interface is easy to navigate, and you can guess words from the palm of your hand. Look at the picture as the clue; think of the word that goes best with it. This is all you have to do. The unique picture clues make it more interesting and also pretty easy to look for hints.
This app has hundreds of puzzles available on it to keep you entertained throughout the year. Choose any theme available on your game and get started with it.
Furthermore, the app is free of cost for everyone. However, you can still make in-app purchases from the in-game store.
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Wordscapes
There are multiple crossword puzzles that do not fail to amaze with new concepts and designs. Wordscapes, in particular, is one such app that has been one of my favorites. By just playing 10 mins a day, you can learn new words, entertain yourself, and be prepared to sharpen your brain skills.
Each puzzle has a different landscape background, allowing you to focus and set up a soothing environment. In this app, you can connect the letters to form words instead of selecting the words.
The app has over 6000+ crossword libraries, among the biggest you might have ever come across. Considering there are 1000’s levels, the difficulty increases as you progress further. However, you can always use clues to skip a few of the crosswords and move ahead.
As soon as you solve different levels, you will be awarded coins, and you can play with your friends too. There is a leaderboard that will keep track of your progress and add a competitive edge to the games.
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Crossword – World’s Biggest
Are you a fan of massive puzzles with huge grids? Well, the Crossword – World’s Biggest is the one you need on your smartphone. This app has a total of 8 game modes with unique features and rules that will blow your mind.
Here are the game modes that you will come across in this app:
- World’s Biggest Crossword – The first one here is the biggest crossword, with over 350+ puzzles to solve.
- World’s Tallest Crossword – For crossword enthusiasts, this crossword puzzle is it. It has massive grids, harder clues, and more fun.
- Daily Diamond – You can get more rewards and points through the bonum puzzles every day.
- Codewords – Solve codewords to complete the grid. Look for the right alphabet with the number placement and decipher it. Such as A is 1, H is 8, etc.
- Word Grid – Solve the grid without clues. Use the power of your brain and logic.
- Quote Falls – Forget words; choose this mode to create quotations.
- British Cryptics – Solve the most cryptic clues and tricks to reveal the answer.
The game allows you to complete challenges, gather trophies, complete quests, and much more.
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Conclusion
Which one is your favorite? I have tried them all, and it is very difficult to decide the best of the bunch. You can choose based on whether you are a beginner or an expert at this game format.
Crosswords can be difficult since they require a bit of problem-solving ability. However, if you keep playing every day and solving more, it will eventually sharpen your mind over a period of time. Start with the basic ones and move over to the expert-level games that will expand your vocabulary too.
You can also check out the best puzzle board games if you want to take a break from your smartphone!
