Crossword puzzle apps are the topic of our blog post today!
Crossword puzzles are so much fun to play! We all love them and with mobile apps you can now indulge in your crossword puzzling experience anywhere anytime. I scoured the web and curated for you some of the best crossword puzzle apps out there. If you are looking for apps to create your own puzzles, check out best crossword puzzle maker apps list.
From Classic Crosswords Puzzles to Fill-in Crosswords, you will find apps with different levels of difficulty and grid styles. These apps also come with helpful features such as hints and error displays to help players complete the puzzles.
[Related: Best puzzles for kids and toddlers]
From my own teaching experience, I know students love crossword puzzles. Once you start one everybody is engaged. As a teacher, you can use crossword puzzles to help students learn new words, sharpen their problem-solving skills, increase their verbal fluency and develop better memory recall.
Best Crossword Puzzle Apps
Whether you’re a beginner or experienced player, these crossword puzzle apps will provide you with an enjoyable and fun learning experience. Check them out and share with us your feedback.
1. Wordscapes
Wordscapes is a great word puzzle game that offers a unique blend of crosswords, anagrams and word searching. Players are presented with beautiful scenery backgrounds to relax and immerse themselves in.
They can challenge their brains by connecting letters and finding as many hidden words as possible. There are over 6,000 puzzles to keep players busy and the difficulties range from easy to challenging. Players can take their time with unlimited tries, making Wordscapes a great way to relax and enjoy some word hunting fun.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases.
2. Little Crossword Puzzles App
Little Crossword Puzzles App is a crossword puzzle game with a large selection of puzzles that can easily be completed in 5 minutes or less. It offers puzzles of various difficulty and is available in three languages: English, French, and Russian. With this app, users don’t have to scroll or zoom in to view the puzzles and can easily skip the ones they cannot solve.
Compatibility: iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
3. CodyCross
CodyCross is a fun and engaging mobile app game that combines the challenge of crossword puzzles with the opportunity to improve your vocabulary and spelling skills. Through themed crosswords, players must guess words that fit in the boxes, each with unique clues, hints, and categories.
As you make correct guesses, your level advances and you can hone your spelling and grammar skills. With the help of a hidden secret word, CodyCross continually challenges you to improve your knowledge.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
4. Wordalot – Picture Crossword
Wordalot – Picture Crossword is an entertaining puzzle game where players can exercise their brain and test their knowledge. With over 1,000 levels to complete, the clues are all hidden in the pictures that accompany each level. With its simple gameplay and beautiful hand-picked images, Wordalot challenges even the greatest word enthusiasts.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
5. Crossword- World’s Biggest
Crossword- World’s Biggest is a collection of over 10,000 unique clues and 950+ puzzles for the ultimate crossword challenge. Players can choose from 8 different game modes including World’s Biggest Crossword, Daily Diamond crossword, Codewords puzzle, Word grid puzzle, Quote falls puzzle, British Cryptics crossword, Fact of the Day, and more!
The game features beautiful hand-picked images and challenging puzzles that will test the skills of even the most seasoned crossword enthusiasts.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
6. Classic Crossword Puzzles
Classic Crossword Puzzles is an engaging app that allows players of all abilities to play puzzle games. The puzzles are divided into grids of 5×5, 7×7, 9×9, 11×11, 13×13 and 15×15 with varying levels of difficulty.
Features include error displays if incorrect words are entered, helpful word displays and auto save. Players can also track their progress in the leaderboard and view their completion times after finishing a puzzle.
Compatibility: iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
7. Crossword Puzzle Redstone
Crossword Puzzle Redstone is a challenging and fun word game that provides players with a new puzzle each day of the week. Players can access thousands of additional puzzles in the calendar archives, as well as complete weekly challenges to earn rewards. The game also offers helpful hints when needed.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
8. Penny Dell Daily Crossword
Penny Dell Crosswords is a renowned crossword puzzle magazine publisher, offering users a range of puzzles from easy to hard difficulty. The app provides three brand-new, free puzzles every day and features helpful hints, robust App Tour options, user tips and helpful hints.
It also offers fun sets and deluxe sets with 35 crossword puzzles and no ads, including 5 bonus themed crossword puzzles. Download more sets every month!
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPod touch); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
9. Daily POP Crosswords
Daily POP Crosswords offers themed crossword puzzles developed by the top puzzle constructors, Penny Press and Dell Magazines. The puzzles feature pop-culture topics such as movies and celebrities, and there are also several in-app achievements that give users free coins for completing them.
Users can also purchase multiple puzzles at discounted rates in the featured puzzles section. With multiple settings options available and an app tour, user tips and helpful hints to help users get started, Daily POP Crosswords is a great way to pass the time. Plus, all puzzles offer Hints and the option to Show Errors at any time!
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
10. Crossword Puzzle Universe
Crossword Puzzle Universe is another great crossword puzzle app that provides users with an interactive and challenging way to exercise their minds. For all levels of players, the app offers thousands of puzzles for users to solve. With the use of two fingers, users can pinch and zoom in or out for a better experience.
Crossword Universe also has daily rewards, power-ups, weekly themes and access to past puzzles. By playing, users will also be exposed to different subjects which helps increase their general knowledge as well as their vocabulary. Crossword Universe also has a “Show Errors” feature that highlights incorrect letters for easy correction.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
11. Fill-in Crosswords
Fill-in Crosswords is a popular word game similar to crosswords. It requires players to fill in words, instead of clues, and offers several levels of difficulty from beginner to very hard.
There are also a variety of crossword grid styles from American, French and Italian which can be adjusted via settings. Players can also access multiple languages and two new puzzles are released every day, which ensures that users always have a fresh challenge.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
12.Crosswords With Friends
Crosswords With Friends is a popular crossword puzzle app that offers daily puzzles created by crossword champions and professional writers from top newspapers, as well as additional puzzles in the calendar archives. Players can compete with friends and check the leaderboard to see who solves the daily puzzle the fastest.
In addition, players can collect rewards and badges by testing themselves with new goals each week, as well as themed puzzles from a variety of categories such as movie buffs, sports fanatics and nerds. Hints are available to help move ahead faster if you’re stuck on a word.
Compatibility: Android/ iOS (iPhone, iPad, Mac); Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
Final thoughts
Crossword puzzles aren’t just a pastime; they’re a tool for mental exercise, vocabulary building, and even a means to foster community in a classroom setting. My years in the classroom taught me that these puzzles can be a magical ingredient in keeping students both engaged and learning.
The apps I’ve highlighted here offer a spectrum of crossword experiences, from the relaxing vistas of Wordscapes to the educational challenges posed by Crosswords With Friends. Whether you’re a teacher aiming to inject some fun into your lesson plans or just someone looking to improve their word skills, these apps are excellent gateways to a world of letters and grids.
