Crossword puzzles are popular word games. They tease your mind, teach you new things, and it’s a fun but quiet way to pass the time. There are tons of crossword games on Android. Most of them behave the same way. You have puzzles, you fill them in, and that’s it. However, there are some that outdo the rest for a variety of reasons such as complexity, controls, design, and exclusivity. Let’s take a look at the best crossword games for Android!
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Alphacross Crossword
Alphacross Crossword isn’t the strongest crossword game, but it’s affordable for nearly everyone. It contains a variety of crossword puzzles from a variety of sources such as The New York Times (NYT subscription required, sold separately), LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other places. The game is basically just a crossword puzzle itself so there are no mechanics or strange things getting in your way. The app looks a little basic, but the controls are apt and work well. The actual New York Times crossword app might be better for a NYT puzzle, but this app also has a lot of other options. Shortyz Crosswords (Google Play link) is another excellent option that does mostly the same thing.
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Bonza Word Puzzle
Bona Word Puzzle is a unique game that revolves around a crossword puzzle. Generally, you get one clue and all the answers relate to that guide. It’s kind of a mix between a game of trivia and a crossword puzzle. The game includes a lot of free puzzles to complete or you can purchase more with in-app purchases. Plus, there is a DIY puzzle builder if you like. These puzzles are shareable with the Bonza community. Hence, you have a lot of general options. It’s an arcade game more than the typical crossword games, but overall it’s still a decent choice.
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CodyCross
CodyCross is another entertaining mix between trivia and crossword games. This one has a specific class and all clues revolve around that individual hypothesis. You go down the line and answer all the questions you can. The game includes hundreds of puzzles, cloud sync, and four difficulty modes. You can buy more bundles with tokens or subscribe to unlock everything. We definitely don’t recommend the subscription method, but the free version is good enough to kill some time.
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Crosswords with Friends
Crossword Puzzles is Zynga’s variant in the crossword genre. You are playing it competitively against friends, AI, or random people online. It has new puzzles daily and mostly contains modern pop culture clues. The game also includes leaderboards, weekly challenges, puzzle packs, and a hint system if you need them. You can basically solve a piece of the puzzle and pass it to the opponent to solve one of them. It’s more traditional look and feel, but with an online arcade and social component.
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Cryptic Crossword
Cryptic Crossword is one of the few excellent crossword games. It has a single cost with no additional in-app purchases or ads. The game comes with 260 puzzles, an answer checker system, a pinch-to-zoom grid, and some additional customization features. It comes as we’d expect it to be a traditional crossword game. Just you, a crossword puzzle, and a whole list of clues. There are enough puzzles to keep you occupied for a while. The developer also has some additional crossword games.
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English Crossword
English crossword is another one of the traditional crossword games. The game has more than 400 offline puzzles, various themes, and a hint system if you need it. The game is definitely American English, not British English. Lots of clues are directed toward the United States, too. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but something to keep in mind. You also get achievements, cloud sync, and leaderboards. It’s a good crossword game and its prices aren’t too prohibitive.
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ISTG Crossword Puzzle Free
ISTG Crossword Puzzle Free is a crossword puzzle game suitable for those on a budget. It’s completely free with no in-app purchases, although it does contain ads. The game contains more than 400 puzzles and all are available offline. Additionally, it contains over 100 puzzles in Spanish and 50 in Portuguese. Most of the complaints we found were due to American central clues and spelling of words. The app also contains some bugs. There is not much about it. It’s decent, has tons of puzzles, and it’s free with acceptable ads.
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New York Times Crossword
The New York Times Crossword is one of the most expensive crossword games on the list. However, it is also one of the most famous. Features over 20 years of crossword puzzles for subscribers along with new puzzles every week. There is also a mini crossword mode that you can access for free without a subscription. There is enough crossword puzzles here to last a very long time even though you have to pay every month to get to it. However, there is a large amount of free content as well. The app definitely needs some work, but the content is powerful.
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Picture Perfect Crossword
Picture Perfect Crossword is a crossword puzzle. Uses pictures as clues instead of traditional words. It doesn’t change the experience much, but it does add a bit of variation to the game. The game includes hundreds of puzzles, Facebook integration, a hint system, and new puzzles on a regular basis. The fanbase probably won’t appeal to hardcore crossword puzzles, but it’s more than good enough for those looking to kill a few minutes.
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Redstone Games Crossword Puzzle
Redstone Games has another fairly good crossword game. He says it’s free, but you can buy a lot of content there so we won’t tell you that. It is a fairly traditional crossword puzzle game. You get clues, fill in the boxes, and hope for the best. The game tells you when the answer is wrong and gives you hints if you need them. It’s also playable offline and gets a decent amount of new content fairly frequently. Much of this new content is free, but not all. This should please many fans of crossword puzzles.
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Bonus: Physical crossword puzzle books
Crossword games are very old and there are quite a few excellent physical crossword puzzle books. One of the most popular options is the Simon & Schuster range, available on Amazon. You can also purchase vintage volumes from The New York Times Crossword. There are actually thousands of other examples, but these are the most common. Of course, this translation is bad for ebook readers, so we don’t recommend something like Google Play Books. However, any app or site that sells books like Amazon will do the trick.
