Download and install the best free apps for Sudoku, Crossword & Puzzle Games on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android from CNET Download.com, your trusted source for the top software picks. Jigsaw Puzzle is the only app in the App Store made by the jigsaw puzzle experts! Sorting your pieces, moving your pieces around on the board, filling in the edges – it feels just like the real thing! Only now you can take the puzzle with you anywhere you go! We handpick every image to ensure the highest level of quality. Dec 31, 2018 If you were looking for city simulation games for Mac, this is the best there is. One more thing The graphics are top-notch too, making Skylines the most beautiful city-building game ever created. However, that does make it a demanding game that needs a dedicated graphics card.
If you’re a sucker for words (and of course you are), there’s a whole host of absolutely fun games to play on your phone. Beyond kid’s games, there are so many challenging word game apps out there that are meant for adults to play (and play again). Take part in the daily New York Times crossword, build an army of dancing bears, or stomp your friends with your vocabulary skills with the best of the best word game apps available in 2020.
1. Wordscapes
Type of game: A crossword style game, combined with word search
Devices:iOS | Android | Windows
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: This game is easy at first, but quickly gets harder over time. It also only takes a few minutes to play each round, so it’s great for some quick brain stretching during the day to improve your vocabulary. And, the soothing backgrounds are pretty to look at and the game’s interface is easy to use.
2. Alphabear
Type of game: A wholly original word/strategy game, with elements of word search
Devices: iOS | Android
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: With cute dancing bears, lots of vocabulary building, and a few gamified elements that are missing in other word game apps (like power-ups and boss fights), Alphabear is an absolute blast to play. You not only try to make words, you also help your bears get bigger for more points. (See also, the sequel Alphabear 2.)
3. TypeShift
Type of game: Anagrams meets word search meets crosswords
Devices: iOS | Android
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: This one goes beyond the normal “find word repeat” type of word game apps by introducing multiple columns of letters you have shift around in order to spell out words in the center row. Beautiful to play, and quickly challenging.
4. Four Letters
Type of game: Timed word search game
Devices: iOS | Android
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: Like all word game apps, Four Letters starts out simple but quickly progresses to harder and harder puzzles to solve. With only four letters, you have to make a word as quickly as possible. Smooth and easy to play in small pockets of downtime to improve your vocabulary.
5. Blackbar
Type of game: Guess the word game, with an underlying story
Devices:iOS | Android
Price: $1.99 Android, $2.99 iOS
Why you’ll love it: If you’re looking for something a bit more immersive than typical word game apps, check out Blackbar. By playing, you’ll read through a story told in a dystopian future where censorship is blotting out key words (that you have to then guess). It can be a difficult game to master, but always entertaining.
6. Words with Friends (2)
Type of game: Basically Scrabble
Devices:iOS | Android
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: This is the highly-popular word game that you’ve probably already played. However, it’s still one of the best word game apps for straight fun and multi-player functionality. The redesign, Friends 2, allows you to play fictional characters in solo challenge events and includes new lightning rounds.
7. New York Times Crossword
Type of game: Crossword puzzle
Devices:iOS | Android | Windows
Price: Free to demo for a week, then $6.99/month or $39.99/year subscription options
Why you’ll love it: It’s THE classic crossword and now you can take it with you wherever you go. You’ll be able to play the daily New York Times newspaper puzzle or get access to mini puzzles, puzzle packs, or access to the 20+ years of past puzzles.
8. Word Cookies
Type of game: Word search style game
Devices:iOS | Android | Windows
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: It’s basically a modified word search game, but like WordScapes, the fun is in the little extras. With a nice and clean interface, it’s simple to play. And, you’re making cookies so win-win!
9. Wheel of Fortune
Type of game: Guess the word game
Devices:iOS | Android | Windows
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: If you love the TV show, this game gives you the ability to take your own turn at the wheel and guess the show’s puzzles. Play with friends and family, compete for prizes, and play lightning-quick rounds for a fast brain workout.
10. Letterpress
Type of game: Scrabble style game
Devices: iOS | Android
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: The game boasts a minimal, easy-to-use interface where you can play against friends to capture the board, or challenge a bot to play. Beyond figuring out words, it’s a strategy game that’s always challenging.
11. Word Search Pro
Type of game: Word search
Devices: iOS | Android
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: If you’re looking for a simple, fun, and beautiful app to play word search games with, this is the one for you. It has a bright colorful look, daily challenges, unlimited puzzles, and three difficulty levels that make it always fun to play. With elegant animations and night mode settings, it was definitely made with mobile users in mind. And, likely because of this, it’s the #1 rated word game app in the iOS store.
12. Word Connect
Type of game: A crossword style game, combined with word search
Devices:iOS | Android | Windows
Price: Free, with in-app purchases
Why you’ll love it: This one has the classic look and feel of old school games, with loads of playability. With over 3,000 levels and no time limits, it’s a relaxing way to improve your vocabulary a little bit every day.
What do you think are the best word game apps out there? Want even more bookish app suggestions? Check out:
Puzzle games are the chameleons of the gaming world. They can adopt the flair of an RPG, disguise themselves as an adventure game, and even hide in plain sight as a minimalist game. Puzzle games are always different, and they can vary from extremely complex to super simple.
A great puzzle game will keep you entertained for hours as you try (and a lot of times fail) to progress in the game. You may get frustrated, you may put down your iPhone or iPad in anger, but the game will keep you coming back for more because you sure as hell aren't going to let a game get the best of you. The sheer force of will required to continue you in a well-crafted puzzle game is something a lot of gamers have a love-hate relationship with, but there's no denying its power. Here are my top picks for the best puzzle games for iPhone and iPad.
Red's Kingdom
Red's Kingdom is a perfectly crafted adventure puzzle game that has a lot of depth. The goofy but heartwarming story with its colorful characters is bound to grab your attention, and the incredibly fun gameplay never seems to go stale as the game layers in plenty of elements to surprise you at every turn.
Red's Kingdom opens the doors to its world and allows you to take non-linear paths giving you the opportunity to explore different areas and find alternate routes to hidden treasures. Although it's a puzzle game at its core, the game feels more like an action-adventure game than anything else. I can't recommend Red's Kingdom enough.
The Room 3
I couldn't make a list of best puzzle games without including the super creepy puzzler The Room 3. The entire Room series is worth a download, but The Room 3 is especially fun If you enjoyed playing Myst back in the day.
The Room offers complex box-related puzzles along with an atmospheric storyline and unsettling clues to the reality behind the madness. The visuals are outstanding, and the soundtrack is just as spooky as everything else, playing The Room 3 is a full experience.
Monument Valley
Another puzzler with eerie visuals and a compelling tale, Monument Valley offers a variety of 3D maps to conquer — all while transporting you into a strange world of crows, block creatures, and breathtaking Escher-style landscapes.
Monument Valley has been praised by critics and player alike, earning accolades such as Apple's Game of the Year 2014 and the Apple Design Award 2014. Plus, the game has over 20,000 ratings and holds a 4.5 rating overall.
Once you're done with the original, don't miss out on the critically-acclaimed follow-up, Monument Valley 2 ($5).
Slayaway Camp (17+)
Slayaway Camp is a morbidly funny take on the puzzle genre that tasks you with going on a killing spree, and no one you meet is safe!
Best Puzzle Game Apps For Mac Pc
You'll need to slide around each scene and murder your victims in a particular order to reach the portal to advance to the next area. With plenty of obstacles such as fire pits, open water, and cops, you'll need to be smart during your rampage.
Taking its inspiration from classic 80s horror films, the violence in this game is over-the-top, extremely fake, and incredibly funny.
FRAMED
A film-noir inspired comic book adventure, FRAMED is a unique puzzle game with great visuals to boot and compelling story to boot!
The story is told in comic book form with panels, but they are all jumbled up, and you'll need to put them in the right order to progress forward.
The comic book art is stunning, and all hand-crafted, and the mysterious storyline will keep you glued to the game for hours.
Once you're done with FRAMED, make sure to grab the sequel, FRAMED 2 ($5) for even more graphic novel panel puzzle solving.
Threes
The matching game that started a 2048-clone phenomenon, Threes brought smarts (and some great background music) to the puzzling genre.
Threes may be a game comprised of numbers, but you need no real mathematical skill to excel at this game — just an open mind and a penchant for thinking ahead.
Best of all, you can always find new paths to pursue, new tricks to test, and new methods for matching; the game is always different, though the numbers remain the same.
Best Puzzle Game Apps Iphone
Ultra Flow 2
Ultra Flow 2's simplicity is probably its greatest strength. The game has a fun and engaging soundtrack and focuses more on hand-eye coordination than serious brainpower.
That being said, it's still not easy. It's in the sweet spot: challenging enough that your mind gets a workout, but easy enough that you're never stuck on the same level for longer than a handful of cracks at it.
Deus Ex GO
From Square Enix popular GO series, comes the mobile addition to the Deus Ex franchise that has everything you could want in a puzzle game.
Deus Ex GO never gets boring, as the game layers in complex systems to solve each puzzle. Defeating enemies, hacking computers, and sneaking your way around the map are just a few of the techniques you'll need to apply to be successful.
If you're a fan of Deus EX or the other games in the GO series, downloading Deus Ex GO is a no-brainer.
Prune
If you need a game to help you relax after a long day, Prune may be the perfect puzzler for you.
Prune tasks you with cutting trees in different patterns to reach the sunlight, all while avoiding the dangers of the world around. Its minimalist design and very limited color scheme allow you to focus in on the game in a very relaxing way, making it perfect to help you unwind.
Mini Metro
Do you ever look at your city's public transportation and think you could design it better? Well, Mini Metro will let you try to create your own subway system.
Minimalist in design but complex in its mind-boggling puzzles, Mini Metro provides hours of fun — even if for some of those hours you will be scratching your head.
You Must Build A Boat
You Must Build A Boat takes the classic formula of match-three and combines it with a challenging and frantic RPG, with a dash of endless runner and building.
Embark on a journey of battling monsters and getting them to join your ranks as you recruit them for your boat, which grows bigger and bigger with every conquest. Battle by matching blocks in groups of three or more to attack, defend, cast magic spells, unlock chests, and more. Watch as your boat continues to grow, and as more creatures join your ranks and offer valuable services and upgrades. And since your matches can be chained, the possibilities for huge combos can be done.
You Must Build A Boat is one of my favorite match-three RPGs ever, and it's well worth picking up. You won't regret it.
Photographs - Puzzle Stories
From the same guy who brought you YMBAB, comes a new puzzle game that focuses on the narrative. Say hello to Photographs.
Photographs is an interesting one because you'll be searching around and solving puzzles, but as you do, you'll uncover and hear a story to go along with each scene. And not only will you be immersed by the captivating stories, but the beautiful pixel art and music pair along with the narratives so perfectly.
Each story takes place in a different setting and will feature unique gameplay mechanics. And while the game is fairly short (only takes about three hours to complete), it's an experience that you need to try out.
Gorogoa
If you like the panel puzzle concept like FRAMED, then you'll get a kick out of Gorogoa as well.
The gameplay of Gorogoa is interesting and fairly unique. You'll have several hand-drawn panels that you need to arrange and combine in order to solve the puzzles they contain. It's simple but complex at the same time. The art is also beautiful, and everything becomes animated once you figure it out. The entire concept of Gorogoa is something you've not seen before in other puzzle games, so it's definitely an experience you should check out if you're a puzzle fan.
Donut County
Donut County is one of the most quirky and interesting puzzle gams you'll come across. Think of reverse Katamari Damacy.
Meet BK, the raccoon. He has a device that creates donut holes in the ground, which basically helps him steal trash in order to win stupid prizes. One day, he ends up falling into one of his own holes and finds his best friend, Mira, along with other Donut County residents, such 999 feet underground. They demand answers!
The gameplay of Donut County involves exploring the home of each character, who also have their own distinctive stories to tell. You'll move the hole around to swallow up their stuff, and the hole grows as you get more trash in it. You can combine items for fun effects, and catapult things out of the hole if needed. Sometimes you'll have to in order to solve the puzzles that await you.
It's a puzzle game, though it doesn't always feel that way. After all, you are controlling a big old hole in the ground and devouring everything that's in the way. Honestly, what else do you need in a game?
ELOH
This puzzle game will help you find your groove and relax at the same time.
ELOH is a musical puzzle game that's all about finding the right position for the blocks to help guide the balls into the correct holes. As you progress through the game, the puzzles get a bit harder, but they all have one thing in common: rhythm. The blocks that you'll need to move also take on more creative shapes and forms and some can only move in a certain way. The game looks beautiful, has over 90 stages, and there's no time limits or other stress factors. Just find your rhythm and solve the puzzles. No stress or in-app purchases!
Lumino City
If you're into beautiful games that look as good as they play, then you must get Lumino City. It was painstakingly hand-crafted from real-life paper, cardboard, miniature lights, and motors to create a wonderful little world that we can all interact with.
Lumi's grandfather has been kidnapped from Lumino City, and it's up to you to help Lumi explore the city to find out what happened to her grandfather. The city is full of realistic puzzles that are all connected and intertwined together, and you can interact with everything through simple touch controls.
The game is a bit long in the tooth at this point, but it's still a must-have in our book.
What are your favorites?
Have a favorite puzzle game, I want to know about it! Leave a comment down below or hit me up on Twitter.
July 2019: Added more puzzle games to the list.
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