Best crossword app?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by swarmster, Jun 19, 2009.

  1. swarmster

    swarmster Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    Hi, I woke up today with a craving for crossword puzzles, and I want to buy an app. The problem is every article written about crossword apps seems to be from a year ago. The leading apps at the time were 2 Across and Crosswords, and since there haven't been any mention of the genre since, I assume they're still the go-to apps. Of course they're also $6 and $10, so I'd like to make sure I choose wisely.

    I'm leaning toward Crosswords right now, since I trust Stand Alone from my Palm days, and they continue to update the app (last update: May). 2 Across hasn't been updated since September, but maybe it was just perfect in the first place?

    Can anyone offer some updated impressions, or news of any new, better competitors in the genre? Which should I buy?

    Thank you!
     
  2. Well basically New York Times didn't like their crosswords being used so then they had them yanked then perhaps licensed then yanked again as they came out with the own. NY Times Crossword is now $6 and probably best for hardcore.

    Still think $10 Crosswords has the best UI and I like it most and has tons of downloadable crosswords from various sources.

    USA Today Crosswords $5 doesn't have all the downloaded content of Crosswords but does have USA Today Crosswords and for me being an average joe crossword puzzle solver it suffices. USA Today has same exact UI as Crosswords $10 plus has the daily QuickCross 4x4 which I like for quick short bursts.
     
  3. swarmster

    swarmster Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    The Mr. Bass? lol, I frequently found your site very useful back in the day when I was still figuring out video encoding and the various softwares, so a long overdue thanks for that first!

    I should have mentioned the USA Today and New York Times apps in my first post. I am aware of those two, but I'd really like a good neutral, all-purpose crossword app, since there are so many open sources of puzzles online. At least that is my impression.

    Like you, I don't really require NYT or have any particular hardcore loyalties (yet). I'd like to be able to sample a bunch and over time figure out who makes puzzles that fit my sensibilities.
     
  4. Well just go with your intuition Crosswords. Remember both Crosswords and 2 Across both have lite versions you can give a spin.

    Crosswords demo and 2 Across Demo
     
  5. thenewconfession

    thenewconfession Active Member

    Jan 31, 2009
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    Grand Rapids, MI
    I have 2 across, Crosswords, and NY times. I think that Crosswords has the slickest shine in terms of polish, and highly reccomend it. NY Times is great for the hardcore and its polish is high, but Crosswords just adds so much in terms of puzzle variety and includes access to the more European cryptic puzzles.

    cheers

    tnc
     
  6. Kim

    Kim Well-Known Member

    Dec 5, 2008
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    Kimtopia
    I recommend Crosswords. It was my first purchase when the app store opened and I still use it every single day.
     
  7. Boardumb

    Boardumb Administrator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold

    Apr 14, 2009
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    THE BOSS
    Sacramento, CA
    Thanks for this thread, I'm a casual crossworder and hadn't really checked out any crossword apps yet (busy with about a million other games) but due to this topic I think I'll be checking out Crosswords. :)
     
  8. swarmster

    swarmster Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    Yep, thanks everyone for your opinions. I went ahead and picked up Crosswords.

    I've literally only used it for a few minutes, but I'm really liking it so far.
     
  9. swarmster

    swarmster Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    Alright, very-slightly-longer-term impressions:

    I'm definitely happy with my purchase, it hits the spot as far as my crossword craving goes. I'm enjoying this week's Onion puzzle. Of course as is often the case with new interesting apps, I've heavily prodded and have a few questions for those that have been using it for a while.


    1. There are a ton of quality puzzle sources included, certainly more than I could ever actually do, but is there any way to add custom puzzle feeds? I guess I'm honestly not sure if such a thing even exists, but I'm guessing the app uses something like RSS to grab its daily puzzles. If I found a site that offered such a thing that wasn't included, could I add it somewhere?

    2. When you hide the keyboard is seems that you have to make sure your cursor is not on a square with a letter filled in or else it will delete it. Is that everyone's experience?

    3. Once the keyboard is hidden, every tap brings it back, meaning you cannot switch from 'across' to 'down' clues without having to re-hide the keyboard. Is that right?

    4. There seems to be a small bug in the vertical view where if you hide the keyboard and then bring it back up, you can't scroll the puzzle. Pinching to zoom in and then back out will return scrolling capability. Has anyone else noticed this?


    That maybe sounds like a bunch of complaints, but really I'm very happy with my purchase, and I can definitely see myself using this endlessly. Those are just the little things that came up in my dissection. I probably won't be hiding the keyboard as frequently as I get used to the program, and I think I like the horizontal view better, so those few small bugs aren't really hard to swallow given how good everything else works and feels.
     
  10. Sep 30 $5.99 -> $1.99
    Sep 30 Version 1.1.0
    Aug 11 Version 1.0.1
    May 28 $9.99 -> $5.99
    Mar 15 New App: $9.99, v1.0.0

    Well NY Times Crosswords went from $10 to $6 and now it's $2 but at end of 2009 all those who paid $10 get the royal screw in the rear as they'll need to pay a subscription. Nice way to screw over your fan base Apple and NY Times with DLC.

     
  11. UTWarden

    UTWarden Member

    Jul 27, 2009
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    bringing this back up, my grandfather likes crosswords he's got the NYT one for his iPad, and threw this thread I found a crosswords lite. I also loaded on his iPad, it is an iPhone app, but good to try it out.

    So again, and for the iPad, is Crossword still the recommended app?
    thank you
     
  12. gameralan

    gameralan New Member

    Aug 17, 2011
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    Stay away from NYTimes Crosswords for iPad

    I usually play this app while on the subway, but as of the last update, the games that I downloaded from the calendar are no longer accessible without a network connection.

    I've been having problems getting a refund for this. I ordered a one-year subscription, but I cannot access any of the content I paid for :(

    Magmic (the developer of the NYTimes Crosswords app) really dropped the ball on this...
     

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