18 free casual cryptic puzzles with all features enabled, and no ads – with 300 available for purchase. These crosswords are suitable for casual cryptic players.
Features:
– cheats and answer checking
– great for phone and tablets
– pinch zooming grid
– landscape mode with clue list
– Resume button
– useful preferences to enhance gameplay
– no adverts
If you’re finding Cryptic a little too challenging, why not try Best Quick Crossword app.
Or maybe you’re looking for American style puzzles, with no hanging letters? If so, then try our Crossword (US) app.
Love the fabulous puzzles. Just the vast number of them is amazing. One small nitpick – and only because I am a huge fan of the original Teazal Cryptic app which has a feature missing in this one: When you place your finger over a letter on the keyboard, the selected letter does not pop up as it does in the old app, so when a wrong letter gets detected it cannot be corrected by sliding around till you get it right! Just annoyed that something that was so well thought out got undone!
If you like cryptic crosswords, this is for you. Several free puzzles, and more to buy if you want. No popup ads that insist you watch them before you can get back to the puzzle. I have been able to give feedback by email, and there has been a quick response each time. Not for everyone, but just because you have never done cryptic crosswords before doesn’t mean they are not for you. If you enjoy wordplay, you should try them.
I’m no expert at cryptic crosswords and these are set just at the right level for me. They are not so difficult that I want to give up but challenging enough to keep the grey matter exercised. I like that one can check if the answers are right and can choose to have errors highlighted. At the end I also find the single letter hints useful. Havent had to resort to asking for a whole word yet.
Very enjoyable and a good brain stretcher. There’s an option to check how many words or letters you’ve got wrong, and a second that highlights where they are. I like how you can decide which level of help you need (if any.) All in all, a solid, well put together app. There’s enough free content to keep you going for a while but I happily paid to unlock the rest since I don’t see myself getting bored of these anytime soon.
Good cryptic crossword app. As an experienced puzzler, the puzzles are on the easier side (Telegraph rather than Times). So they’d be a good introduction for a novice puzzler and a relaxing pastime for the expert. The interface is intuitive and versatile. I could customise various settings to suit my preferences. It would be nice if you were able to use you default soft keyboard rather than the in-app one.
Great app. My only real complaint is that the in-app keyboard images are low resolution (particularly the backspace button). I guess I’m a beginner because I find about half of the clues extremely difficult. Clues are British (oh how I wish somebody made a cryptic crossword that was remotely relevant to 30-somethings from New Zealand…).
Classic English cryptic crossword. Clues need a think but so far nothing too hard or obscure. App intuitive and well designed.
Excellent cryptic crosswords. Challenging, but not horrifically difficult. No ads. Wish there were more.
Works well, some nice navigation features. No bugs encountered after 3 puzzles. Difficulty of clues varies, although that also depends on my skill level. Clues and answers seem to be based around United Kingdom culture/background, which could be a problem for people not familiar with that.
I am really enjoying this crossword app. It is very easy to use and the clues are very understandable.
Loving this app after doing two crosswords. Easy to navigate. Clues are medium difficulty so they make you think but are not annoyingly obscure. Tools allow you to check the validity of your answers. Overall, a great, easy to use app. Update: bought the full app. Well worth the money. Many hours spent giving the brain a good workout.
Excellent cryptic crossword app. There are 18 free puzzles and you have the option to purchase more. I enjoyed the style of the clues and bought the full set which was a bargain at £2.99 for the remaining 282 puzzles and no ads!!! I don’t usually go for in-app purchases but this was really good value. Well done developers!
Very good puzzles that are really testing my brain and I am still on the free games. The interface is easy to use and have had no problems on my phone (Sony Xperia XZ1). There are some other comments that the clues don’t match the answers, but I haven’t found that to be the case. A couple took me a bit to work out, but it is meant to be a puzzle! Worth a try.
Nice app with some good clues. Nice mix of tricky and easy ones that mean you can complete the grid but not straight away. Occasionally too many obscure plants and places used to fill the awkward letter patterns! I’ve also spotted the odd definition error but these are minor gripes and, all in all, it’s a nice little app.
On the whole, very good, as long as you like cryptic crosswords. Others have said that some of clues feel a bit repetitive, but I don’t find this to be any worse than those found in the various broadsheets. Similarly, you will find the odd “poor” clue (such as “A marine creature is a lone ranger? (3,4)” where the “ranger” is totally redundant) but again, no worse than those found in the broadsheets.
I’ve had all the different cryptic crossword apps and I’m I big fan of cryptic crosswords in general. This app is the best one I’ve ever had. I’m not too bad at cryptic clues. The clues here are the finest you can get. They are very clever and sometimes quite witty. It runs perfectly. It has great features. The screen layout us crystal clear. It’s cheap to pay for the full package. It is perfect in every way. Most apps can be improved slightly. Nothing could improve this one.
Free for a limited amount of games then you are locked out. Difficult but once you get the style for clues, it’s easier to meet the challenge. Plenty of features to assist solving. Intuitive to use. Addictive but I’m not paying.
Clues are set at a good level for the average user. 99p in-app purchase for 50 puzzles in a pack is great value. Unfortunately, 30+ puzzles in I’m finding some clues a bit repetitive and an over reliance on anagrams which are too easily signposted. UPDATE: The clues in pack 2 are much more varied than the anagrams in pack 1. Long may this continue – I’ll be buying pack 3 to find out…
Free ones are not bad, but try as i might I can’t buy the packs. I even sent Teazel an email but got nil reply. Having no problems with other purchases, only this one. Update:4 months later and still no help. So I’ve changed my rating to 1, would have given zero if I could. Support does not exist!
Played only the free puzzles so far. Pretty good for beginners. People bashing this game are wrong. They maybe right that so far I have sensed only one mind setting the clues. Also, the traditional rules have been kind of stretched a bit – which may come across as fantastic or irritating depending on your outlook
Greay app! Good clues, very good puzzles, all functions in app work very well and if you’re struggling, there’s basic assistance (reveal a letter for example, or a word if you’re REALLY struggling). I’ve used this a lot and it’s great practice for learning cryptic crosswords.
Great way to learn how to do cryptics! Started with free version and upgraded.. £2.99 for another 280 puzzles. There is a setting so that you can have a letter turn red if it’s incorrect, makes it easier to learn on the go.
Not sure what the difference is between this and Crossword Cryptic Lite by the same author. It works the same and has equal strength (fairly easy) cryptic clues. Both apps work well. Bought all six packs on phone, backed up but did not appear on notepad when restored on notepad. Uninstall, reinstall and restore on notepad worked following support from developer Richard Taylor – on Christmas Day!
A nice simple app. I’ve just started doing the paid for puzzles. The cryptic crosswords are quite simple so far, but nicely challenging for a beginner like me, but I expect not much of a challenge for more experienced cryptic crossword puzzlers.
Excellent, has revived my love of crosswords. The app is very well written and functions really well. I like the clues only mode and the ability to ‘share’ a clue is a nice touch. I have only completed the first two but I have also started the other 16 free ones..looks like I will be purchasing the locked ones sometime soon
Very good. Sometimes difficult to know which letter will be selected next when editing, but not too much of a problem with controls. Clue level about right for someone who doesn’t regularly do crosswords, but enjoys them, – suppose it gets harder as you go.
Good puzzles, good interface. I plan to buy some of the packs soon, since I’ve finished a lot of the free puzzles. The target audience is clearly British, which makes the clues a bit harder for us Americans, but it’s not a big problem.
I enjoy these puzzles very much. Sometimes I can get the word from crossing words and one part of the clue but the other part of the clue is a complete mystery. In a few I get the word as a guess from the crossing words and the whole clue is a mystery. It would be great if one could go to an explanation of the clues. I would be willing to pay more for such a service.
Find level of difficulty just right for me. Clues are not too obscure but testing. I like the option to check your answers and if you get really stuck it will provide you with assistance. Still using the available games but will need to pay soon if I carry on solving at present rate.
Very well thought out app. The puzzles are not ridiculously far out like some I’ve seen. Easy to check progress and you have the ability to reveal a letter for a hint or the whole word if need be. Very reasonable price for the number of puzzles. I’m really enjoying them.. Thanks!
A good app with a good amount of crosswords for the price. My only criticism would be the number of clues that are anagrams or sections of phrases. I prefer to be kept guessing with real cryptic clues that have to be deciphered. It’s a fun app and a good way to kill a bit of time though.
I now have over a 1000 puzzles on my phone. So many that I’ve just reset a pack and did them again. I’ve bought nearly everything puzzle wise Teazel has brought out. Decent puzzles with a good UI. I am seriously annoyed I haven’t found a misspelled answer yet. Thought I had once, turned out the setter was cleverer than me, or better at using Google. Probably the best set of Crosswords in the Play Store. Top notch. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The best of its kind on the Android app store as far as I know, but I still get family to send me cut outs of the Times cryptic when they can. These are fun to kill a few minutes, but 85% or more of the clues are anagrams or reading the answer across other words. As such these are fair and solvable, but far from challenging. Certainn words are overused as answers across the packs / show up a lot.
Puzzles are challenging but still gettable, except for a few British terms that were unknown to me. I bought and completed all six collections, then reset them and started over. An excellent value for the price.
Great app, especially if like me you are just trying to get into cryptic crosswords. Ideal being able to add letters to the answer to get you there and great to be able to make the links that otherwise would have been too deeply hidden for beginners like me. Really enjoying working through these.
While I initially had issues with installation the developer gave me direct personal assistance. They get 10 stars! This is my favorite of all the cryptic crosswords and I recommend to those who love wordplay and a unique challenge. I wish the setters could see my smiles as I figure out the most clever answers.
Too difficult for me. Clues are absurdly obscure to the point that I had trouble working some out even after revealing the answer. Not enough anagram type clues to get a foothold in the puzzle. Clue words are inconsistent and often red herrings. Maybe I’m just thick but I enjoy an easier puzzle, not one I’ll get a third of the way through and have to reveal the answers. I’m sure there are some boffins out there that’ll love it, but it’s not for me.
Love the range and mixture of questions and answers, so far though, not really that challenging. I hope puzzles will toughen up on later levels. App itself works great and designed well. Lost one star for being a little on the easy side.
Free version is great for trying it out. I paid for the full version once I’d done the 18 free puzzles. Would like to have them sorted by difficulty, but other than that, perfect app.
Best cryptic crosswords on Play Store. I’ve played through all the crosswords once and am on my second run. I can see myself going through them again and again. Just the right level of challenging for the majority of cryptic fans.