Parents need to know Crosswords With Friends is a puzzle game that offers daily crossword puzzles for enthusiasts. While the name implies a multiplayer component, it’s a single player game. There’s no inappropriate content, but the app is loaded with advertisements and does gently push in-app purchases, though those can be obtained with in-game currency, which is easy to collect. To learn what the developer does with your personal information, read its privacy policy.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

In Crosswords With Friends, players solve crossword puzzles in the same way they’d do so in a book, magazine or newspaper, by translating hints into answers. But if you get stuck, the game lets you ‘buy’ partial or complete answers to difficult questions. The most useful assist, though, is one that will let you know if you’re entering the wrong letter, saving you trouble deeper into the game. The faster you finish the puzzles, the more stars you earn. While the name of the game implies a multiplayer component, that’s only in a tournament among all players to see who can complete the most puzzles (based on their total number of stars).

IS IT ANY GOOD?

While not everything transitions well to the digital world, we’re happy to report crossword puzzles do with this fun app. Crosswords With Friends may not be the social game its name implies, but it’s a wonderful puzzle-a-day app that will keep casual, moderate, and hardcore crossword fans happy. The puzzles are supplied via a partnership with People Magazine. They’re not especially challenging, but they’re a fun way to focus your mind elsewhere and provide a good distraction. The hunt system Zynga provides is a good backstop for people who can’t figure out an answer, supplying either letters or the whole word _ or letting you know when you’re entering the wrong answer.

While it would be nice to have different difficulty levels to choose from _ and a more robust “With Friends” aspect to the game (a tournament to see who has won the most isn’t that engaging), this is a well-done game that lets you scratch the daily itch to solve these popular puzzles and offers a tremendous backlog of additional challenges (each at a small cost) for people who want to binge.

RATING AND CONTENT

Recommended for ages 7 and older

Quality: 4 out of 5

Ease of play: 4 out of 5

Violence and scariness: 0 out of 5

Sexy stuff: 0 out of 5

Language: 0 out of 5

Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 0 out of 5

Consumerism: 2 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)

APP DETAILS

Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android

Price: Free

Release date: April 27, 2017

Category: Puzzle games

Size: 117.00 MB

Publisher: Zynga

Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.4 and up

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Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.