CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles

I don't frequently enjoy crossword puzzle games, because they are often packed full of questions about TV shows, movies, or sports, none of which are particularly relevant to me. This game has been so refreshing because, while it does have the occasional entertainment industry question, it features very diverse prompts! World history, geography, zoology, general vocabulary... it has been so wonderful to have such variety! I'm delighted when I know the answer to a prompt, especially when I didn't even realize I knew anything about the subject! If I don't know an answer, googling it up is very simple, or I can simply use a hint. Speaking of hints, I'd like to mention how I absolutely LOVE that if we watch an advertisement, we get rewarded for it. And viewing the advertisements is voluntary, without having to buy anything! I have not come across any other game with that feature, and I cannot begin to express how much I wish every game implemented it! The only thing that might be nice (and it almost feels weird to say it!) but I wouldn't mind more variety in the advertisements. I have no problem watching them, since I get a free hint (or two, or three) when I do, but seeing the same advertisement 15 times in a row gets a little monotonous, haha. Honestly though, if repetitive (but voluntary!) advertisements are my only gripe about a game, you have a ridiculously great app in your hands. Thank you for such a great game and keep coming up with those fantastically diverse prompts!

Quick background info: Every day that you play adds to your streak. After playing your first game (usually the day’s Password or one of the two Crossword), there’s a little graphic that shows your streak continuing. You see it once and then it’s done until the next day. If you miss a day, you have the option of using a shield to protect your streak. There are various prizes the longer your streak lasts. I’ve been playing for a long time and I overall enjoy the game. But last night (Tuesday, August 27, 2024) I noticed a glitch happening with my streak. After every puzzle I played, I kept seeing the graphic showing my streak continuing- repeatedly going from 1196 to 1197. I closed the game and reopened it multiple times with the same glitch happening after every completed puzzle. Then today (Wednesday, August 28, 2024) when I opened the game, it said I had to use one of my shields to protect my streak. So I used one and after I played the Password puzzle, the graphic showed my streak continuing from 1197 to 1198. Then I played one of the Crossword puzzles and again, the graphic showed my streak continuing from 1197 to 1198. Tomorrow’s streak number (1199) is in yellow, which usually indicates a special prize of sorts. I’m wondering if I’m going to get it with this weird glitch that’s happening. The last update for the game was on August 14, 2024, so I feel like there shouldn’t be any issues. If the glitch continues to happen, I plan on updating this review (that currently sits at 4 stars).

New comment: I understand the ads sustain and increase your profits, but every one needs a quick out for two reasons: one, many of the apps we may already have which makes watching them both tedious and annoying. Two, we may be totally uninterested in the product which interferes with moving ahead with your game. My wife and I compete against each other on the regular game; I am eighty and she is in her seventies. We are giving up a year of our lives to endure the ads which have clearly increased in number. Older comment: My comment of three years ago about the ads still holds true but, as one might expect, they are longer (on average), and often take three or more steps to exit and paying for no ads is not worth it. The twenty sets of regular games vary in both quality and ease. That said, some have the most bizarre, unheard-of “facts” imaginable. There is likely no one living on earth that has heard of some of them and that includes the set developer who has likely forgotten some of the most strange ones by now. The upside is that the games do, at times, make one think. I doubt that it could be clinically proven that they are good for one’s brain, but they fill idle time. I add that I coached a high school academic team for over thirty years, and Cody Cross is not going to match the intellectual “trivia” one might expect to encounter.