One of the best things about this app is the fact that it comes in a variety of sizes. The crosswords in the New York Times get more difficult as the week goes on, this is a fact. They brought this concept to the Kindle with the option for Easy or Challenging sets of puzzles. You can also choose between 30 puzzle packs and 90 puzzle packs for $1.99 and $4.99 respectively.
The application is very well put together with a wealth of options and hits to help you along. Hitting the Menu button while you’re in the app will pull up a wealth of tips and instructions. The app lets you jump from puzzle to puzzle if one is stumping you and keeps yours times separate. Whether or not you use hints or opt to autocomplete a puzzle is not reflected on the high score list though. This is a small issue, but something I wish they had addressed. I’m not ashamed to say I use the hints, but a puzzle I complete with no assistance is much more satisfying to me and I wish they had signified that more prominently.
Navigation takes a bit to get used to, but it’s well done overall. The five way controller will move you around the board and if you see a bit of slowdown it’s because the hints automatically update based on the cell you have highlighted. You can also jump directly to a specific cell on the puzzle if you prefer to solve them that way.
What the Customer Reviews are saying:
All of the apps with the exception of 90 Easy Crosswords are rated at 3.5 stars. 90 Easy Crosswords comes in at 4.5. What strikes me as odd about this is the fact that the apps are exactly the same, only the content changes. The primary issue seems to be with the navigation time. There IS a lag when inputting letters but it’s not something I had that big of an issue with. If you want an app that will run lightning fast you may have issues here.
What I’m saying:
8/10 – now I can write whatever I like, it’s the only crossword option out there and if you want to use your Kindle for Crosswords it’s your only option. Having said that, I really enjoyed it. Yes, it could have been a little faster but I’m not going to lose a lot of sleep over that. I opted for the $1.99 30 pack of Easy Crosswords. My completion times have ranged from 35 minutes to well over an hour. Whether or not you’re a huge crossword fan or not, I’d opt for the $1.99 pack just to see how you like it. You can always buy another pack later.
