Parents' Guide to CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles

This crossword puzzle is amusing for younger and older players alike, giving a fun experience for all. CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles covers a wide range of crossword clues. The answers to the puzzles include both general words and proper nouns -- ranging from names like Newton (as in Isaac) to Madrid, the capital of Spain. Kids may need some knowledge of history, literature, and other subjects to guess them. A few topics might be too obscure for younger players to get -- one clue, for example, references a John Mayer song lyric from several years ago. Generally, though, the answers aren't too hard to figure out.

Completed and pending challenges are listed on a space backdrop on the app's main page -- the backstory behind that theme isn't explained in nearly as much as detail as the Google Play and App Store descriptions imply, but kids don't need to know much about it to play. The rounds move quickly, so they should feel like they're making progress. They aren't penalized for making a wrong guess, and they get enough tokens at the start to keep playing for awhile -- plus they'll earn additional items that will uncover more of the puzzle as they advance, such as a booster that shows you which letters are in a word and an option that reveals the entire term. Kids can also choose to make puzzles harder after level 11, which can help keep them feeling challenged. Unfortunately, that's also when they'll start seeing ads in between rounds, and waiting to click to exit them slows down the pace a bit. Still, with fairly easy-to-figure-out clues, and plenty of tokens to get additional assistance until kids have mastered the game, CodyCross: Crossword Puzzles offers a pretty enjoyable playing experience -- without a significant need to buy anything, which parents may appreciate.