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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

NYT Games vs Words With Friends Word Game

NYT Games 4.8★ · Free to download 75
Winner NYT Games
Words With Friends Word Game 4.6★ · Free + IAP 40

NYT Games is the better choice for those seeking a premium, ad-free puzzle experience, despite its higher subscription cost and recent technical glitches, while Words With Friends is plagued by an overwhelming number of ads and aggressive monetization tactics.

Full reviews: NYT Games · Words With Friends Word Game

NYT Games offers a variety of engaging puzzles with a generally positive user experience, though recent updates have introduced stability and interface issues. Words With Friends, while a popular word game, is heavily criticized for its excessive and intrusive ads, even for paying users, and perceived manipulative game mechanics.

Head to head

Features & Content edge: NYT GamesR8R20R23R26
NYT Games NYT Games users appreciate the variety of puzzles, including Crossword, Wordle, Connections, and Spelling Bee, with new puzzles added regularly R8R20R23. Some users desire more archives for games like Spelling Bee and more diverse crossword packs R26.
Words With Friends Word Game Words With Friends offers classic word game play, mini-games, and club features . However, some users feel there are too many distractions and forced extras beyond the core game .
Ease of Use & Interface tieR1R10R11R15
NYT Games NYT Games users have recently reported issues with unreadable clues due to poor color contrast R10R11. There are also complaints about repetitive review prompts and confirmation requests for checking puzzles or hints R1. Some users also dislike recent changes to puzzle navigation and layout R15.
Words With Friends Word Game Words With Friends is criticized for a busy interface with too many pop-ups and options . Users also report broken notifications and issues with the app's functionality on iPads .
Reliability & Performance tieR6R9R13R19
NYT Games Many NYT Games users report frequent app crashes on both iPad and iPhone, especially after recent updates R24R36. There are also significant complaints about excessive battery drain R13R19 and the app no longer supporting older devices or OS versions R6. Some users experienced lost streaks and scores due to issues R9.
Words With Friends Word Game Words With Friends users experience frequent freezing, especially during timed games, and boards graying out . Some report issues with videos not loading and the game only working on Wi-Fi . There are also long-standing bugs like unachievable achievements and broken notifications R79R82.
Price & Value edge: NYT GamesR12R53R61R63
NYT Games NYT Games is free to download, but many games require a subscription, which some users find expensive for the content offered R12R53.
Words With Friends Word Game Words With Friends is free with in-app purchases, but users are overwhelmed by ads, often after every single move, making the game nearly unplayable without paying R61R63R64R66. The ad-free option is a monthly subscription, which many find too expensive and manipulative, especially since some paying users still report seeing ads R91R96R106R112.
Support & Communication tieR36R44R79R82
NYT Games Some NYT Games users report no response from support after reporting issues R36. However, at least one user noted a quick response and fix for crashing issues R44.
Words With Friends Word Game Words With Friends users report long-standing issues that are not fixed, with generic developer responses that don't help R82. Some users cannot even submit support tickets R79. One user did note prompt developer action on an issue .
User Experience (General) edge: NYT GamesR8R23R24R25
NYT Games Many NYT Games users describe the app as a daily ritual and a great way to start their day, keeping their brains sharp R8R23. However, recent updates have led to frustration due to bugs, crashes, and interface changes R24R25.
Words With Friends Word Game Words With Friends users enjoy the core game , but the overall experience is severely hampered by an overwhelming number of ads, pop-ups, and perceived manipulative game mechanics R61R63R64R66. There are also concerns about spam notifications and privacy .
Pick NYT Games if

You want a variety of high-quality word and logic puzzles, value an ad-free experience (with subscription), and are willing to tolerate occasional bugs or interface quirks from recent updates R8R20R23.

Pick Words With Friends Word Game if

You are a dedicated fan of the Words With Friends game and are willing to pay a monthly subscription to remove ads, or can tolerate an extremely high volume of intrusive advertisements .

Evidence note: Recent negative reviews for NYT Games are heavily skewed towards technical issues and interface changes following updates, while positive reviews praise the core puzzle experience. For Words With Friends, the overwhelming majority of negative reviews focus on the excessive and intrusive ads, even for paying users, and perceived manipulative game mechanics. The free vs. paid asymmetry is very pronounced for Words With Friends, where the free tier is described as nearly unplayable due to ads.

Frequently asked

Is NYT Games free to play?
NYT Games is free to download, but many of its popular puzzles, like the full crossword archive and more advanced games, require a paid subscription R12R53.
Are there ads in Words With Friends?
Yes, Words With Friends is heavily criticized for having an overwhelming number of ads, often appearing after every single move, which many users find makes the game nearly unplayable R61R64R66R78.
Does NYT Games have technical issues?
Yes, recent updates to NYT Games have led to frequent app crashes, significant battery drain, and issues with unreadable clue text due to poor color contrast R10R11R13R19.
Can I remove ads in Words With Friends?
Words With Friends offers a monthly subscription to remove ads, but many users find the price of $10 a month to be too high, and some paying users still report seeing ads R91R96R106R112.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R8] NYT Games 5/5 · US Simply The Best: Daily fun and challenge all in one
  2. [R20] NYT Games 5/5 · US Great: Appreciate that they keep adding new puzzles. It's a morning ritual
  3. [R23] NYT Games 5/5 · US Games: I enjoy the Connections, the Crossword and Wordle with my morning coffee. A great way to start my day
  4. [R26] NYT Games 5/5 · US Spelling Bee archive please: I love you but I need more Spelling Bee
  5. [R1] NYT Games 1/5 · US Enough already: This pops up every time. Please make it stop.
  6. [R10] NYT Games 1/5 · US Unreadable clues: The new dark blue background for the crossword clues on the iPad version makes them extremely hard to read. There’s simply not enough contrast. Please go back to a lighter blue so we can actually read the clues.
  7. [R11] NYT Games 4/5 · US Fix the highlight color, please!: I love the puzzles but recently, the color of the clue highlight has changed to a darker shade of blue that makes it difficult for this vision-impaired player to read. Please change it back to the light blue.
  8. [R15] NYT Games 3/5 · US Not Everyone Lives in NYC: Recent updates to Games have widened the game-experience gap between East Coasters and the rest of the country. You drop a new crossword hours before the end of the day and then don’t grant streak-extending status to a puzzle solved long before midnight on the day after its nominal date. Boo! Revert to the three-most-recently-dropped puzzles rule for “gold stars.”
  9. [R6] NYT Games 3/5 · US Very annoying that App is no longer supported on older devices: NYT should not be forcing paying customers to buy new devices and render older devices that are otherwise perfectly ok obsolete to the point of becoming landfill
  10. [R9] NYT Games 3/5 · US Lost high score and streak: Because there was an issue with crossword, but they made me reinstall before posting a fix. I lost my wordle streak and higher score. Thanks for taking care of subscribers.
  11. [R13] NYT Games 1/5 · US Battery drain: Current version of the app is terrible. It completely drains my year-old iPad mini battery within an hour of use. Never had this problem before. It affects both my older pad running ios18 and the newer one on ios26. Please fix this!
  12. [R19] NYT Games 1/5 · US Very high battery usage: This app has always used a lot of battery on my iPhone 13, but with the latest update, it has become an absolute hog. Spending a 30 minutes in a puzzle drains 20% of my battery and it makes my phone get HOT! There must be a lot of background activity or the app is poorly optimized, because my battery health is still decent. A crossword puzzle is simple, low refresh rate, n
  13. [R12] NYT Games 3/5 · US Love it but $$$: I love these games and would pay a buck or two a month for the rest. That subscription price is beyond insane for what amounts to a pile of flash games from the 2000s.
  14. [R53] NYT Games 4/5 · US Really good app: The previously reported crashing bug has been fixed. This is a really good app for folks who love puzzles. Subscription fee is a bit high, but otherwise no complaints.
  15. [R61] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US WORST GAME SO MANY ADS: Play this game if your goal is to get rage baited. So many pop ups and ads. An ad after Every. Single. Move. And the ads won’t let you click out of them. Deleting this game after redownloading for only 10 minutes. Wanted to play Words with Friends, not Words with Ads.
  16. [R63] Words With Friends Word Game 3/5 · US Fun game: Great but way too many advertisements , especially the exact same ones over and over . It’s hampering the enjoyment of playing . Temu is beyond annoying and it’s why I won’t buy anything from them . Inconsiderate to the point of harassing
  17. [R36] NYT Games 3/5 · US Crashes!: Used to be great, now crashes every 5 minutes! Wrote for support, but no response, very disappointing
  18. [R44] NYT Games 4/5 · US July 2026 Grateful for quick response: The app was continually crashing and an app update arrived in just a few days. Back to puzzling!
  19. [R79] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US Can’t get achievements: I have not been able to get my achievements in years… I have deleted the game for a while and come back to it and have the same issues. I have the little 1 notification by my profile picture I click there and click achievements (also has the notification 1 by it) and nothing. I can’t get past level 11 because of this. I tried filling out their “contact” support sheet on the
  20. [R82] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US An error in my game for over a year!!: Over a year of “we know about it but can’t tell you when it will be fixed”. I have played this game for at least 14 years or more and know how to fix glitches I get the same nonsense response It is now just a joke! I received a response from the developer to contact them 😂. As if I haven’t contacted them about 1 every few months and I get the same resp
  21. [R24] NYT Games 3/5 · US Updates are awful: What have they done to the app? It crashes regularly, you can’t ‘x’ out a crossword, it forces you to quit the app, and the last update that I hoped would fix all of the introduced bugs deleted your average crossword times. I understand wanting to force people to play more crosswords, but you’ve made it unusable in the process.
  22. [R25] NYT Games 1/5 · US New update BLOWS!: Please go back to last version.
  23. [R64] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US Unplayable: Their is an add after every word played and most of them don’t have an exit so the screen is just stuck on the ad, have to close the game out after every word played. Do better.
  24. [R66] Words With Friends Word Game 3/5 · US ALL ADS ALL THE TIME: If you like ads and constant popups, this game is for you! At least 90% of your time will be closing out ads and popups so that you can get a quick moment of fun with a friend or total stranger.
  25. [R78] Words With Friends Word Game 3/5 · US AD: Having AD an AD ad AD break AD after AD every AD move AD in AD classic AD mode AD is AD ridiculous AD.
  26. [R91] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US I paid for Ad free!!!: I went about a week with no ads and then all of a sudden a week later I’m getting 30 second to one minute ads in between every play. I really enjoyed the app but when I pay $14 to go, add Free, I expect to not watch ads! To me this app is a rip off and there’s no way to fix it because no one is available to fix it!!
  27. [R96] Words With Friends Word Game 3/5 · US Aggressive Ads: I love wwf but their ads are crazy aggressive and it’s almost impossible to exit out of the ad after it’s done. The only way to combat the ads is to pay $10 a MONTH. Pretty unfortunate, won’t be paying that.
  28. [R106] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US Incredibly Annoying: This is one of the worst developed games on the App Store currently. Too much is going on on the screen at any given time, and you have to pay $10 a month to get rid of ads? That is such a scam. I'd pay $10 to get rid of them permanently, but never for only 30 days. Please fix these issues so I can come back and play again
  29. [R112] Words With Friends Word Game 1/5 · US Ad free purchase is not ad free - Class action lawsuiT ANYONE?: Zynga inserted paid characters into the game player icons to pretend it is not an ad placement. The paid sponsorship is still an advertisement no matter how they describe it. sponsorship, game play, special event, it is still an ad. Don’t bother w the ad-free purchase. For those that paid for an ad-free experience. Progressive insuran

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store