AppyNation
AppyNation is a UK-based private mobile puzzle game publisher (Leamington Spa) operating a portfolio of 10+ freemium puzzle apps — including Picture Cross, Puzzle Page, and the "World's Biggest" series — distributed globally on iOS, Android, and Amazon Appstore and monetized via ads, IAP, and a Puzzle Page subscription serving casual gamers and puzzle enthusiasts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What AppyNation does
AppyNation (AppyNation Limited) is a UK-based mobile puzzle game developer and publisher headquartered in Leamington Spa, operating since 2011 under the parent studio Supersonic Software, which has been making games since 1988. The company publishes a portfolio of 10+ freemium puzzle games across iOS App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Appstore, spanning nonogram/picture logic (Picture Cross, with 10,000+ puzzles), daily puzzle compilations (Puzzle Page, with 20+ puzzle varieties and a VIP subscription), link-a-pix (Pixel Path), and the "World's Biggest" series covering Crossword, Sudoku, Wordsearch, Solitaire, and Mahjong. The games are built on standard mobile platforms with hand-crafted content, themed puzzle packs, achievement systems (quests and trophies), daily content calendars, and offline play capability, and the company has been consolidating its portfolio under the puzzling.com brand since 2021.
The business model is a multi-stream freemium approach: games are free to download with in-app advertising served through major ad networks (AdColony, AppLovin, Chartboost, Facebook, Google, IronSource, Unity, Vungle), in-app purchases for content unlocks and hints, one-time purchases (e.g., Quick Puzzle unlock in World's Biggest Wordsearch), and a subscription tier on Puzzle Page ($5.99/month or $35.99/year) that removes ads and unlocks a 300+ Special Issues library. The go-to-market is product-led: discovery and acquisition flow through app store search and recommendations, supported by paid social/search remarketing (Google Ads, Facebook, Twitter, Apple Search Ads) and organic social channels (@GetPuzzling, @AppyNation, @BigPuzzles). The target customer is a horizontal consumer segment spanning casual mobile gamers, dedicated puzzle enthusiasts seeking daily fresh content, and all-ages/family audiences, with no enterprise or B2B customer base.
AppyNation is a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales (company number 07760616), with no disclosed external funding, M&A, or institutional investors. The company appears to be founder- or management-owned, with a small headcount of 11-50 employees supporting a portfolio that has been in market for 7-13+ years per title. The company is GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, and PCI DSS compliant, supporting global consumer distribution.
AppyNation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AppyNation
- Legal name
- AppyNation Limited
- Website
- https://appynation.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- AppyNation is a UK-based private mobile puzzle game publisher (Leamington Spa) operating a portfolio of 10+ freemium puzzle apps — including Picture Cross, Puzzle Page, and the "World's Biggest" series — distributed globally on iOS, Android, and Amazon Appstore and monetized via ads, IAP, and a Puzzle Page subscription serving casual gamers and puzzle enthusiasts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AppyNation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Puzzle Games
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios (MPAFAAAG)
Keywords
Where AppyNation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
AppyNation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Freemium with Optional Paid Items: Games are free to download and play. Optional paid items within apps allow players to unlock content more quickly or enhance gameplay experience.
- Subscription (Puzzle Page VIP): Puzzle Page offers monthly ($5.99 USD) and annual ($35.99 USD) subscription plans providing VIP access including unlimited daily puzzles, exclusive Special Issues library (300+), and ad removal.
- One-Time Purchases: Quick Puzzle mode in World's Biggest Wordsearch offers 100 puzzles with first 9 free; full unlock available via one-time purchase.
- In-App Advertising: Free versions of games include advertising from marketing partners including AdColony, AppLovin, Chartboost, Facebook, Google, IronSource, Unity, and Vungle.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Puzzle Page Monthly Subscription - VIP Access |
| Subscription | Annual | Puzzle Page Annual Subscription - VIP Access |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Pixel Path - Optional Paid Items |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | World's Biggest Wordsearch Quick Puzzle Unlock |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
AppyNation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AppyNation is a UK-based mobile games developer and publisher that designs, develops, and distributes free-to-download puzzle games for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices. Its portfolio spans nonogram picture logic, daily crosswords, word search, Sudoku, Mahjong, and Solitaire games, monetized through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. The company operates under the puzzling.com brand and is part of the longer-running Supersonic Software studio.
Product overview
AppyNation (operating as puzzling.com) is a UK-based mobile games publisher and developer specializing in puzzle games for smartphones and tablets. The portfolio consists of multiple distinct puzzle game products across various puzzle genres: nonogram/picture logic games (Picture Cross), daily puzzle apps (Puzzle Page), link-a-pix games (Pixel Path), traditional crosswords with picture clues (One Clue Crossword, Picture Perfect Crossword, World's Biggest Crossword), word search (World's Biggest Wordsearch), sudoku (World's Biggest Sudoku), solitaire card games (World's Biggest Solitaire), and mahjong tile-matching (World's Biggest Mahjong). All games are free to download with optional in-app purchases and subscriptions for premium content removal. The company, legally registered as AppyNation Ltd (Reg No. 7760616) in England, also operates under the Supersonic Software brand with a history dating back to 1988.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Picture Cross: Nonogram picture logic puzzle game with over 10,000 puzzles across themed packs.
- Puzzle Page
- Pixel Path
- One Clue Crossword
- Picture Perfect Crossword
- World's Biggest Crossword
- World's Biggest Sudoku
- World's Biggest Wordsearch
- World's Biggest Solitaire
- World's Biggest Mahjong
Products and services
- Picture Cross Nonogram (picture logic) puzzle game where players solve grid-based puzzles to reveal hidden images; features over 10,000 puzzles across 75+ themed packs, events, tournaments, and bonus game modes for casual mobile gamers.
- Puzzle Page Daily puzzle app offering 20+ word, number, and logic puzzle varieties including Crossword, Sudoku, Picture Cross, Word Search, Codeword, and Kakuro; available as freemium with monthly ($5.99) and annual ($35.99) VIP subscriptions that remove ads and unlock a 300+ Special Issues library.
- Pixel Path Link-a-Pix pixel puzzle game in which players connect numbered, same-color squares to build mosaic pictures that reveal animated scenes; features 300+ puzzles themed around travel destinations and optional in-app paid items.
- One Clue Crossword Crossword puzzle game in which all of the target words are hidden in a single photograph; features hundreds of puzzles across 40+ chapters using photo-based clues.
- Picture Perfect Crossword Crossword puzzle game where each clue is rendered as a unique picture and players identify what they see in the image to fill in the answers; includes Facebook social login for cross-device progress sync.
- World's Biggest Crossword Large-scale crossword puzzle collection offering 350+ classic crosswords, 100 extra-large bonus puzzles, daily challenges, and a British Cryptics mode.
- World's Biggest Mahjong Mahjong Solitaire game with 400 board layouts across varied themes and difficulty levels, multiple tile styles (Traditional, Modern, Symbol), and an achievement system.
- World's Biggest Solitaire Card puzzle game where players clear boards by playing cards one higher or one lower; includes 400 levels, boost cards, painted background scenes, and a Hot Streak scoring system.
- World's Biggest Wordsearch Wordsearch puzzle game featuring 5,000 words across 361 puzzles, with three play modes (Word Search Go!, World's Biggest Puzzle, Quick Puzzle), quests, trophies, and a one-time-purchase unlock for the full Quick Puzzle pack.
- World's Biggest Sudoku Large-format Sudoku game offering 350+ hand-crafted puzzles within a giant grid, complete with Quests and Trophies progression system.
Companies that use AppyNation
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
AppyNation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
Feature5 records
AppyNation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- AdColonyminorAdvertising partner providing mobile advertising services including privacy policy integration for data handling compliance.
- Amazon Media GroupminorAdvertising and distribution partner providing Amazon appstore distribution and Amazon advertising services.
- Apple Search AdsminorMarketing partner for Apple Search Ads advertising on the iOS App Store platform.
- AppLovinminorMobile advertising and app monetization partner with privacy policy integration.
- ChartboostminorMobile game advertising platform partner providing programmatic advertising services.
- CrossInstallminorMarketing partner for mobile game advertising and user acquisition.
- Facebook (Meta)minorConversion tracking, remarketing pixel, and advertising partner using Facebook advertising platform with privacy policy integration.
- GoogleminorGoogle Analytics statistical service, Google AdWords advertising, and AdMob advertising partner with privacy policy integration.
- InstagramminorSocial media marketing partner for advertising and brand presence.
- IronSourceminorMobile game advertising and user acquisition platform partner.
- TapjoyminorMobile advertising and monetization partner with privacy policy integration.
- UnityminorUnityAds advertising platform partner for in-game mobile advertising.
- VungleminorMobile advertising platform partner for video ads and user acquisition.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AppyNation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Brainbow (PeopleFun): Publisher of Wordscapes and other word puzzle hits. Directly comparable as a mobile-first word/puzzle publisher monetizing via ads and IAP on iOS and Android, with overlapping target audience of adult casual gamers.
- Easybrain: Mobile puzzle game developer behind Sudoku.com, Blockudoku, and other minimalist puzzle hits. Direct peer to AppyNation in casual mobile puzzle publishing, sharing the same freemium + ad monetization and app store distribution.
- MobilityWare: Mobile game publisher specializing in classic card and puzzle games (Solitaire, Mahjong, Sudoku, Crossword). Direct peer to AppyNation's World's Biggest Solitaire, Mahjong, Sudoku, and Crossword titles, with identical freemium + ad model on app stores.
- PlaySimple: Mumbai-based mobile puzzle game publisher with a portfolio of word and trivia puzzle apps (Word Trip, Crossword Jam, Wordscapes Solitaire-style titles). Comparable to AppyNation in business model (freemium + subscription) and target audience (adult casual puzzle players).
- The New York Times Games: Subscription-based daily puzzle platform (Wordle, Crossword, Sudoku). Comparable to Puzzle Page as a daily-puzzle subscription product targeting the same dedicated puzzle enthusiast segment, though with much stronger brand reach.
- Conceptis Puzzles: Publisher of logic and picture puzzles including nonograms (Pic-a-Pix) for mobile and web. Most directly comparable peer to AppyNation's Picture Cross / Pixel Path nonogram and link-a-pix titles, with similar puzzle-genre specialization.
Broad incumbents
- Storm8: Mobile casual game publisher with a broad puzzle and lifestyle game portfolio. Comparable to AppyNation in freemium mobile publishing model and ad+IAP monetization across iOS and Android storefronts.
- ZeptoLab: Mobile game developer and publisher known for Cut the Rope and a growing puzzle portfolio. Comparable to AppyNation as a freemium mobile puzzle publisher, though broader in scope (action-puzzle hybrids) and larger in scale.
- Zynga: Major mobile/social game publisher with puzzle-adjacent titles (Words With Friends, various crossword games). Overlaps with AppyNation on freemium word/puzzle mechanics and casual gamer demographics, but operates at much larger scale across many genres.
- King Digital Entertainment: Mobile casual game giant behind Candy Crush and a broad puzzle portfolio. Compares to AppyNation as a much larger incumbent in the same casual mobile puzzle category, serving overlapping demographics with freemium + IAP monetization.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AppyNation social profiles
Digital presenceAppyNation compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
AppyNation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AppyNation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
AppyNation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AppyNation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AppyNation
What does AppyNation do?
AppyNation is a UK-based mobile games developer and publisher that designs, develops, and distributes free-to-download puzzle games for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices. Its portfolio spans nonogram picture logic, daily crosswords, word search, Sudoku, Mahjong, and Solitaire games, monetized through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. The company operates under the puzzling.com brand and is part of the longer-running Supersonic Software studio.
Is AppyNation a public or private company?
AppyNation is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was AppyNation founded?
AppyNation was founded in 1988. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is AppyNation based?
AppyNation is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does AppyNation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Freemium with Optional Paid Items are the primary driver. The others are subscription (Puzzle Page VIP), one-Time Purchases and in-App Advertising.
Who are AppyNation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Brainbow (PeopleFun), Easybrain, MobilityWare, PlaySimple, The New York Times Games and Conceptis Puzzles. Broad incumbents are Storm8, ZeptoLab, Zynga and King Digital Entertainment.
Does AppyNation have an API?
No public API is recorded for AppyNation.
What industry is AppyNation in?
AppyNation's product category is Mobile Puzzle Games. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAG, Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios. Its NAICS code is 51321 and its SIC code is 7990.