The 12 best puzzle games in 2026
Our pick: The best puzzle game in 2026 is Baba Is You (9.0/10), followed by Monument Valley 3 and NYT Games.
A great puzzle game respects your time: one more level, not one more ad. We check how clever the puzzles are, how they feel on a phone, and how hard they push ads and coin packs.
Baba Is YouPush the words that make the rules, then break them
9.0
Best free
Monument Valley 38.7 overall
Quick answers
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Candy Crush Saga
Most popular
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Monument Valley 3
Best free
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Baba Is You
Best for iPhone · Best for Android · Best for Mac · Best for Windows · Most private · Best value
The full ranking
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1
Baba Is You9.0
Push the words that make the rules, then break them 9.00 -
2
Monument Valley 38.7
Impossible architecture, a sailing boat and calm puzzles 8.70 -
3
NYT Games8.4
Wordle, Connections, the Crossword and more, every day 8.40 -
4
Royal Match8.4
Polished match-3 with a castle to restore and no ads 8.40 -
5
Candy Crush Saga7.9
The match-3 classic with thousands of sweet levels 7.90 -
6
Wordfeud7.8
Classic word board duels in up to 30 games at once 7.80 -
7
Wordscapes7.8
Swipe letters into crosswords over calming landscapes 7.80 -
8
Sudoku.com7.8
Clean classic sudoku with daily challenges and events 7.80 -
9
CodyCross7.7
Themed trivia crosswords that hide a secret word 7.70 -
10
Words With Friends7.5
Turn-based word duels with friends, family and rivals 7.50 -
11
Block Blast!7.3
Drop blocks on an 8x8 grid and clear lines for combos 7.30 -
12
Scrabble GO7.3
Official Scrabble with duels, puzzles and collectible tiles 7.30
Votes don't change our scores. They show whether readers agree with the order — sort by Most upvoted to see theirs.
Head to head
Baba Is You
9.0
vs
Monument Valley 3
8.7
Baba Is You
9.0
vs
NYT Games
8.4
Monument Valley 3
8.7
vs
NYT Games
8.4
Guides for puzzle & word games
Questions
What is the best puzzle game in 2026?
Baba Is You is our top pick, with an overall score of 9.0 out of 10. Baba Is You is the puzzle game that rewires how you think. Each level's rules sit on the board as word blocks you can push around, so a few shoves can turn you into a rock, make grass dangerously hot or move the goal somewhere else entirely. The best solutions feel like cheats you found yourself. It's tough and the pixel art is plain, but few games make you feel this clever.
What is the best free puzzle game?
Monument Valley 3 is the highest-ranked puzzle game you can use meaningfully without paying, scoring 8.7 overall.
Which puzzle game is best for privacy?
Baba Is You has the highest privacy score in this category at 9.8 out of 10.