Puzzle games that support Dynamic Type: which ones to try

A 4×4 board is displayed on an iPhone at the default text size. Holding the phone at arm's length, a person has to squint to tell a 3 from an 8, since the digits under the grid are small. The numbers in the cells are a bit larger than that. Solvers in this spot often open Settings, select Display & Brightness, and tap Text Size, or they look for Larger Text under Accessibility and drag the slider to the right. Once the size is changed, they go back to the game and check that the numbers are bigger.

The slider controls Dynamic Type, which lets app text change to match the size chosen in Settings under Display and Text Size. According to a 2024 CreateWithSwift guide, apps built with text styles from SwiftUI and UIKit support Dynamic Type automatically. Dynamic Type is not new; it first appeared in iOS 7. A puzzle app built with those standard styles already responds to slider changes, so the solver does not need to change anything in the game.

What the largest text sizes change on a board

When the Larger Accessibility Sizes option is turned on in Settings, Apple adds five more text sizes, named AX1 to AX5. Those sizes sit beyond the standard range, and the same slider reaches them if the user moves it further right. Starting with iOS 11, every text style includes these extra sizes. Before iOS 11, only the body text style used them, so labels and captions in many apps stayed small however far the slider moved.

The steps are large. Apple's Larger Text guidance says sizes go past 200% at AX3, and body text goes past 300% at AX5. A solver on a 6x6 board at those settings sees the digits in the cells swell, along with the tray numbers, the level name and the clock. Thirty-six cells each have to hold a larger digit, and the tray has to hold the same numbers beside them.

The layout needs room for this kind of growth. If the cells and the tray have a fixed height, large digits can be cut off at the borders or overlap the next cell, and the number six can look like five. A board that supports larger text can wrap the tray onto a second row or give the grid more of the screen.

Why some games set their own text size

Apple's Larger Text guidance says that developers of games or apps that rely heavily on text may choose to manage their own font sizes with an in-app setting instead of Dynamic Type. Puzzles with a timer, a tray and many small labels often fall into that group, and layout is usually the cause. Developers who set their own sizes can keep the board in a shape they have tested.

A solver who raises the system slider and sees no change in a game may need to look for a separate control. Many of these games place a text size slider in the settings screen, often with few steps from small to large. Once the solver sets that slider, the choice stays for later levels.

Other aspects appear on the board itself. The tray can keep its shape, with each number staying in one row, while the size of the digits grows only to a certain limit. The clock can stay readable at a fixed size next to the grid. On a 9×9 board, which contains 81 cells, a developer can limit the size of the digits so that each cell still contains a single clear number.

To find out which method a game uses, first move the system slider, then open the game's settings and look for the size control.

Checking a puzzle game's text size before a download

A quick check takes about two minutes and can be run on any number puzzle app. Open Settings, go to Accessibility, select Display & Text Size, and choose Larger Text. Turn on Larger Accessibility Sizes, then drag the slider all the way to the right. Next, open a level in the game and check four things:

• Every digit must be a whole number, and the tray can run onto a second row if no number is split.
• Cell digits should stay distinct, so a 6 still looks different from a 5 or an 8, and nothing is cut off at the cell edges.
• Stars and any numbers beside them should be easy to read and should not overlap other labels.
• The clock should grow and remain fully on screen while the board is visible.

If none of these change, the game may have its own text size control in its settings, so check there before you judge it.

NumFall on the App Store lists support for Dynamic Type, VoiceOver and Reduce Motion, and it runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS or iPadOS 17 or later.

Start with the slider at its largest size, then open a level on the smallest board, where the tray, the cell numbers and the clock all fit on screen together.

NumFall is made by the publisher of this site. Any health or brain-training points here are general information, not medical advice.