Battle monsters, fight evil, and solve crosswords in Crossword Dungeon

Three heroes descend into a dank, cobweb-strewn tomb. They hold their weapons close to hand, aware of the sound of their own beating hearts as they go deeper into the depths.

Suddenly, with a great crash of stone, the wall caves in – and a monstrous, diabolical crossword clue leaps out of the darkness.

Ok, so this isn't exactly how Crossword Dungeon - a neat wordplay RPG from Nolithius - plays out, but you get the idea. Every level of this newly-released iOS game is a procedurally-generated crossword puzzle, and each letter space is guarded by a monster. Guess correctly and the monsters go splat.

This isn't just a crossword game in cosplay, though: each of the three characters have stats and abilities and will level up by vanquishing evil. The barbarian "feeds his rage with the blood of his enemies", the ranger fights with "marksmanship and tracking instincts", and the scoundrel "subverts enemies' defences with stealth attacks".

You'll also find that certain tiles offer up bonuses - like a health boost or some added stealth - but if it's the wrong letter you'll have to decide whether it's worth taking a small beating.

The awfully clever, and rather addictive Crossword Dungeon is out now on 'communication device made by Apple (6)' for £1.49/$1.99. That's the iPhone, just to be clear.