Red Wave TD vs Smash Dash RTS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Red Wave TD
Defend America from invading communist forces in this real-time strategy and tower defense game. Engage in a full story mode campaign or enjoy quick skirmishes on additional maps. Experience RTS gameplay on the go.
- Real-time strategy gameplay
- Tower defense mechanics
- Story mode campaign
- Skirmish maps
- On-the-go fun
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Communist forces have invaded America! Do you have what it takes to stop the Red Wave? Red Wave is a real-time strategy and tower defense game with a totally unique look — every unit and tile is hand-drawn in colored pencil and scanned in. Take command of American forces and hold the line across America. STORY CAMPAIGN - 6 MISSIONS • Mission 1: Crossing the Rio Grande - stop them at the southern border • Mission 2: Remember the Alamo! • Mission 3: Mighty Mississip' - hold the river • Mission 4: The Siege of St. Louis - defend the secrets hidden below the Gateway Arch • Mission 5: Marine One Down - the President is down in Nashville. Save him! • Mission 6: Escape - crush the tank brigade fleeing to the Atlantic Plus 3 Skirmish maps for quick play: Beginners Field (Easy), Two Rivers (Medium), Surrounded (Hard). BUILD YOUR DEFENSE • Marine - cheap, fast rapid-fire infantry • Pillbox - tough fortified gunner • Landmine - hidden one-shot boom • Artillery - long-range shells • Rocket Launcher - massive splash damage HOLD BACK THE WAVE Conscripts, Jeeps, Tanks, and Rocket Trucks that shoot back. Earn gold for every kill, build fast, and hold the line. MADE FOR ON-THE-GO RTS • Full campaign + skirmish - hours of play • Quick sessions, perfect for mobile • Landscape play with touch, mouse, and gamepad menu support • Free to play with Premium upgrade to unlock all maps and remove ads Get your RTS fix on the go. Stop the Red Wave! Includes Fireworks music composition by Sujin Wonglakorn. Includes various musical compositions by Espilan.
Smash Dash RTS
Engage in fast-paced real-time strategy battles, commanding individual units and groups. Build and defend your base, capture territory, and outmaneuver opponents in quick 5-minute matches. Challenge friends to private PvP battles or practice offline.
- Real-time strategy battles
- Base building and defense
- Territory capture
- 1v1 PvP matches
- Offline tutorial and target range
- Unit customization
- Battle replays and sharing
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Build your base. Give the orders. Take the battlefield. Smash Dash RTS puts you in direct command of individual units and whole groups in real-time strategy battles designed to last around five minutes. Capture territory, outmaneuver other players or AI opponents, and challenge friends to private 1v1 matches. BUILD, DEFEND AND EXPAND Capture tiles to expand your territory. Place walls and defensive weapons, protect your base and choose when to push forward. Collapsing base shields change the opening battle as protected areas gradually shrink. COMMAND YOUR FORCES Deploy tanks, aircraft and specialist units. Select individual units or groups, position your defenses and use orbital weapons to turn the battle. Different battlefields bring variety to every encounter. CHALLENGE YOUR FRIENDS Add friends, arrange private 1v1 battles and meet in a private room before the match. Compare player stats and communicate through preset messages. LEARN OFFLINE Learn the controls in the guided offline tutorial, then experiment with units and tactics in the offline Target Range. The game follows your device language, and you can switch languages in Settings. PROGRESS AND PERSONALIZE Complete quests, progress through seasonal rewards and customize your battlefield identity with army colorways and other cosmetics. REPLAY AND SHARE Revisit completed matches in your Battle Log. Choose your highlights, export a video and share your battles with friends. An internet connection is required for multiplayer. Optional in-app purchases are available.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Smash Dash RTS at 5.0 against Red Wave TD's 4.3. Smash Dash RTS also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 22 months). Red Wave TD's advantage is ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Red Wave TD sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Smash Dash RTS sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Smash Dash RTS holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Wave TD has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Red Wave TD ships an update every 22 months, Smash Dash RTS every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Red Wave TD | Smash Dash RTS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 907 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Brandon Stecklein | CutEsy Holdings |
Customer experience
Red Wave TD
Smash Dash RTS
In-app purchases
Red Wave TD
- Red Wave Premium$1.99
Smash Dash RTS
- 500 Coins$1.99
- Starter Pack$2.99
- 550 Gems$3.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 1,500 Coins$3.99
- 1,200 Gems$8.99
- 4,000 Coins$8.99
- 3,000 Gems$17.99
- 12,000 Coins$22.99
- 8,000 Gems$44.99
- 15,000 Gems$89.99









