Comparison

TowerMadness Zero vs Tower Maze Defense

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TowerMadness Zero

Defend your sheep from alien invaders in this classic 3D tower defense strategy game. Deploy a variety of upgradeable weapons and think fast to survive over 100 maps and endless waves of enemies. Compete with friends on global leaderboards.

Highlights
  • 3D tower defense gameplay
  • Over 100 maps
  • 17 alien enemy types
  • 60+ weapons and upgrades
  • Endless mode
  • Global leaderboards
  • Game replays
Features
Read full description

"Addictive, time-sucking fun. There are plenty of tower defense strategy games out there, but TowerMadness brings the genre to a new level." - Brian X Chen, Wired "If you’re a fan of Tower Defense games, do yourself a huge favor and check out TowerMadness." - Jon Phillips, MacLife "It would be madness to miss this game...it comes highly recommended." - Spanner Spencer, PocketGamer TowerMadness is the original hit game from the makers of Zombie Gunship and Nuts! Evil aliens are coming to turn your beloved sheep into intergalactic scarves! Protect the flock using only quick thinking and the arsenal of upgradeable weaponry at your disposal. TowerMadness Zero is a FULLY FEATURED, ad-supported version of TowerMadness. Prefer to play without ads? Download the paid version or upgrade from within the game! • WINNER, Best App Ever Awards, Best Strategy Game • FINALIST, Pocket Gamer Awards, Best Strategy/Simulation Game • A Wired Favorite iPhone App • A MacLife App of the Year • Gizmodo Top 10 Free App of the Week! A UNIQUE 3D TOWER DEFENSE EXPERIENCE Play from an aerial view or zoom down to first person and get close to the action. LOTS OF LEVELS Over 100 maps in diverse environments (35 available as expansion map packs). ALIENS! Think fast to defeat the 17 different types of alien enemies intent on stealing your sheep. GUNS, LOTS OF GUNS Over 60 diverse weapons and upgrades. ENDLESS FUN Endless mode lets you see how many waves you can withstand. COMPETITION Global leaderboards, Game Center achievements, and Friend Scores so you can compare scores with your friends and the millions of players worldwide. LET’S SEE THAT AGAIN! Replays let you learn new strategies or share your games with the world through Twitter, Facebook, or email. iPad owners, check out "TowerMadness HD" for the Pocket Gamer Readers' Choice iPad Game of the Year Award winning version of this game. Search for our other award-winning games: Zombie Gunship and Nuts!

About

Tower Maze Defense

Build strategic tower mazes to defend against waves of enemies in this unique tower defense game. Explore an old-school setting with trippy music, upgrade towers, and utilize shaman powers. Choose from three difficulty modes to enjoy the story or test your strategic limits.

Highlights
  • Build towers anywhere
  • Upgrade and delete towers
  • Utilize shaman powers
  • Face 60 waves of enemies
  • Three game modes (Easy, Normal, Extreme)
  • Mega Attacks for area damage
Features
Read full description

Build towers anywhere in this tower defense game to damage and block incoming waves of evil enemies. Surprisingly, those enemies look like yourself. Discover where they came from in an old-school setting with trippy music as you move from wave to wave unlike in any other tower defense game you have played. You can delete, upgrade, and chose different types of towers to make the most optimal play. Most towers rely on the powers of the shaman who guides you through the game. You have a fixed 60 waves to go through. Make sure to rebuild your tower defenses to best fit the current wave. Once you beat the final monster terrorizing the village, you will have a choice to make. Chose wisely, Defender! Three modes are available: - Easy: casually finish the game, and enjoy the story line. - Normal: some challenge towards the end. Learn tips for extreme mode. - Extreme: learn the full power of mazes to beat the game. No mega attack required to finish it. Mega Attacks are in this td game because they are fun; experience the full power of the shaman and damage all enemies on the board.

Screenshots

TowerMadness Zero4 screens
Tower Maze Defense4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: TowerMadness Zero at none against Tower Maze Defense's shown. TowerMadness Zero also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 64%) and ratings volume (946 vs 149). Tower Maze Defense's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. TowerMadness Zero sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Tower Maze Defense sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for TowerMadness Zero against 4.4 for Tower Maze Defense. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TowerMadness Zero has 946 ratings behind it against 149, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of TowerMadness Zero's written reviews are positive against 64% of Tower Maze Defense's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TowerMadness Zero ships an update every 3 months, Tower Maze Defense every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
TowerMadness Zero versus Tower Maze Defense: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTowerMadness ZeroTower Maze Defense
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (946 ratings) — better4.4 (149 ratings)
Positive reviews85.0% of reviews — better64.0% of reviews
Number of ratings946 — better149
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11 — better12.4
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB102 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperZSpectre, Inc.Paperboi data management, llc

Customer experience

TowerMadness Zero

All ratings944 ratings
Positive89.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative7.2%
Written reviews427 reviews
Positive85.0%
Neutral2.3%
Negative12.6%

Tower Maze Defense

All ratings143 ratings
Positive83.2%
Neutral6.3%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive64.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative24.0%

User reviews

TowerMadness Zero

From 946 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Streamlined TD gameplay
  • 👍 Cute character animations
  • 👍 Simple but not too easy
  • 👍 Engaging strategy
  • 👍 Challenging levels

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues
  • 🔍 Too many ads, disruptive to gameplay
  • 🔍 Resistance system imbalanced

Tower Maze Defense

From 149 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Old-school TD fun
  • 👍 Challenging gameplay
  • 👍 Addictive and entertaining
  • 👍 Great strategy game
  • 👍 Good art and gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy lightning tower
  • 🐛 Shop resets frequently
  • 🐛 Endless mode formatting issues
  • 🐛 Cannot see entire map in endless mode
  • 🐛 Limited story runs

Bugs and requests

TowerMadness Zero

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Game crashes on startup and during gameplay
  • Unable to connect to leaderboards and replays

Requested features

5 requests
  • More maps and levels
  • New weapon types and upgrades
  • Rebalance resistance system
  • Resize option for newer devices
  • Multiplayer mode

Tower Maze Defense

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Lightning tower only hits land
  • Shop resets after reopening app or playing endless
  • Endless mode formatting is incorrect
  • Cannot see entire map in endless mode
  • Cannot build on top row in endless mode on iPhone 15
Show 1 more
  • UI elements obstruct tower placement in endless mode

Requested features

9 requests
  • Fix lightning tower bug
  • Add more tower types for air attacks
  • Add a rank-up system with points
  • Improve endless mode formatting
  • Increase map space
Show 4 more
  • Add infinite play mode
  • Add different boards with themed enemies
  • Allow disabling air attackers
  • Add time-speed controls (1/2x, 1x, 2x)

In-app purchases

10 purchases

TowerMadness Zero

One-time10
  • Marsh Madness Map Pack$1.99
  • Flamethrower$1.99
  • Moon Map Pack$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Proximity Mine$1.99
  • Flash Bait$1.99
  • Lava Map Pack$1.99
  • Spooky Map Pack$1.99
  • Coast Map Pack$1.99
  • Full Version Upgrade$2.99
  • Amazing Voyage Map Pack$5.99
8 purchases

Tower Maze Defense

One-time8
  • Mega Attack$0.99
  • Tesla Tower$0.99
  • Poison Tower$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Vortex Tower$0.99
  • Start at wave 17$1.99
  • 5000 Skull Coins$2.99
  • Mega Attacks X 10$8.99
  • Full Game - no ads$9.99

Questions

Is TowerMadness Zero free?
TowerMadness Zero is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tower Maze Defense free?
Tower Maze Defense is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TowerMadness Zero or Tower Maze Defense?
TowerMadness Zero is rated higher. TowerMadness Zero averages 4.6 out of 5 from 946 ratings, while Tower Maze Defense averages 4.4 from 149 ratings.
Do TowerMadness Zero or Tower Maze Defense have ads?
Tower Maze Defense shows ads; TowerMadness Zero does not.
Which is updated more often, TowerMadness Zero or Tower Maze Defense?
TowerMadness Zero ships an update every 3 months, and Tower Maze Defense every 5 days. Most recently, TowerMadness Zero was updated on October 23, 2026 and Tower Maze Defense on October 21, 2026.

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