Comparison

Nova Golf vs SMASH Badminton

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

Head to head
About

Nova Golf

Experience a realistic and immersive golf simulation with stunning 3D graphics and diverse courses. Customize your character, compete in career modes, and challenge friends in multiplayer. Earn virtual currency or use in-app purchases for custom clubs and balls.

Highlights
  • Realistic ball physics
  • Stunning 3D graphics
  • Unique global courses
  • Customizable characters
  • Career mode
  • Multiplayer challenges
  • In-app purchases for clubs/balls
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Welcome to Nova Golf, the finest golfing game on the Mac! A followup to the award winning game GL Golf, Nova Golf is sure to keep you entertained and immersed for countless hours. Redesigned from the ground up, Nova Golf has everything both casual/hardcore gamers and frequent/weekend golfers could want. • Realistic ball physics - Everyone will enjoy the simple realism while avid golfers will be able to shape every shot and watch the ball react to all surfaces and lies • Stunning 3D graphics - Nova Golf adapts to each computer for the best image quality while always maintaining a smooth framerate • Unique courses - Locations from around the world feature distinct styles of both play and appearance. You'll know if you're in the Pennsylvania forest, Arizona desert, or on the Scottish coastline • Customizable characters - Level up five playing statistics while managing each avatar's wardrobe and physical appearance • Career mode - Play as both an amateur and professional and progress by winning the required qualifiers and tournaments • Multiplayer - Challenge up to three of your friends and play at the same time • Purchase custom clubs and golf balls using both virtual currency earned in game and through In-App Purchase • High replay value - No hole is the same when varying the white/blue/green tees, five pin locations, and three environmental difficulty settings • Custom music made specifically for Nova Golf • Best rounds list for each course/difficulty setting System Requirements: iOS 7+ iPhone 4+ iPad 2+ iPad Mini+ iPod Touch 4th+ If you like Nova Golf, make sure to check out Nuclear Nova's other games, all available for the Mac/iPhone/iPad/iPod. • GL Golf, the predecessor to Nova Golf, is still actively developed and has over 35 unique courses! Thousands of golfers are posting scorecards online every day with this golf classic • Pinball Shuffle and Pinball Massacre are two unique comic book arcade style pinball tables • Barnyard Blaster is a unique shooter with plenty of weapons, animals, and environments • Rocket Golf gives golf a new twist with its unique 2D side scrolling gameplay • Liquid Defense, Hydrothermal, and Escape are our three classic puzzle/simulator games • Fractal 3D and ASCII Art are our first non-game apps

About

SMASH Badminton

Experience realistic badminton gameplay with 3D graphics and intuitive controls. Compete in global leagues, upgrade your character, and customize outfits. Play with friends locally or take on challenges for rewards.

Highlights
  • Awesome 3D gameplay
  • Global leagues and leaderboards
  • Character upgrade system
  • Outfit customization
  • Local multiplayer mode
  • Realistic physics
  • Missions and achievements
Features
Read full description

Welcome to SMASH BADMINTON. The best badminton game on mobile. No wifi required. FEATURES: - Awesome 3D gameplay: easy to play, and perfect for quick fun, our gameplay is also very deep, allowing players to progress, build their skills and tactics ! - Leagues: Compete in global leagues and climb the leaderboards to show everyone who’s the star ! - Character upgrade: allocate statistics points as you wish, and choose the best gadgets to fit your strategies ! - Customization: select and dress-up your characters with cute and epic outfits - Local Multiplayer: Challenge friends locally and have fun ! - Awesome Locations: Play in stunning venues across the world. - Realistic Physics: Experience true-to-life shuttlecock and shot physics. - Missions & Achievements: complete crazy and super fun challenges with awesome rewards. COMING SOON: - New gadgets & characters: the Smash world is only getting started with new epic and legendaries items on the way ! - Online tournaments: to experience realtime PvP - Events: involving Boss Fights and Team play

Screenshots

Nova Golf4 screens
SMASH Badminton4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SMASH Badminton at Free against Nova Golf's $1.99. SMASH Badminton also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (5.8K vs 26). Nova Golf's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (46% vs 30%). On 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SMASH Badminton is free to download; Nova Golf costs $1.99 up front. Nova Golf sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and SMASH Badminton sells 29 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SMASH Badminton holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SMASH Badminton has 5.8K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Nova Golf's written reviews are positive against 30% of SMASH Badminton's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nova Golf ships an update every 3 months, SMASH Badminton every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Nova Golf versus SMASH Badminton: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNova GolfSMASH Badminton
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.5 (26 ratings)4.7 (5.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.7% of reviews — better30.3% of reviews
Number of ratings265.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#177 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size287 MB343 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNuclear Nova SoftwareSmash Interactive

Customer experience

Nova Golf

All ratings31 ratings
Positive67.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative29.0%
Written reviews92 reviews
Positive45.7%
Neutral5.4%
Negative48.9%

SMASH Badminton

All ratings5,816 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews1,005 reviews
Positive30.3%
Neutral10.6%
Negative59.0%

Bugs and requests

Nova Golf

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SMASH Badminton

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Service outs not registering correctly
  • Inability to change username
  • Trophies and rewards not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • More locations and higher trophy brackets
  • Tournaments and leagues
  • Ability to play against friends
  • Improved matchmaking and skill-based matchups

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Nova Golf

One-time10
  • Extra Mulligans$0.99
  • Dozen of all Balls$1.99
  • 1,000 Experience$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Course Pack 1$1.99
  • Driver$1.99
  • Course Pack 2$1.99
  • Level Overdrive$1.99
  • Character Pack$1.99
  • Course Pack 3$1.99
  • Course Pack 4$1.99
29 purchases

SMASH Badminton

One-time29
  • Area Pack 1$0.89
  • Offer 1$0.99
  • 80 diamonds$0.99
Show 26 more
  • Daily offer: skill points$0.99
  • Diamond 1$0.99
  • Sky Warden Pack$1.99
  • Demon Pack$1.99
  • Angel Pack$1.99
  • Skip'its$2.79
  • Offer 3$2.99
  • Area Pack 2$2.99
  • Area Pack 3$2.99
  • Area Pack 5$2.99
  • Area Pack 4$2.99
  • Area Pack 6$2.99
  • Area Pack 7$2.99
  • No Ads$2.99
  • Diamond 2$2.99
  • Starter Pack$2.99
  • Offer 4$3.99
  • 500 Diamonds$4.99
  • Starter Pack$5.99
  • No ads pack$5.99
  • No Ads Pack$5.99
  • Diamond 3$5.99
  • Skip'its 2$7.99
  • Diamond 4$9.99
  • Diamond 5$22.99
  • Diamond 6$49.99

Questions

Is Nova Golf free?
Nova Golf costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is SMASH Badminton free?
SMASH Badminton is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nova Golf or SMASH Badminton?
SMASH Badminton is rated higher. Nova Golf averages 3.5 out of 5 from 26 ratings, while SMASH Badminton averages 4.7 from 5.8K ratings.
Do Nova Golf or SMASH Badminton have ads?
SMASH Badminton shows ads; Nova Golf does not.
Which is updated more often, Nova Golf or SMASH Badminton?
Nova Golf ships an update every 3 months, and SMASH Badminton every 4 weeks. Most recently, Nova Golf was updated on November 1, 2026 and SMASH Badminton on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons