Comparison

Groops vs Red Herring

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

Head to head
About

Groops

This puzzle game challenges your mind by matching tiles based on shared or unique attributes. With hundreds of levels and exciting game modes like Time Attack and multiplayer, it offers endless fun and brain stimulation. Compete with friends and unlock achievements.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of levels
  • Time Attack mode
  • Leaderboards
  • Multiplayer mode
  • Unlockable achievements
  • Hint system
Features
Read full description

Groops is a puzzle game that will put your mind to the test. Match tiles three at a time based on either shared or completely unique attributes - the number of possibilities will tie your brain in knots! Keep your mind sharp. Play Groops! • Hundreds of levels of increasing difficulties! • Infinite, unlimited gameplay in “Time Attack” mode. Get to the top of the leaderboards and send your friends Challenge requests to beat your score! • Unlock dozens of Achievements! • Compete against friends in multiplayer mode - who can get the most Groops before time runs out? ********** ~ * Starbucks Pick of the Week in 2014 * ~ “This is an example of why we love games. Simple to understand, but very difficult to master.” - iPlayApps “Groops takes match-three to a whole new level.” - Daniel Celeste, AppAdvice.com “This game is more fun and challenging than my job! With a smooth design and intelligent matching, it is everything I look for to keep my mind stimulated during downtime” - HallelP “Fun but challenging game. Can’t put my phone down once I open this app!” - Stefi592 ********** GAMEPLAY MODES LEVELS - Relax, there’s no time pressure. Find all the possible Groops on the screen to advance. You can use Hints if you get stuck (get more by playing TIME ATTACK or from the Powerups menu). TIME ATTACK - Find as many Groops as possible before time runs out! Make 5 Groops in a row to increase your multiplier, but be careful! If you make an invalid Groop, your multiplier gets reset. Rack up as many points as possible because your score gets added to your points bank. ********** OK, HOW DO I PLAY? Match 3 tiles to make a Groop. Tiles have 4 attributes with three options each - SHAPE (square, circle, leaf), COLOR (blue, magenta, yellow), PATTERN (solid fill, striped fill, border only), and SYMBOL (diamond, hourglass, and its 3rd option is no symbol at all). Finding identical tiles is easy, but you’ll eventually need to make Groops based on mixed attributes, and thats where we kick your brain into full-throttle. Groops can be made by matching tiles with identical attributes, by matching all 3 options of 1 attribute, or by matching three different options across multiple attributes. For example: • Solid blue square with no symbol, solid blue circle with no symbol, and a solid blue leaf with no symbol. (Same shape - square, same color - blue, same pattern - solid, all different symbols) • Striped blue square with no symbol, solid magenta circle with a diamond, bordered yellow leaf with an hourglass (All different shapes, all different colors, all different patterns, all different symbols) NOTE: To make a Groop, either all options are the same, or all different across the attributes. For example, these would be invalid: • Solid blue square with no symbol, solid blue square with no symbol, solid blue circle with no symbol (two squares and a circle, instead of three squares, or one square, one circle, and one leaf) • Bordered magenta circle with a diamond, solid yellow circle with a diamond, solid yellow circle with an hourglass (Invalid for two reasons: 1) two yellows and a magenta instead of three yellows or one yellow, one magenta, and one blue. 2) two diamonds and an hourglass instead of three diamonds or one diamond, one hourglass, and one without any symbol at all) ********** Follow @play_groops on Twitter

About

Red Herring

This word puzzle game challenges you to group words into categories while identifying misleading "Red Herring" words. Enjoy a fun, challenging, and easy-to-learn experience with no time limits and three difficulty levels suitable for all ages.

Highlights
  • Group words into categories
  • Identify misleading "Red Herring" words
  • No time limit
  • Three difficulty levels
  • Daily puzzle
Features
Read full description

Red Herring is the word connections game. How to play: 1. Make the connections and group words into categories. 2. Look out for the Red Herrings, pesky words whose sole purpose is to mislead you. 3. Have fun making the connections! Red Herring is a FUN, CHALLENGING, and EASY TO LEARN word connections puzzle game. Each puzzle has only one correct solution and there's no time limit. Three difficulty levels make it suitable for the whole family. Don't say we didn't warn you if you can't stop playing. Give Red Herring a try today! From the creators of 7 Little Words and Moxie. ----- Red Herring contains 25 puzzles and a daily puzzle that you can play for free. Additional puzzles are available for purchase inside the app.

Screenshots

Groops4 screens
Red Herring3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Groops at none against Red Herring's shown. Groops also leads on update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (86% vs 76%). Red Herring's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.3) and ratings volume (48K vs 675). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Groops sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Red Herring sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Red Herring holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Herring has 48K ratings behind it against 675, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 86% of Groops's written reviews are positive against 76% of Red Herring's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Groops ships an update every 8 days, Red Herring every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Groops versus Red Herring: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGroopsRed Herring
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (675 ratings)4.7 (48K ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.6% of reviews — better75.6% of reviews
Number of ratings67548K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB84 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTorched Media LLCBlue Ox Family Games, Inc.

Customer experience

Groops

All ratings675 ratings
Positive81.3%
Neutral9.5%
Negative9.2%
Written reviews97 reviews
Positive85.6%
Neutral5.2%
Negative9.3%

Red Herring

All ratings47,841 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews324 reviews
Positive75.6%
Neutral12.7%
Negative11.7%

User reviews

Groops

From 675 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Calming game
  • 🧠 Challenging and thought-provoking
  • 🤔 Makes you think differently
  • 🕰️ Great for passing time
  • 🧠 Brain workout

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔒 Requires Facebook login for more levels
  • 🔢 Lack of new levels
  • 🎵 No background music

Red Herring

From 48K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤔 Challenging and thought-provoking
  • 🧠 Exercises the mind
  • ⏰ Good time-passer
  • 🎮 Fun and addictive game
  • 🎓 Educational and expands vocabulary

Room to improve

  • 🇺🇸 Too American-centric
  • 💰 Expensive paid content
  • 🚫 Limited free content
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Obscure references and categories

Bugs and requests

Groops

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Level 10 of 'brainz needed' bonus pack won't let user progress
  • Crash after time attack finishes
  • Level 45 of easy 4x4 board shows '0/ ' and crashes
  • Win not recognized in local multiplayer

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and boards
  • Ability to reset level scores
  • Endless mode
  • Ability to see previous groops found

Red Herring

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Formatting issues after updates
  • Inability to access previous daily puzzles
  • Ads that cannot be dismissed

Requested features

5 requests
  • More free daily puzzles
  • Less American-focused content
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to replay past puzzles
  • Hints system improvements

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Groops

One-time6
  • pack of 50 Board Shuffles$0.99
  • pack of 10 Hints$0.99
  • pack of 5,000 Points$0.99
Show 3 more
  • 3x3 Bonus Pack 1$1.99
  • pack of 20,000 Points$2.99
  • pack of 100,000 Points$12.99
10 purchases

Red Herring

One-time10
  • Curiosity - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Brilliant! - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Allegro - 50 Puzzles$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Spelunking - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Renaissance - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • IQ - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Serendipity - 50 Puzzles$1.99
  • Unlimited Hints$2.99
  • Older Daily Puzzles 2014 Jul - Dec$3.99
  • Quantum Leap - 175 Puzzles$4.99

Questions

Is Groops free?
Groops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Red Herring free?
Red Herring is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Groops or Red Herring?
Red Herring is rated higher. Groops averages 4.3 out of 5 from 675 ratings, while Red Herring averages 4.7 from 48K ratings.
Do Groops or Red Herring have ads?
Red Herring shows ads; Groops does not.
Which is updated more often, Groops or Red Herring?
Groops ships an update every 8 days, and Red Herring every 3 months. Most recently, Groops was updated on July 4, 2026 and Red Herring on September 27, 2026.

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