Groops vs Red Herring
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Hundreds of levels
- Time Attack mode
- Leaderboards
- Multiplayer mode
- Unlockable achievements
- Hint system
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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
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.
- Group words into categories
- Identify misleading "Red Herring" words
- No time limit
- Three difficulty levels
- Daily puzzle
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Groops | Red Herring |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (675 ratings) | 4.7 (48K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.6% of reviews — better | 75.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 675 | 48K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 84 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Torched Media LLC | Blue Ox Family Games, Inc. |
Customer experience
Groops
Red Herring
User reviews
Groops
From 675 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
Groops
- pack of 50 Board Shuffles$0.99
- pack of 10 Hints$0.99
- pack of 5,000 Points$0.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 3x3 Bonus Pack 1$1.99
- pack of 20,000 Points$2.99
- pack of 100,000 Points$12.99
Red Herring
- Curiosity - 50 Puzzles$1.99
- Brilliant! - 50 Puzzles$1.99
- Allegro - 50 Puzzles$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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









