Red Herring vs Typeshift
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Typeshift
This word puzzle game challenges you to unscramble letters within stacked words to form new words in the center row. It offers daily challenges with global leaderboards and special clue-based puzzles. Unlock additional content and remove ads with in-app purchases.
- Anagram and word search mechanics
- Shift letter columns to spell words
- Daily challenges with leaderboards
- Special clue puzzles
- Unlockable puzzle packs
- Themes and statistics
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From the creator of SpellTower, comes a new and completely original word game! Anagrams meets Word Search, with a sprinkle of Crosswords. Typeshift is the modern anagram puzzle; re-imagined from the ground up, combining wordplay, modern game design, and a mobile-first approach. In most anagram games, you search for new combinations within a single word, but in Typeshift, you search within three to five words stacked & scrambled up together. Shift columns of letters up and down as you try to spell words in the center row. Play continues until you have used all letters in a puzzle at least once. Special Clue Puzzles combine Crosswords with Anagrams as you match clever clues provided by Typeshift's various puzzle authors. - Daily Word Game Play with Global Leaderboards - Typeshift features a free daily challenge with global leaderboards. The easiest challenge for the week appears on Monday, and progressively more challenging puzzles build throughout the week. Compare your fastest Typeshift daily solving times with players around the globe! ------WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING "Addictive and edifying, like popping a special kind of bubble wrap that expands your vocabulary.” - The Verge "Typeshift is a unmissable entry to the [word] genre." Gold Award. - Pocket Gamer "Typeshift is f*cking awesome" - Giant Bombcast "The Word Puzzle Game You've Been Waiting For" - Waypoint "Well worth your time" - Sixcolors ------WHATS IN THE “BOX”? Typeshift comes with over a hundred free puzzles, with more coming soon, plus new free daily puzzles every day. Additional puzzle packs may be purchased in-app. Purchasing any puzzle pack removes ads, and unlocks themes & detailed statistics. ------A WORD FROM THE DEVELOPER Typeshift continues my quest to re-imagine classic newspaper games in the digital era. Where SpellTower tackled word search and Really Bad Chess handled chess puzzles, Typeshift re-examines Anagrams and Crosswords. Typeshift has been a joy to develop, and I hope you have as much fun playing it as I had making it. As always, thanks so much for your support! -zach
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Red Herring at 4.7 against Typeshift's 4.3. Red Herring also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 49%) and ratings volume (48K vs 497). Typeshift's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.6). On price, ads, 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
Both are free to download. Red Herring sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Typeshift 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 497, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Red Herring's written reviews are positive against 49% of Typeshift's.
Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, Typeshift every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Red Herring | Typeshift |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (48K ratings) — better | 4.3 (497 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.6% of reviews — better | 49.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 48K — better | 497 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| 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 | 16.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Ox Family Games, Inc. | Zach Gage |
Customer experience
Red Herring
Typeshift
User reviews
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
Typeshift
From 497 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Challenging and fun
- 👍 Unique and innovative game concept
- ⭐ Great brain workout
- 🎨 Elegant and minimalistic design
- 📚 Helps expand vocabulary
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
- 🔍 Obscure/uncommon words used
- 🔇 Intrusive ads
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- ⚠️ Compatibility issues with newer devices
Bugs and requests
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
Typeshift
Reported bugs
4 issues- Puzzle timer inaccuracies
- Purchased content not restoring properly
- Letters not registering correctly
- Puzzles not displaying properly on some devices
Requested features
5 requests- More clue puzzles and puzzle packs
- Option to reset/replay completed puzzle packs
- Sync progress across devices
- Support for British/Australian English
- Built-in dictionary with better word definitions
In-app purchases
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
Typeshift
- Chocolate Puzzle Pack$0.99
- Peppermint Puzzle Pack$0.99
- Pecan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Walnut Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Parmesan Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Umami Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Pistachio Clue Puzzle Pack$1.99
- Starter Bundle$1.99
- Sophomore Bundle$1.99
- Gumshoe Clue Bundle$3.99









