Comparison

Red Herring vs Lock Rush

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

Head to head
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.

About

Lock Rush

This game challenges your reflexes and memory with a simple tap mechanic that evolves with increasingly complex rules. Progress through various modes, including reflex tests and memory puzzles, with a daily challenge for all players. Enjoy a pure, uninterrupted gaming experience with no ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Tap-based reflex challenges
  • Memory grid and sequence puzzles
  • Progressive difficulty and rule changes
  • Daily challenge mode
  • Unlockable game modes
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

One lock. One tap. Seventeen ways to get it wrong. A dot races around a lock. Tap when it crosses the target. Miss, and the lock resets. That is the whole game — and then it starts taking the rules away. REFLEX The dot reverses on every hit. The target shrinks to a sliver. The dot fades out before it arrives. Two dots orbit against each other and you have to catch the collision. The target burns down in real time. The dot stops orbiting and rebounds off walls instead. MEMORY A grid lights up, then goes dark — reproduce it. Numbered tiles flash, then vanish — tap them in order. Coloured pairs appear for a moment — find every match. Get it wrong and the board shows you exactly what you missed. TRACKING One card shows a key, every card turns face down, and then they trade places. Follow the key and tap it when they stop. More cards, more swaps, and feints that set out and come back. Not memory — you can watch the whole thing and still lose it. IRON MAN The daily event. One life, no checkpoint, no continues: one miss ends the run, however far you got. A different mode every day, identical for every player on earth. The top ten share the day's gold, and whoever leads holds the crown on the menu until somebody takes it. THE GAUNTLET Every mode you have unlocked, shuffled after every single lock. You never get to settle into a rhythm. GOLD Coins turn up on targets, and bonus rounds fill the board with coins and bombs. Every lock you crack pays, and the rate climbs the longer you survive. Bank enough and you can buy your way back into a run you were about to lose, or spend it on dot skins and colour schemes that take over the whole screen. BUILT TO BE PICKED UP Runs last seconds. Retry is a single tap. Checkpoints every five locks mean you never replay ground you have already covered. Memory modes have a speed setting, because the right amount of time to look at a board is not the same for everyone. NO NONSENSE No ads. No in-app purchases. Gold is earned, never bought. There is no account to create and nothing to sign up for — leaderboards use the Game Center already on your iPhone, and your scores are the only thing that ever leaves the device.

Screenshots

Red Herring3 screens
Lock Rush4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lock Rush at none against Red Herring's 10. Lock Rush also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months). Red Herring's advantage is ratings volume (48K vs 8). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Red Herring sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Lock Rush asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lock Rush holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Herring has 48K ratings behind it against 8, 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 100% of Lock Rush's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, Lock Rush every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Red Herring versus Lock Rush: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRed HerringLock Rush
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (48K ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings48K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size84 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBlue Ox Family Games, Inc.Zach Rustick

Customer experience

Red Herring

All ratings47,841 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews326 reviews
Positive75.8%
Neutral12.6%
Negative11.7%

Lock Rush

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Lock Rush

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

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
None

Lock Rush

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Red Herring free?
Red Herring is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lock Rush free?
Lock Rush is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Red Herring or Lock Rush?
Lock Rush is rated higher. Red Herring averages 4.7 out of 5 from 48K ratings, while Lock Rush averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Red Herring or Lock Rush have ads?
Red Herring shows ads; Lock Rush does not.
Which is updated more often, Red Herring or Lock Rush?
Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, and Lock Rush every 2 days. Most recently, Red Herring was updated on October 21, 2026 and Lock Rush on October 16, 2026.

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