Red Herring vs Word Association!
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.
Word Association!
Engage in a relaxing word game by matching pairs of related words. Explore connections like synonyms, opposites, or compound word parts. Hundreds of puzzles are available, with hints to help you along the way.
- Match related word pairs
- Synonyms, opposites, compound words
- 40 free puzzles included
- Hundreds of additional puzzles for purchase
- Hint system available
- Relaxing gameplay
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Matching pairs of related words is fun and relaxing. Words can by synonyms, opposites, parts of a compound word, or they might just seem to go together. Word Association comes with 40 free puzzles, and there are hundreds more available for purchase. Hints are also available if you get stuck. If you enjoy jigsaw puzzles, hangman, word searches and crosswords, you will love this game! Try it today.
Screenshots
Verdict
Red Herring and Word Association! both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of Word Association!'s written reviews are positive against 76% of Red Herring's. Word Association! also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.6). Red Herring's advantage is ratings volume (48K vs 8.2K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 Word Association! sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Red Herring against 4.6 for Word Association!. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Red Herring has 48K ratings behind it against 8.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Red Herring's written reviews are positive against 90% of Word Association!'s.
Red Herring ships an update every 3 months, Word Association! every 4 months. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Red Herring | Word Association! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (48K ratings) — better | 4.6 (8.2K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.6% of reviews | 90.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 48K — better | 8.2K |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| 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 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Blue Ox Family Games, Inc. | Funnerware |
Customer experience
Red Herring
Word Association!
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
Word Association!
From 8.2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Enjoyable game
- 🧠 Challenges the mind
- 🧠 Helps improve vocabulary
- 🧠 Good brain exercise
- 🧠 Keeps the mind sharp
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs with navigation buttons
- 🕰️ Timed gameplay can be stressful
- 💰 Paywalled content
- 📢 Too many ads
- 🔤 Some word associations are questionable
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
Word Association!
Reported bugs
3 issues- Replay and Next Level buttons not working
- Freezing/crashing issues
- Incorrect word associations
Requested features
5 requests- More word packs and levels
- Ability to disable timer
- Larger font size options
- Themed word packs
- Ability to save progress and resume later
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
Word Association!
- Pack of 100 Hints$0.99
- Relax Pack$0.99
- Good Times Pack$0.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Stimulating Pack$0.99
- Happy Pack$0.99
- Fun Pack$0.99
- Lucky Pack$0.99
- Conquer Pack$0.99
- Packs of 350 Hints$2.99
- Combo Pack (Unlocks all Packs, Plus future Packs & Removes Ads)$7.99
Questions
Is Red Herring free?
Is Word Association! free?
Which has better reviews, Red Herring or Word Association!?
Do Red Herring or Word Association! have ads?
Which is updated more often, Red Herring or Word Association!?
Other comparisons
