Comparison

Trench Runner vs Crab Castles

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

Head to head
About

Trench Runner

Navigate a dangerous trench, destroying enemy turrets to survive. The objective is to last as long as possible in this challenging survival game. Prepare for an inevitable end.

Highlights
  • Destroy turrets
  • Survival gameplay
  • High score chasing
  • Trench environment
Features
Read full description

Destroy turrets and stay alive as long as possible. In the end, everybody dies. Eventually..

About

Crab Castles

Build sandcastles with crab helpers on a tropical island, overcoming obstacles like gulls and earthquakes. Earn in-game currency to upgrade your crabs and explore beaches while learning marine life facts. A portion of in-app purchases supports ocean conservation.

Highlights
  • Sandcastle building with crab helpers
  • Obstacle challenges (gulls, earthquakes)
  • In-game currency for upgrades
  • Marine conservation education
  • Creative sandbox mode
  • Trash cleanup missions
Features
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Welcome to Fiddler Island, a tropical paradise where you can play and support Marine Conservation, and a day at the beach becomes a full-on sandcastle building challenge! With feisty crabs as your helpers, build your blocks to the goal lines before time runs out; but beware, "pirate" gulls & baby sea turtles will try to stop you. You will also need to deal with earthquakes, giant beach balls and strong winds! Use logic and skill to win doubloons and pearls used in the store for upgrades, colorful crab body art and more. Challenge Levels and awards also await our top competitors. As part of your marine mission, you’ll have to explore Tropical Beach and clean up trash while collecting doubloons, taking cover behind trees from attacking gulls and searching for pearl targets. While you take a breath between building, enjoy marine life fun facts. And, a portion of in app purchases revenue goes to help our oceans and support marine conservation programs. So, Congratulations- just by playing this game you are a Player in Making a Better World! True sandcastle artists will love Sandbox Beach, which is a creative space. Here you can build to your heart’s content without interruptions or time constraints using many different block shapes, flags, seashells, sea stars, doors and shutters. When your own unique masterpiece is completed, save a picture, or share an image of it with friends on Facebook, Instagram and other social media...or destroy it with a bang and start again! Our original soundtrack, the Crab Castles Surf Shop, captivating 3-D graphics and original ocean characters make your escape to Fiddler Island marine magic! Go to CrabCastles.com and look for Game Tips! Crab Castles takes a different approach to the classic block building puzzle genre. The goal of this game is not only to reach and maintain a certain height in a specified amount of time, but also to use action strategies. Build Levels have four goal lines and a Challenge level. If the block tower is built and is standing at or above the first green goal line when the timer goes to zero, you can move on to the next level. When all four goal lines in a level are achieved, the challenge level for that level will open. Special Levels introduce new game play: here you must control your crab’s speed and direction while it runs around Tropical Beach. Your primary goal is to pick up the trash items before the time runs out. That wins the level. Along the way pickup doubloons (win points) and win pearls by hitting pearl targets by tapping on the screen. Once you collect all the pearl targets in level 30, the doubloons on the beach turn to Platinum and are worth double points. If you can collect all the trash and all the platinum doubloons in one gameplay, you will reset the pearl targets! The platinum doubloons will turn back to gold. Under our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, you must be at least 13 years of age to download Crab Castles.

Screenshots

Trench Runner3 screens
Crab Castles1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Crab Castles at 4.5 against Trench Runner's 3.0. Crab Castles also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 21 months). Trench Runner's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ratings volume 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. Crab Castles sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Trench Runner asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Crab Castles holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Trench Runner ships an update every 21 months, Crab Castles every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Trench Runner versus Crab Castles: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrench RunnerCrab Castles
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings)4.5 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 21 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.06.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size87 MB150 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerkerem yokuvaArtsTechLab

Customer experience

Trench Runner

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Crab Castles

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%

In-app purchases

None

Trench Runner

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Crab Castles

One-time10
  • RemoveAds_U1M changed$0.99
  • GuidedSandDollar_PU1M Changed$0.99
  • StopGulls.PU2M Changed$0.99
Show 7 more
  • StopTurtles_PU3M changed$0.99
  • Guided Sand Dollar Pack Of Ten$0.99
  • Stop Gulls Pack Of Ten$0.99
  • Stop Turtles Pack Of Ten$0.99
  • Guided Sand Dollar Consumable$0.99
  • Stop Gulls Consumable$0.99
  • Stop Turtles Consumable$0.99

Questions

Is Trench Runner free?
Trench Runner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Crab Castles free?
Crab Castles is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Trench Runner or Crab Castles?
Crab Castles is rated higher. Trench Runner averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Crab Castles averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.
Do Trench Runner or Crab Castles have ads?
Trench Runner shows ads; Crab Castles does not.
Which is updated more often, Trench Runner or Crab Castles?
Trench Runner ships an update every 21 months, and Crab Castles every 6 weeks. Most recently, Trench Runner was updated on October 16, 2026 and Crab Castles on October 9, 2026.

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