Round-up
The best cold case games on iPhone
By Joel Rightler · Updated 2026-10-19
A cold case is one everybody else has already given up on. That changes what a game asks of you: there is no chase and no fresh scene, only a record somebody left behind and the question of what it adds up to. These are the mobile games built on that premise, in the order I would try them.
What counts as a cold case game
Every game below is here because its own store listing describes a case that has already stalled: a file the police closed, a disappearance written off, or a phone left behind. Games with a live, in-progress investigation are a different thing and are not here, however good they are.
The games
1 of 8
Unread: Phone Detective OURS
What you do: You are sent a murder victim’s recovered phone and solve the case by reading what is on it: messages, photos, voicemails, browser history and a locked vault app.
How a case ends: One accusation across six axes (who, what, when, where, how, why), scored into verdict tiers. You get one shot.
Cost: No upfront price. The tutorial case and the first full case are included and stay yours; every case after those two needs Unread Pro or a $4.99 single-case unlock.
By J&B Creations LLC · iOS and Android
2 of 8
ColdTrace: Cold Case Mystery
What you do: Navigate a stranger’s phone (messages, photos, notes, voicemails), rebuild the timeline, and decide whether the death was really an accident.
How a case ends: Multiple threads to follow toward one answer; no scored accusation step.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Saclic Studio · rated 4.77 from 6,102 ratings · 9+ · updated 2026-10-07 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
3 of 8
An Elmwood Trail
What you do: A story-led investigation into the disappearance of 18-year-old Zoey Leonard in the town of Riverstone: interact with people, gather clues and build a trail.
How a case ends: Narrative and choice-driven, played out across chapters rather than a single accusation.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Sparsh Tyagi · rated 4.87 from 263,884 ratings · 9+ · updated 2026-08-26 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
4 of 8
Sara is Missing
What you do: The original found-phone game: you have the phone of a missing person and search it for clues to what happened to her.
How a case ends: Short, with branching endings. Note the listing shows no update since December 2016.
Cost: No upfront price.
KAIGAN GAMES OUe · rated 3.72 from 2,804 ratings · 17+ · updated 2016-12-06 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
5 of 8
Stalkie · Mobile Detective
What you do: A narrative investigation inside a simulated phone: fake apps, hidden data, deleted photos and private conversations to dig through.
How a case ends: Story-driven, following the investigation to its conclusion.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Gregoire Collin · rated 4.55 from 2,888 ratings · 12+ · updated 2026-07-30 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
6 of 8
I Am Innocent
What you do: A detective game with puzzle elements, investigated through in-game calls, a messenger, documents, photographs and some light hacking.
How a case ends: Case-based across a series of murders. The listing shows no update since November 2020.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Long Jaunt Ltd · rated 4.16 from 10,428 ratings · 12+ · updated 2020-11-07 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
7 of 8
Suspects: Mobile Detective
What you do: Stories told through the phones of the characters involved: chat messages, photos, video, voice notes and social posts, released as cases.
How a case ends: You follow a case across days of in-story time and work out who did it; there is no six-axis scoring.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Bonus Round Limited · rated 4.37 from 11,302 ratings · 12+ · updated 2026-09-01 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
8 of 8
Criminal Case: Hidden Objects
What you do: Hidden-object crime scenes: search hand-drawn locations against the clock, run lab analysis on what you find, interrogate suspects, then make the arrest.
How a case ends: Each case closes with an arrest once the evidence lines up. Energy and star systems pace how fast you can play.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Pretty Simple · rated 4.66 from 35,949 ratings · 17+ · updated 2026-08-17 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
Which one to start with
If you want the biggest, most polished story, start with An Elmwood Trail, which has far more ratings than anything else here. If you want the found-phone format specifically, Unread and ColdTrace are the two built entirely inside a phone, and Sara is Missing is the short original that started it. If you would rather work scenes than read a phone, Criminal Case is the long-running hidden-object take.
If the premise interests you beyond the games, we wrote up what the public record says about how real cold cases actually get solved.
Unread is our own game, which is why it is marked. Every other app here is described from its own App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19; ratings and prices move, so check the listing before relying on them. We take nothing for the recommendations.