Round-up
The best mystery games on iPhone
By Joel Rightler · Updated 2026-10-19
Mystery is a shelf, not a genre. Two games can both be called mysteries and ask completely different things of you: one wants you to read, one wants you to spot a hairbrush in a cluttered room, one just wants you to keep tapping. So this list is grouped by what you actually do, and every entry says so plainly.
The three kinds of mobile mystery
Found-phone games hand you somebody’s device and let you read. Hidden-object games put you in a drawn scene looking for things. Story games move a plot along and ask you to choose. All three are below, because which one you want is the whole question, and the labels on the App Store will not tell you.
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
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
3 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
4 of 8
Adventure Escape Mysteries
What you do: Story-driven room escape: solve self-contained puzzle chapters that carry a murder mystery forward, including a licensed NCIS story.
How a case ends: Each chapter closes when its puzzles are solved; the case resolves through the story.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Haiku Games Co · rated 4.76 from 21,938 ratings · 12+ · updated 2026-10-09 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
5 of 8
Murder in Alps: Hidden Mystery
What you do: An interactive 1930s crime novel built around hidden-object scenes, set in and around an Alpine hotel.
How a case ends: Story chapters resolve as you work through them; the hidden-object scenes gate the narrative rather than scoring you.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
Nordcurrent UAB · rated 4.31 from 109,796 ratings · 12+ · updated 2026-02-12 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
6 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
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
Homicide Squad: Hidden Objects
What you do: Hidden-object and match-3 crime scenes strung together into murder investigations.
How a case ends: Cases close as you clear their scenes; the puzzle is the gate, not a deduction.
Cost: No upfront price, with in-app purchases listed.
G5 Entertainment AB · rated 4.54 from 57,547 ratings · 9+ · updated 2026-10-02 · App Store listing, checked 2026-10-19
Which one to start with
Want to read and deduce? Start with Unread or ColdTrace. Want a long story to sink into? An Elmwood Trail has far more ratings than anything else here. Want puzzles with a crime wrapped around them? Criminal Case and Homicide Squad are the long-running ones. For narrower lists, see the cold case and murder mystery round-ups.
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.