What is the best detective game app for iPhone?

An Elmwood Trail, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.9 by 263,772 people.

Which detective game apps are free?

39 of 40 are free to download: An Elmwood Trail (S), Criminal Case: Hidden Objects (S), ColdTrace: Cold Case Mystery (S), Suspects: Mobile Detective (S) and more. 22 of them sell in-app purchases. 2 report no in-app purchases.

Which detective game app has the best App Store rating?

An Elmwood Trail at 4.9 from 263,772 ratings.

AppTierList › All lists › Detective Games

Best Detective Game Apps for iPhone (2026)

40 apps ranked S through F · Updated 2026-10-19 · Ranked by AppTierList, computed, never sold · JSON

Part of Mystery Games.

An Elmwood Trail is the top-ranked of 40 detective game apps on iPhone, at S tier with 4.9/5 from 263,772 ratings.

1
An Elmwood TrailS
Free download · ★ 4.9 · 263,772 ratings · score 98
2
Criminal Case: Hidden ObjectsS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 35,946 ratings · score 95
3
ColdTrace: Cold Case MysteryS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 6,078 ratings · score 92
4
Suspects: Mobile DetectiveS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 11,300 ratings · score 90
5
Case Hunter-Can you solve it?A
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 8,248 ratings · score 88

What belongs in this list

Solve cases by investigating clues and finding the culprit in a detective game.

Not here: A general mystery game alone; A murder mystery party host alone; A hidden object game alone; A general puzzle game alone; A crime-themed action game alone

How we pick

For this list we ask the App Store the same searches a person would, in several countries, and keep every app it returns. A model reads each app's listing and rejects the ones that only mention the use case. Every app that stays is scored out of 100 from four parts, each 0 to 100 and averaged with no weights: its App Store rating, how many people rated it, where the App Store itself ranks it for this list's searches, and how recently its current version shipped. An app showing Apple's Editors' Choice badge gets a fifth part of 100, which can only lift its score. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier. Read the full method →

Compare every app

1
An Elmwood TrailS
Free download · ★ 4.9 · 263,772 ratings · score 98 · best in class
2
Criminal Case: Hidden ObjectsS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 35,946 ratings · score 95 · best in class
3
ColdTrace: Cold Case MysteryS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 6,078 ratings · score 92 · best in class
4
Suspects: Mobile DetectiveS
Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 11,300 ratings · score 90 · best in class
5
Case Hunter-Can you solve it?A
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 8,248 ratings · score 88 · excellent
6
Find Hidden Objects: SherlockA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 59,057 ratings · score 85 · excellent
7
Criminal Case: The ConspiracyA
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 4,240 ratings · score 84 · excellent
8
Homicide Squad: Hidden ObjectsA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 57,545 ratings · score 83 · excellent
9
Profile PerfectA
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 11,748 ratings · score 83 · excellent
10
Murder in Alps: Hidden MysteryA
Free download · ★ 4.3 · 109,792 ratings · score 83 · excellent
11
Mystery Detective AdventureA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 827 ratings · score 82 · excellent
12
Criminal Case: Pacific BayA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 6,880 ratings · score 82 · excellent
13
Criminal Case: MysteriesA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.7 · 5,668 ratings · score 82 · excellent
14
Clue HunterA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 71,440 ratings · score 82 · excellent
15
Ravenhill: Find Hidden ObjectsA
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 41,053 ratings · score 82 · excellent
16
Tiny Room Story: Town MysteryB
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 11,312 ratings · score 81 · good
17
3D Escape Room Detective StoryB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 6,823 ratings · score 80 · good
18
Duck Detective: Secret SalamiB
Free download · ★ 4.8 · 4,943 ratings · score 74 · good
19
Hidden Objects Sherlock HolmesB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 28,720 ratings · score 73 · good
20
LAST SEEN - Detective MysteryB
Free + IAP · ★ 4.4 · 14 ratings · score 71 · good
21
Detective MastersC
Free · ★ 4.5 · 34,887 ratings · score 69 · situational
22
Criminal Case: Save the World!C
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 5,787 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
23
Tears of ThemisC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 5,449 ratings · score 68 · situational · provisional
24
Hidden City: Object SeekersC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.3 · 95,112 ratings · score 67 · situational · provisional
25
Luna Ravel - Visual NovelC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.6 · 1,101 ratings · score 66 · situational · provisional
26
Clue: Classic EditionC
$5.99 · ★ 4.7 · 35,820 ratings · score 66 · situational
27
Stalkie · Mobile DetectiveC
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 2,884 ratings · score 66 · situational · provisional
28
CRIMOC
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 2,890 ratings · score 64 · situational · provisional
29
Duskwood - Detective StoryC
Free download · ★ 4.4 · 2,582 ratings · score 63 · situational · provisional
30
Clue Master - Logic PuzzlesC
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 27,750 ratings · score 63 · situational · provisional
31
Murder Mystery Detective StoryC
Free + IAP · ★ 4.8 · 5,768 ratings · score 61 · situational
32
Be The Judge - Ethical PuzzlesD
Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 8,574 ratings · score 61 · weak · provisional
33
Who Done It 3DD
Free download · ★ 4.7 · 30,054 ratings · score 60 · weak · provisional
34
Small Town Murders: Match 3D
Free download · ★ 4.6 · 35,624 ratings · score 60 · weak
35
Crime City Police Officer GameD
Free download · ★ 4.3 · 2,778 ratings · score 60 · weak · provisional
36
I Am InnocentD
Free + IAP · ★ 4.2 · 10,428 ratings · score 59 · weak
37
Forensic MasterD
Free + IAP · ★ 4.3 · 43,274 ratings · score 57 · weak
38
Pocket Mystery-Detective GameD
Free download · ★ 4.5 · 41,873 ratings · score 57 · weak
39
SentenceD
Free + IAP · ★ 4.5 · 11,180 ratings · score 56 · weak
40
Judge 3D - Court AffairsD
Free · ★ 4.5 · 33,063 ratings · score 54 · weak · provisional

Beyond the top 40

9 more, not ranked yet

New in the last 30 days

Questions people ask

What is the best detective game app for iPhone?: An Elmwood Trail, S tier, ranked #1 of 40, rated 4.9 by 263,772 people.
Which detective game apps are free?: 39 of 40 are free to download: An Elmwood Trail (S), Criminal Case: Hidden Objects (S), ColdTrace: Cold Case Mystery (S), Suspects: Mobile Detective (S) and more. 22 of them sell in-app purchases. 2 report no in-app purchases.
Which detective game app has the best App Store rating?: An Elmwood Trail at 4.9 from 263,772 ratings.
How many detective game apps reach S or A tier?: 15 of 40. Tiers follow fixed score bands: S from 90, A from 80, B from 70, C from 60, D from 50, F below. The list's leader is S if it scores 80 or more. On a list of 20 or more ranked apps, a tier from S to D takes in new apps only up to a quarter of the top 40: an app pushed out of a full tier falls to the next tier with room, and F takes the rest. An app already in a tier keeps its place while the tier is at most 2 apps over a quarter; past that, only the apps over that margin go down, lowest score first. Equal scores share a tier, and no app has a better tier than an app ranked above it. An app keeps its tier until its score passes the band edge by more than 1 point, or a full tier or the order above moves it. Only the top 40 of a list get a tier.