Iris ValeCrossword Detective Coming soon to iPhone
Iris Vale at the window of the newsroom at night, the city lit like a crossword grid
Iris Vale: Crossword Detective · A 1920s murder mystery for iPhone

Crosswords that come true.

Iris Vale edits the puzzle page of the Evening Ledger. Someone is sending her grids that describe a murder before it happens. Solve the puzzles, question the witnesses, catch the liar.

Coming soon to the App Store Watch the trailer
The case

A grid with no stamp and no return address.

Tuesday, October 14, 1924. Iris has seen every kind of reader mail: fan letters, complaints, a marriage proposal written as a cryptic clue. This morning's envelope holds a crossword signed "The Constructor". By midnight a man will be dead at the Blue Lantern's piano, and the crossword will have known how.

Every clue is a puzzle, and every puzzle hands you a piece of evidence.

A cipher in a dead man's pocket. A switchboard log, a dance card, a torn letter, a galley full of misprints. Each case has exactly one answer, and the game proves it: no guessing, no leaps, nothing hidden from you.

The Constructor's envelope on Iris's desk under the lamp
How it plays

Solve. Question. Accuse.

Each case runs through three editions of the paper. Every solved puzzle files a clue in your notebook; every witness has something to say, and one of them is lying.

Home: the season's six cases and the daily grid A voiced comic: Iris reads the reader mail The Constructor's crossword with circled squares Five witnesses, one of them lying The notebook: rule the suspects out one by one The season map of Manhattan The Constructor's daily grid
What is in the box

A newspaper's worth of puzzles.

No. 1

Every clue is a puzzle

Crosswords, ciphers, acrostics, word ladders, a telephone switchboard, a dance card, a printer's proof. Seventeen kinds in Season One, each one part of the story.

No. 2

Accuse, then make it stick

Name the killer, the place, the weapon and the motive, and the witness who lied. Then the defence objects, and you answer with the evidence you found.

No. 3

A grid under the door

The Constructor's Daily: a new 5×5 grid every morning, free. No timer, no streak to lose. A missed grid waits in the archive.

No. 4

Help that never costs money

Mr. Pim of the Ledger's archive gives two nudges for free. His filled-in answers are paid for with favors you earn by solving.

Drawn and voiced

Every scene is a comic, and every witness speaks.

  • Art Deco illustrationsDrawn in the style of 1920s posters and finished through a 1924 print process.
  • A narrator and a voice for every witnessDirected line by line, so a liar sounds like one.
  • Ragtime pianoScott Joplin, played for the game, with a gramophone that keeps each case's record.
  • No ads, no timersBuy a season once and keep it. Your progress stays on your phone.
Volume I · 1924

Season One: The Constructor

Six cases, one sender, from a Midtown speakeasy to Grand Central at dawn. The last case is about Iris herself. Case 1 is free for good; the Season Pass opens the other five with one purchase, or buy a single case.

Case No. 1

The Tuesday Grid

Oct 14, 1924
Free
Case No. 2

The Party Line

Oct 23, 1924
Season Pass
Case No. 3

The Last Waltz

Oct 31, 1924
Season Pass
Case No. 4

Stop Press

Nov 4, 1924
Season Pass
Case No. 5

The Personal Column

Nov 11, 1924
Season Pass
Case No. 6

The Constructor

Nov 17, 1924
Season Pass
  1. 1924
  2. 1925
  3. 1926
  4. 1927
  5. 1928
  6. 1929

The series follows Iris through the decade, one volume a year, to 1929. Volume I is the first; the next ones are on their way.

Questions

Before you open the case.

What is Iris Vale: Crossword Detective?

A story-driven murder mystery game for iPhone, set in New York in 1924. You play Iris Vale, the puzzle editor of the Evening Ledger, and crack each case through word and logic puzzles: crosswords, ciphers, acrostics, word ladders and more. Every solved puzzle hands you a clue; at the end you name the killer and prove it with the evidence.

Is it free?

The first case is free, for good, with no ads. The other five cases of Season One open with one Season Pass ($7.99 in the US) or one at a time ($2.99 each). These are one-time purchases, not a subscription. The Constructor's Daily, a new small grid every day, is free.

Do I need to be good at crosswords?

No. The answers are everyday words, and Mr. Pim of the archive helps on every puzzle: two nudges for free, then a letter, a word or the whole answer for favors you earn by solving. Hints never cost money, and there are no timers.

Which devices does it run on?

iPhone, with iOS 16.4 or later. The game is in English and plays offline: the art, voices and music are all on your phone. It is coming soon to the App Store.

Does the game collect my data?

No. There is no account, no analytics and no advertising. Your progress stays on your phone. Purchases go through Apple, and we never see your name or card.

Is there more after Season One?

Yes. The series follows Iris through the decade, one volume a year, from 1924 to 1929. Season One, The Constructor, is the first.

Who made the game?

Iris Vale is an independent game by Artsiom Rusau: the series and its story, the puzzle designs, the game itself and the solver that proves every case has exactly one answer. Modern tools, AI among them, help with drafting, drawing and voices, and nothing reaches the game until it has been checked, chosen and finished for it: every case proved, every picture through our 1924 print process, every line directed. The ragtime is Scott Joplin, played for the game.

Support

Need a hand?

Stuck on a puzzle?

Tap Help on any puzzle. Mr. Pim gives you two nudges for free. If you are still stuck, he can fill in a letter, a word or the whole answer for favors, which you earn by solving puzzles. Hints never cost money.

Purchases

Bought a Season Pass or a case on another device, or after reinstalling? Open Settings (the cog on the front page) and tap Restore purchases. Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.

Write to us

qa.rusau@gmail.com
Please say which device and case you are on. We read every letter.