# Cladle — The daily animal guessing game

> The daily animal guessing game (iPhone/iPad app by Bryan VanDyke.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cladle/id6806838083 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Bryan VanDyke](https://appshunter.io/developer/896895676)
- Category: Games, Puzzle, Trivia
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 17.0 · 1 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-02
- Data updated: 2026-09-13
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cladle/id6806838083/reviews.md

## What is Cladle?

Cladle is the daily guessing game for anyone who loves animals and the tree of life.

Every day, one mystery creature is hidden somewhere in the animal kingdom, and your job is to figure out what it is. Guess any animal and Cladle shows you exactly how closely related it is to the mystery species, from a distant cousin sharing only a phylum to a near-match in the very same genus.

HOW TO PLAY
• Guess an animal! 
• Watch the relatedness graph branch out, connecting your guesses to the mystery animal along the real tree of life.
• A red-to-green scale tells you how warm you're getting: red means only distantly related, green means you're closing in.
• Use the shared branches to reason your way toward the answer
• Research to narrow down your next guess!
• Stuck? Spend a hint to reveal the next major branch of the mystery animal's lineage.

ONE PUZZLE A DAY
Everyone gets the same mystery animal each day. Compare your solve with friends and keep your streak going. Miss a day and the streak resets!

PRACTICE ANYTIME
Can't wait for tomorrow? Practice mode serves up endless puzzles whenever you want to play.

LEARN AS YOU PLAY
Cladle is built on real taxonomy; kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Tap any animal or branch to open its Wikipedia page and go deeper. You'll absorb how life is actually related without it ever feeling like a lesson.

TRACK YOUR STREAK
See your win percentage, current and best streaks, and how many guesses it usually takes you to crack the puzzle. Share a spoiler-free result grid with friends.

NO ADS. NO TRACKING. NO ACCOUNT.
Cladle collects nothing and needs no login. No ads, no in-app purchases. Just a satisfying daily puzzle. It even works offline!

Think you know your animals? The tree of life is waiting.

What's New (v1.0)

The first Cladle! A brand-new mystery animal every day, a relatedness graph that maps your guesses onto the tree of life, hints, practice mode, streaks, and shareable results. No ads, no tracking. Thanks for playing & please leave feedback - I'll actively incorporate it!


## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 1.0.2 — 2026-09-07

Bug fixes and new animals

### 1.0 — 2026-09-02

No release notes.

## More apps by Bryan VanDyke

- [PlayTime - Multiplayer Game Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playtime-multiplayer-game-timer/id896895673)

All apps by Bryan VanDyke: https://appshunter.io/developer/896895676

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-13.*