Comparison

Mystery Tales vs Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mystery Tales

Investigate an abandoned cinema and solve a mystery involving a mad horror movie director. Use paranormal powers to find hidden objects and rescue lost friends before they become stars in his latest film. Explore haunted locations and uncover secrets.

Highlights
  • Solve mystery at abandoned cinema
  • Find hidden objects and treasures
  • Explore haunted locations
  • Bonus chapter with additional story
  • Strategy guide for assistance
  • Collect hidden movie posters and artifacts
Features
Read full description

Your good friend Officer Jefferson needs your help in these hidden objects games! Use your paranormal powers to play detective games and solve the mystery behind the abandoned cinema. Jefferson’s sister Maya and her colleagues went to restore this abandoned cinema, but they got mysteriously lost! Now it’s up to you to explore this haunted place, solve many hidden pictures and find hidden treasures of the mad horror movie director Sebastian. Hurry up before the ghostly director makes Maya and her friends the stars of his latest film. Hold onto the edge of your seat for these spooky hidden objects free for iPhone & iPad! · STOP A MAD HORROR MOVIE DIRECTOR! Sebastian wants to threaten Maya and her colleagues to death! Will you be able to save them before they suffer? Find out in mystery adventure games! · DELVE DEEPER INTO DAWNWOOD'S HISTORY IN THE BONUS CHAPTER! A mysterious video tape of Sebastian’s movie now poses risk to your friend’s wife! He desperately needs your help. Use your new ghostly device to get in touch with ghosts and search and find games! · NEVER GET LOST WITH THE STRATEGY GUIDE! Always know your next move while thinking over finding games with a helpful and accessible Strategy Guide! · LEARN MORE ABOUT SEBASTIAN'S LIFE THROUGH HIDDEN COLLECTIBLES! Gather movie posters and director’s hidden artifacts to learn more about Sebastian and his actors! Play seek and find games and enjoy unpredictable plot twists! This game has a free trial part. You can unlock the full version through an in-app purchase. ----- Questions? Email us at support@dominigames.com Visit our website to search and find hidden object games: http://dominigames.com Become our fan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dominigames Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dominigames

About

Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P

Embark on a magical hidden-object adventure to rescue a missing friend and godfather from a fantasy toy castle. Solve puzzles and explore stunning locations to uncover the secret of the Nutcracker.

Highlights
  • Hidden-object gameplay
  • Intuitive mini-games and puzzles
  • Explore 40+ stunning locations
  • Seek and find morphing objects
  • Assemble collections
Read full description

When Marie visits Drosselmeyer’s toy workshop for the first Christmas since she was a little girl, she finds her childhood friend, Fritz, missing. Soon, the clues lead her to Spielland, the toy castle they imagined playing in together as children. But Spielland was just pretend… or was it? Can you help Marie make her way through a fantasy world of angry mice and living toys to rescue her best friend Fritz, her godfather Drosselmeyer, and learn the secret of the Nutcracker? Crack open this magical new Hidden-Object Puzzle Adventure and find out! Download and play the game for absolutely free, but if you feel stuck or don’t want to solve a mini-game, you may buy hints to help you proceed quicker! Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P features are: • Immerse yourself in an amazing adventure! • Solve intuitive mini-games, brain teasers, & unique puzzles. • Explore 40+ stunning locations. • Spectacular graphics! • Assemble collections, seek & find morphing objects. Discover more from Friendly Fox Studio: Terms of Use: https://friendlyfox.studio/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: https://friendlyfox.studio/privacy-policy/ Official website: https://friendlyfox.studio/hubs/hub-ios/ Follow us on: https://www.facebook.com/FriendlyFoxStudio/

Screenshots

Mystery Tales4 screens
Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P at none against Mystery Tales's shown. Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). Mystery Tales's advantage is ratings volume (2.8K vs 418). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mystery Tales sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Mystery Tales against 4.8 for Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Mystery Tales has 2.8K ratings behind it against 418, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 64% and 64% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mystery Tales ships an update every 2 months, Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Mystery Tales versus Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMystery TalesSecrets of the Nutcracker F2P
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.8K ratings)4.8 (418 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.0% of reviews — better63.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2.8K — better418
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.0 GB1.1 GB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperDO GAMES LIMITEDFriendly Fox Games Limited

Customer experience

Mystery Tales

All ratings2,825 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral4.4%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews86 reviews
Positive64.0%
Neutral10.5%
Negative25.6%

Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P

All ratings416 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral9.1%
Negative27.3%

User reviews

Mystery Tales

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Engaging storyline
  • 👍 Varied puzzles and mini-games
  • 💡 Unique gameplay features (e.g., using phone instead of glasses)
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics and visuals
  • ⏱️ Lengthy gameplay with bonus chapter

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inventory/navigation issues (overlapping buttons, minimizing inventory)
  • 🐛 Glitches and crashes (corrupted profiles, game not opening)
  • 💰 Game is too expensive for the content provided
  • 🎨 Visuals can be too bright/colorful for some

Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P

From 418 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Excellent graphics and visual design
  • 🎮 Engaging storyline and magical atmosphere
  • 🧩 Well-designed puzzles with good difficulty balance
  • 🎵 Soothing and atmospheric music
  • 💰 No mandatory payments for hints or skips (some versions)

Room to improve

  • ⏱️ Game too short, completable in 2 days
  • 💎 Expensive gem/ruby system for hints and skips
  • 🎮 Overly simplistic for adult players
  • 📱 Poor iPhone screen optimization and scaling
  • 🔊 Audio/sound issues in some versions

Bugs and requests

Mystery Tales

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inventory bar glitches and minimizes
  • Maze puzzle issues (electricity not turning off)
  • Inability to find required items/progress
  • Compatibility issues on phones

Requested features

2 requests
  • Remaster or update the game
  • Offer more affordable pricing options

Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inventory items disappearing (blue rag bug)
  • Puzzle progression blocked despite correct solution
  • Impossible maze puzzle (soldier maze 3/4 through game)
  • Audio not working despite volume adjustments
  • Game stuck on specific puzzle stages

Requested features

5 requests
  • New game releases instead of rereleasing old titles
  • Premium version link availability
  • New Christmas-themed games
  • Better iPhone screen adaptation
  • Option to purchase game outright instead of gem system

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Mystery Tales

One-time2
  • Subscribers' Full Game Unlock$8.99
  • Full Game Unlock$12.99
7 purchases

Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P

One-time7
  • Special offer$0.99
  • Unlock Bonus Game$1.99
  • Handful of rubies$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Pouch of rubies$4.99
  • Purse of rubies$6.99
  • Case of rubies$9.99
  • Chest of rubies$14.99

Questions

Is Mystery Tales free?
Mystery Tales is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P free?
Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mystery Tales or Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P?
Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P is rated higher. Mystery Tales averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P averages 4.8 from 418 ratings.
Do Mystery Tales or Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P have ads?
Mystery Tales shows ads; Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P does not.
Which is updated more often, Mystery Tales or Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P?
Mystery Tales ships an update every 2 months, and Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P every 3 months. Most recently, Mystery Tales was updated on September 23, 2026 and Secrets of the Nutcracker F2P on September 17, 2026.

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