Comparison

Clue vs Detective Notes

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

Head to head
About

Clue

Experience the classic murder mystery board game digitally. Gather evidence, interrogate suspects, and solve the crime. Offers multiple game modes for solo or multiplayer play.

Highlights
  • Digital board game adaptation
  • Gather evidence
  • Interrogate suspects
  • Solve murder mysteries
  • Classic and new game modes
  • AI and global multiplayer
Features
Read full description

Join fellow detectives all over the world in the official digital board game version of Clue! Gather crucial evidence, interrogate suspects and solve the original murder mystery. Follow Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, Chef White, Solicitor Peacock and Mayor Green through the iconic Tudor Mansion, unlocking their motives and alibis as you go. Enjoy Clue the way you remember it in Classic Mode, or jump in for a quick game with Clue Cards mode. Alternatively, if you want to really test your sleuthing skills, try a new investigation format available exclusively to Clue – Ultimate Detective. In Ultimate Detective Mode, everyone answers suggestions at the same time…but secretly! Face your suspects in a direct interrogation as you rely on your skills of deduction to get to the truth. Experience the mystery, solve the murder and become a top-tier detective! HOW TO PLAY CLUE: 1. Three cards are dealt face-down and set aside – this is the solution to the crime! 2. Everyone is dealt three cards. These are automatically crossed off your clue sheet, as they can’t be part of the solution. 3. Roll the dice and move around the board. 4. When you enter a room, you can make a suggestion – select who you think the murderer is, what weapon they used and where the crime happened. 5. Other players will then aim to disprove your suggestion; if one of your suggestions matches a card in their hand, they show you that card to disprove it. 6. Use your clue sheet to keep track of which characters, weapons and rooms have been disproven. 7. Think you’ve figured it out? It’s time to make an accusation! Be careful though – if you’re right, you win, but if you are wrong, you’re out! FEATURES - THE CLASSIC TUDOR MANSION – Play the beloved original board game, now rendered in stunning 3D animation and entirely ad-free! - A BRAND-NEW GAME MODE – Exclusive to the digital version of Clue, Ultimate Detective Mode lets you interrogate multiple characters at once. - MULTIPLE MODES – Compete against cutting-edge AI opponents that adapt to your skill level for the perfect game, or challenge detectives around the world. - ADDITIONAL ORIGINAL CONTENT – What happened after the shocking events of Tudor Mansion? Find out in a series of original new crime scenes designed specifically for the digital version of Clue! New characters emerge, bringing with them new clues, motives and case files to consider as you travel around the world in search of the truth. Sharpen your mind with the iconic murder-mystery board game, now available on mobile!

About

Detective Notes

Organize clues, suspects, and locations to solve mysteries. Customize your detective notebook for any game, adjust player counts, and keep your strategies private. Features include marker variety and multilingual support.

Highlights
  • Customizable setup for suspects, tools, and locations
  • Flexible player count adjustment
  • Private note customization
  • Variety of marker tools
  • Multilingual support
Features
Read full description

The perfect companion for your mystery board games — the detective notebook! Are you ready to take your deduction skills to the next level? This app helps you track clues, organize suspects, and solve mysteries with ease. • Customizable Setup: Add or edit suspects, tools, and locations to create your own unique detective notebook and share it with friends. • Flexible Player Count: Easily adjust the notebook to match the number of participants so you can enjoy the game anytime, anywhere. • Private Strategy: Customize or hide your notes for each game to keep your deductions secret from other players. • Marker Variety: Use a range of markers to help with your deduction process, undo mistakes, or reset everything with one tap. • Multilingual Support: Play and share your detective fun in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, and Korean. Now is the time to level up your detective game!

Screenshots

Clue4 screens
Detective Notes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Detective Notes at Free against Clue's $4.99. Detective Notes also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (72% vs 59%). Clue's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (4K vs 217). On rating, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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

Detective Notes is free to download; Clue costs $4.99 up front. Clue sells 26 one-off in-app purchases and Detective Notes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.8 for Clue against 4.7 for Detective Notes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clue has 4K ratings behind it against 217, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 59% of Clue's written reviews are positive against 72% of Detective Notes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clue ships an update every 2 months, Detective Notes every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and August 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Clue versus Detective Notes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClueDetective Notes
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (4K ratings) — better4.7 (217 ratings)
Positive reviews59.1% of reviews72.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4K — better217
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#18 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size1.3 GB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarmalade Game Studio LimitedKyeong Cheon Yang

Customer experience

Clue

All ratings3,988 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.8%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews164 reviews
Positive59.1%
Neutral20.7%
Negative20.1%

Detective Notes

All ratings217 ratings
Positive92.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.2%

Bugs and requests

Clue

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Clue card progress not saving properly
  • Game freezing or crashing on certain actions
  • Incorrect character starting positions
  • Ability to make illegal moves not prevented
  • Online matchmaking not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Pass and play multiplayer mode
  • Ability to customize player name
  • Larger clue sheet with zoom option
  • Improved tracking of completed goals/tasks
  • More diverse character selection

Detective Notes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

26 purchases

Clue

One-time26
  • Black Adder Green$2.99
  • Black Adder Mustard$2.99
  • Black Adder Plum$2.99
Show 23 more
  • Black Adder White$2.99
  • Black Adder Scarlet$2.99
  • Black Adder CaseFile Revisited$2.99
  • Whispering Pines White$2.99
  • Tropical Pack$3.99
  • Black Adder Resort Crime Scene$4.99
  • Winter Ball Records$4.99
  • Halloween Records$4.99
  • Noir Crime Scene Location$4.99
  • Whispering Pines Crime Scene$4.99
  • Black Adder Character Pack$5.99
  • WhisperingPines Character Pack$5.99
  • Ultimate Edition Sale$7.99
  • Black Adder Resort Bundle$12.99
  • Whispering Pines Bundle$12.99
  • PolarStation Crime SceneBundle$12.99
  • 2016 Edition Character Pack$14.99
  • Welcome Offer$19.99
  • Clue 2 Epic Crime Collection$25.99
  • Clue 2 Epic Crime Collection$27.99
  • Clue 2 Epic Crime Collection$29.99
  • Clue 2 Epic Crime Collection$34.99
  • Ultimate Edition$39.99
1 purchases

Detective Notes

One-time1
  • No Ads$3.99

Questions

Is Clue free?
Clue costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Detective Notes free?
Detective Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Clue or Detective Notes?
Clue is rated higher. Clue averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while Detective Notes averages 4.7 from 217 ratings.
Do Clue or Detective Notes have ads?
Detective Notes shows ads; Clue does not.
Which is updated more often, Clue or Detective Notes?
Clue ships an update every 2 months, and Detective Notes every 2 weeks. Most recently, Clue was updated on September 26, 2026 and Detective Notes on August 9, 2026.

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