Comparison

Criminal Case vs Mindathlon

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

Head to head
About

Criminal Case

Engage in a captivating detective adventure by investigating crime scenes, gathering clues, and interrogating suspects. Analyze evidence to uncover the truth and bring murderers to justice in a grim city. Prove your detective prowess in this immersive hidden object game.

Highlights
  • Investigate crime scenes
  • Examine and analyze clues
  • Interrogate witnesses and suspects
  • Solve murder cases
  • Play with friends
  • Analyze evidence
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A murder has been reported in Grimsborough, Detective. Grab your badge — the Chief is waiting. Criminal Case is the original hidden object detective game: the award-winning phenomenon that has turned more than 100 million players into detectives since 2012. Search crime scenes for clues, examine the evidence, interrogate the suspects — and when the proof is solid, arrest the killer yourself. INVESTIGATE CRIME SCENES Every case starts at the scene of the crime. Search gorgeous hand-drawn locations for hidden objects and vital clues, race the clock for the best score, and earn the stars that move your investigation forward. RUN THE LAB Take your findings to the forensics team. Analyze samples, decode messages, reconstruct torn documents and match fingerprints. In Grimsborough, every detail talks — if you know how to listen. INTERROGATE THE SUSPECTS Bring witnesses and suspects in for questioning. Compare their statements with the facts, catch them lying, and profile your killer trait by trait until only one name is left. ARREST THE KILLER Most mystery games end when you find the last object. Criminal Case is where it gets serious: match the evidence to your suspects and put the right one behind bars. Get it wrong, and a killer walks free. ONE CITY. 56 CASES. ONE CONSPIRACY. From the smokestacks of the Industrial Area to the runways of the Airport, the six districts of Grimsborough hide 56 murder cases — and the deeper you dig, the clearer it becomes that they are all connected. THE ORIGINAL, SINCE 2012 Facebook Game of the Year 2013. More than 100 million detectives worldwide. The classic that defined crime investigation games on mobile — still updated, still free, still one of a kind. Played back in the day? Welcome back, partner. Jones kept your desk exactly as you left it. BETTER WITH FRIENDS Connect with your friends to team up on investigations, compare your detective skills on the leaderboards, and send each other energy and gifts. THE FIRST OF 8 SEASONS Grimsborough is where the saga begins. Once you have cleaned up this city, seven more seasons of Criminal Case are waiting for you — from Pacific Bay all the way to Paris. Criminal Case is free to play, with optional in-app purchases (you can disable these in your device settings). The optional Pizza subscription raises your energy bar to 170 and removes ads: 2.99 USD/week (or local equivalent) after a 3-day free trial, auto-renewing unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Terms of Service: https://prettysimplegames.com/legal/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.prettysimplegames.com/legal/privacy-policy The killer thinks they got away with it, Detective. Prove them wrong.

About

Mindathlon

Features
Read full description

Mindathlon is a brain marathon: six different mental challenges, played back to back, on a single clock. One run, one total time — and one number to beat next time. THE SIX STAGES • Memory Sequence — watch the pattern, then repeat it. It grows every round. • Colour Clash — tap the colour the word is printed in, not the word itself. • Grid Logic — a nonogram. Fill each row and column to match its numbers. • Card Pairs — memorise the table, then clear it pair by pair. • Arrow Rules — dark arrow: swipe where it points. Red arrow: swipe the opposite way. • Sudoku — every row, column and box takes each number exactly once. FIVE DIFFICULTIES Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert and Extreme. The grids get bigger, the sequences get longer and the par times get tighter. Start easy and work your way up. EARN YOUR BOOSTS Every stage has a par time. Clear it faster than par and you charge the boost bar — the further under par, the more charge you get. Spend that charge on hints when a stage fights back. Rushing early buys you help later, so the marathon rewards pace, not panic. TRACK YOUR TIMES Your finished marathons are saved with their difficulty and total time. Your best run sits at the top; recent runs sit underneath. Share a finish when you are proud of it. FAIR BY DESIGN • No account, no sign-up • Free, with one ad at the end of a finished run — never during a stage, never on a timer • No in-app purchases • Your scores stay on your device • Plays offline once the app has started • English and Turkish Five minutes a day. Six games. One time to beat.

Screenshots

Criminal Case4 screens
Mindathlon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mindathlon at none against Criminal Case's 10. Mindathlon also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months). Criminal Case's advantage is chart position (#155 vs unranked). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Criminal Case sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Mindathlon asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Criminal Case ships an update every 3 months, Mindathlon every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Criminal Case versus Mindathlon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCriminal CaseMindathlon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (36K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews59.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings36K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#155 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB34 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPretty SimpleMehmet Nusret Odaba

Bugs and requests

Criminal Case

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to connect to Facebook and sync progress
  • Disappearing energy and in-game items
  • Freezing and crashing during gameplay

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save energy and progress across sessions
  • More efficient energy system and reduced wait times
  • Improved customer support and communication
  • Reduced reliance on ads and in-app purchases

Mindathlon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Criminal Case

Subscriptions1
  • Pizza3 Days trial$2.997 Days
One-time9
  • Instant Analysis$0.99
  • Ham$0.99
  • Instant Access$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Instant Analysis$1.99
  • Instant Analysis$2.99
  • Pizza$2.99
  • 1 Complete Meal$3.99
  • 1 Burger$4.99
  • 2 Burgers + 1 Free Orange Juice$9.99
None

Mindathlon

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Criminal Case free?
Criminal Case is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mindathlon free?
Mindathlon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Criminal Case or Mindathlon have ads?
Both Criminal Case and Mindathlon show ads.
Which is updated more often, Criminal Case or Mindathlon?
Criminal Case ships an update every 3 months, and Mindathlon every 3 weeks. Most recently, Criminal Case was updated on November 4, 2026 and Mindathlon on October 29, 2026.

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