The details matter when you’re cracking cases in MicroMacro: Downtown Detective. Pick a crime—anything from petty theft to a brazen daylight murder—and scour an adorably illustrated city for clues pointing to the perpetrator. By tracking the movements of crooks across town, you’ll gather enough evidence to put ’em behind bars.

What we love: Feeling like a master detective. Peek into the apartment of thieves who stole a pearl necklace and you might notice different types of wigs and hats scattered about. Peer closely at the marketplace and lo and behold—you’ll spot the culprits in disguises, swiping phones and fine wine. Busted!

Quick tip: Keep your eyes peeled. As you scan the city for clues, you’ll likely spot plenty of unrelated suspicious activity. Make a mental note of things like a bird flying off with a pocket watch in its beak, or someone hiding a pair of bolt cutters in a guitar case—it’ll give you a head start in future investigations.

Meet the creator: Germany’s Soft Boiled Games is the digital side of Hard Boiled Games, the folks behind the 2020 board game MicroMacro: Crime City. The team knew from the start they wanted to craft a mobile adaptation of MicroMacro, but the board game was such a big hit that they spent a few years working on sequels first.