MicroMacro: Crime City was already a standout in the tabletop space — a small, affordable cooperative detective game that turned a sprawling black-and-white city map into a living crime scene.
Designed by Johannes Sich and published by Pegasus Spiele, the boardgame version of Micromacro: Crime City won the Spiel des Jahres in 2021 for good reason: it’s clever, tactile, and deceptively dark beneath its cartoonish surface. But the iOS version – how could it possibly retain the same magic? Let’s find out.
The core premise remains unchanged. You’re dropped into Crime City, a densely illustrated map teeming with mischief, murder, and mayhem. Each case asks you to trace one or more character’s movements through time and space, piecing together their story from visual clues alone. It’s Where’s Wally meets CSI, and it works because the map isn’t static — it’s a series of timelines. You’ll see the same character multiple times, each snapshot revealing a different moment in their day. Follow them from the bakery to the alleyway and you’ll uncover motives, disguises, tools of the trade and accomplices.
On iOS, this mechanic translates beautifully. Pinch-to-zoom replaces leaning over a table with a magnifying glass, and the ability to tap and drag across the map makes navigation fluid and intuitive. As far as I know, the app includes all the original cases, each presented as a clean, interactive dossier. Objectives are clearly laid out, and progress is tracked seamlessly. There’s no need to shuffle cards or worry about spoilers — everything is gated behind smart UI design.
The iPhone version is perfectly serviceable, especially for solo play or quick sessions. But it’s on iPad where MicroMacro: Crime City truly shines — as we discovered on a recent family holiday The larger screen allows for full immersion, with enough real estate to scan wide sections of the map without too much zooming. It’s the closest digital analogue to spreading the paper map across a table, and it makes cooperative play genuinely viable. Pass the tablet or just gather around it, point to suspects, debate theories — it’s all there, minus the inconvenience (and perhaps also the charm) of leaning over the huge paper map of the original game.
Visually, the app preserves the charm of the original. The monochrome art style is crisp and legible, and the map’s density never feels overwhelming. Characters are expressive, scenes are packed with detail, and the occasional moment of dark humor lands just as well digitally. The app also includes subtle animations and sound cues that enhance immersion without distracting from the core experience.
If there’s a downside, it’s that the tactile joy of the physical map—the act of physically tracing a path with your finger — is slightly diminished. In the original, there was always something uniquely satisfying about hovering over a paper city with friends, arguing over who poisoned the baker. The digital version streamlines that experience massively, but loses a bit of the analog charm. That said, it more than makes up for it in accessibility, portability, and ease of use.
MicroMacro: Crime City on iOS is a masterclass in digital adaptation. It retains the heart of the original while leveraging the strengths of touchscreen devices — especially tablets — to deliver a smooth, engaging detective experience. Whether you’re solving crimes on the train or curled up on the sofa with an iPad, it’s a game that proves mystery doesn’t need massive amounts of exposition, huge decks of cards or some of the more complex systems that could only realistically happen in a full on video game.
MicroMacro: Crime City is available now for iOS and Android.
