The short version. Enjoy the mysteries, play fair, and don’t copy or resell the game. Purchases are made through Apple and follow Apple’s rules, including refunds. The first casebook is free; paid content is licensed to you, not sold. If something goes wrong, email us.
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are an agreement between you and Owl Media (“we”, “us”) covering the Shadow & Clue app for iPhone and iPad (the “App”), its online features and this website (together, the “Service”). By downloading or using the Service you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please don’t use the Service.
1. Who can play
You must be old enough to agree to these Terms in your country, or have a parent or guardian’s permission. The game contains murder-mystery themes (crime, death and poison, described without graphic detail) and is intended for a general audience aged 13 and over.
2. Your account
The App creates a guest account automatically so your progress can be saved. You may optionally register with a name, email address and password to sign in on other devices. You are responsible for keeping your password secure and for activity under your account, and you agree to give accurate information. Let us know at once if you think your account has been misused.
3. Licence to use the game
We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to download and use the App on Apple devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial entertainment, as permitted by the Apple Licensed Application End User License Agreement (the “Standard EULA”) and these Terms. Where these Terms and the Standard EULA conflict, these Terms apply to the extent permitted.
The Service — including its cases, stories, characters, artwork, music, voice recordings, sound, software and the Shadow & Clue name and logo — belongs to Owl Media and its licensors and is protected by copyright and other laws. Everything not expressly granted is reserved.
4. Fair play
You agree not to:
- copy, modify, distribute, sell, rent or publicly perform the App or its content, or publish extracted case files, artwork, audio or solutions in bulk;
- reverse-engineer, decompile or tamper with the App except where the law allows it despite this restriction;
- cheat, exploit bugs, or interfere with our servers — including unlocking paid content without paying, manipulating purchases or tokens, scraping, or overloading the Service;
- use the Service unlawfully, or impersonate anyone.
Talking about cases, sharing your own screenshots, and writing walkthroughs or reviews for non-commercial purposes is welcome.
5. Purchases, subscriptions and Insight tokens
Buying through Apple
All purchases are made through Apple’s App Store and are subject to Apple’s Media Services Terms and Conditions. Apple processes payment, and prices are shown in the App in your local currency before you buy.
Casebooks and the Archive
Casebook I is free. Individual Casebooks and the Complete Archive are one-time purchases that unlock the listed cases for as long as the Service is offered. You can restore them on your devices using “Restore Purchases” in the App or by signing in to your account.
Detective’s Club subscription
The Detective’s Club is an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly) that unlocks every casebook, unlimited hint reveals and bonus content while it is active. Payment is charged to your Apple account at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically at the same price for the same period unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel it in your Apple account settings. If a free trial is offered, any unused part of it is forfeited when you buy a subscription. When a subscription ends, casebooks you unlocked only through the Club lock again, but cases you have already solved stay in your records.
Insight tokens
Insight tokens are an in-game item used to reveal hints. You can earn them in play or buy them. They have no monetary value, cannot be exchanged for money or transferred, and are used up when spent. Hints, bought or not, never improve your case score.
Refunds
Refunds are handled by Apple under its policies; request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. If Apple refunds or revokes a purchase, we remove what it unlocked or the corresponding tokens. Nothing in these Terms limits any right you have under consumer law.
6. Online features and availability
The game is fully playable offline; when you are online, progress, achievements and purchases sync with our server. We work to keep the Service available but don’t promise it will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may update, change or retire features, cases or the online service. If we ever shut the online service down, we will give reasonable notice and aim to keep purchased content playable on your device.
7. Suspension and termination
You can stop using the Service at any time and ask us to delete your account (see the Privacy Policy). We may suspend or close an account that seriously or repeatedly breaks these Terms, or where required by law. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including 3, 8, 9 and 11) will survive.
8. Disclaimer
The Service is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of its characters to real persons is coincidental, and historical settings are dramatised. To the fullest extent the law allows, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind beyond those that cannot be excluded by law.
9. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent the law allows, Owl Media is not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses, or for loss of data, profits or goodwill, arising from the Service, and our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid for the Service in the twelve months before the claim (or £50 / US$50 if greater). Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be excluded or limited by law. If you are a consumer in the UK or EU, you have legal rights in relation to digital content that is faulty or not as described; these Terms do not affect them.
10. Apple
These Terms are between you and Owl Media, not Apple. Apple is not responsible for the App or its content, has no obligation to provide maintenance or support, and is not responsible for addressing claims relating to the App, including product-liability claims, claims that it fails to conform to legal or regulatory requirements, consumer-protection claims, or intellectual-property infringement claims. If the App fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, which may refund the purchase price of the App; to the extent permitted by law, Apple has no other warranty obligation. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you. You confirm that you are not located in a country subject to a US Government embargo or on any US Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
11. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and disputes will be handled by the courts of England and Wales — except that if you are a consumer living elsewhere, you keep the protection of the mandatory laws of your country and may bring proceedings in your local courts. Please contact us first; most problems can be sorted out quickly by email.
12. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time, for example when we add features or when the law changes. We will post the new version here with a new “Last updated” date and, for significant changes, tell you in the App. Continuing to use the Service after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.
13. Contact
Owl Media
Email: [email protected]