ClueSolvers
ClueSolvers is an outdoor adventure game that turns towns into live, playable environments. Players progress by solving clues and navigating the town themselves, using observation and reasoning rather than automated guidance.
- Role: Mobile app development, backend systems
- Platform: iOS / Android
- Tech: XCode (Swift), Android Studio (Java), Firebase, JavaScript
The challenge
ClueSolvers needed to support a real-world, multiplayer game experience across native iOS and Android platforms, while keeping gameplay consistent, fair, and synchronised for teams playing together.
The core challenge was designing a system that could:
- Coordinate game progression across multiple devices in real time
- Handle complex game rules such as hints, solutions, passes, and time penalties
- Support different organisations running branded versions of the game
- Remain responsive and reliable with many players active simultaneously
The approach
The solution centres around a shared game state managed through Firebase. Each team’s progress is tracked centrally, allowing multiple players to participate on their own devices while always seeing the same clue and game state.
Game logic is enforced consistently across platforms, with penalties applied automatically for hints, incorrect answers, or skipping clues. This ensures fairness and keeps the experience aligned regardless of how individual players interact with the app.
To complement the in-game experience, a JavaScript-based leaderboard was developed to allow players to compare their completion times against all other teams, adding a competitive layer without affecting gameplay flow.
What we built
- Native iOS and Android applications built in Swift and Java
- Firebase-backed game state management to synchronise teams in real time
- Logic to manage clue progression, penalties, hints, and solutions
- Support for multiple simultaneous games with large numbers of players
- Configurable interfaces to allow organisations to brand the experience as their own
Our role
We designed and implemented the full system, including the native mobile applications and the backend logic. This involved integrating Swift and Java clients with Firebase, defining the game state model, and ensuring reliable synchronisation across devices under load.
Outcome
The result is a robust multiplayer game platform capable of supporting large numbers of players while maintaining consistent gameplay across devices.
ClueSolvers demonstrates our ability to design and deliver systems that combine real-time coordination, rule-based logic, and cross-platform mobile development.
If you’re planning a mobile or web project that involves custom logic, synchronisation across devices, or real-world usage, feel free to get in touch.