Updated October 19, 2026. This guide describes the paid public-release configuration; older TestFlight and Android builds can differ.
Playing and returning
On a returning launch, choose Continue story or Free play. More opens the wider navigation; Stories lets you choose Mara’s house or The Last Night Shift. Both stories, Inventions, Glasshouse, free play, Society letters, all cabinet finishes and Pip are included with the paid app. There are no ads or in-app purchases in the public configuration. A suitable available public name change is free and checked by the service.
Each story keeps its own progress, Pocket, journal and room. Use Map to explore; concealed cards indicate Night Shift rooms still to discover. The small expand icon enlarges a puzzle while keeping controls needed to solve, submit and continue. Use × or Back to leave that view.
Points, replay and Start fresh
Solving has no charge or waiting requirement. In modes with guessing penalties, a wrong submitted answer deducts 10% of the starting award. The full solution marks a discovery assisted and removes its award. Free-play checks are free; a new eligible unassisted board earns one point.
Your discoveries and world standings show Daily, Weekly, Monthly and All-Time points. These periods use UTC, with weeks starting Monday. Local personal totals can include points waiting to synchronize; world standings show server-accepted claims. Society letter availability follows local time instead.
Settings → Start fresh resets the selected story’s gameplay. Ordinary replay preserves its counted points and cannot earn them twice. A separate confirmed online reset can replace that story’s counted standings attempt; it preserves other stories and historical records. Read the confirmation before proceeding. Start fresh is not local-member removal or cloud-data deletion.
Save a recovery key
Open More → Members & saves → Save & recovery. Choose Show my private key or Copy private key and store it somewhere safe. Each member has a separate key. Never send it to support or include it in screenshots or reports. Anyone with a key may be able to recover that member; support cannot reconstruct a lost key from a nickname.
Back up now sends an encrypted save when connected. Wait for acknowledgement before changing devices. Recovery is not continuous simultaneous editing on two devices, and scores from different saves are not merged automatically. Keep the original device and key until recovery succeeds.
Recover on another device
Open Members & saves → Save & recovery → Recover another member. Enter the saved key, choose Find my backup, review the returned member and choose Continue on this device. If saves conflict, review both and follow the offered keep-both or handoff flow rather than overwriting progress blindly. A newer backup can require an updated app.
Use the app’s recovery flow to continue progress on a device. The website’s Manage your data page previews a member only to help you confirm cloud-data deletion; it does not restore a game in the browser.
Names and removing a member
Members & saves lets you choose a member, add one or change its name. A suitable unique public name is free. Rejected or conflicting names leave the existing identity unchanged. Use a nickname rather than personal contact information. Unique Member numbers remain valid; removed member identities are not reused.
Remove from this phone is a local removal and is separate from cloud deletion. Protect the recovery keys and backups for every member you want to keep before removing the app or its data.
To delete a member’s cloud backup, public name and standings, open Settings → Privacy & data → Delete member’s cloud data, or visit Manage your data directly. First back up that member, copy its private recovery key from Save & recovery and close the game. Review the member, check the confirmation and choose Permanently delete cloud data. Keep the confirmation reference and check completion if the request is pending. Other members are separate. Deleted cloud credentials cannot upload again; local copies remain until you remove them. See the privacy notice for retained operational copies and rights. No support email is required to delete with a valid key. A nickname or email alone cannot prove ownership if all copies of the key are lost; never email a key.
Sound and reminders
Settings offers Background, Clues & effects, Gentle motion and Touch feedback. Music and ambience choices follow the selected story and Night Shift era. iOS can play game audio in Silent Mode; use the app’s controls to silence it. Optional Society reminders use local notifications and request notification permission only when enabled. They are not advertising or tracking permission.
Report a problem
Use Settings → Feedback → Report a problem. Include the story, room or object, displayed clue, expected behavior and what happened. Save a note, copy it or open an email report, then review it before sending. Native sharing depends on the build. Normal release does not record beta activity traces or offer statistical report export. Your saved customer notes are not automatically attached to cloud backups or sent to support; you choose whether to copy or email them.
Email support@gretek.com for help. Do not include recovery keys, payment credentials, real member names in public images or ending spoilers. Apple handles App Store billing and refund requests separately. Progress recovery does not use a restore-purchases button.