Support
Get in touch
Found a bug, got stuck, or have an idea for the game? Email support@openandshut.info and we’ll read every message. If something went wrong, it helps to say what you were doing and which screen you were on. The game’s Settings has an Email support button that fills in the game’s version and your iOS version for you.
Common questions
- Which devices does it work on? Any iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 27.1 or later. On a phone that folds, you open and shut it to pass it round; on any other iPhone, and on iPad, Show and Hide buttons do the same job.
- Does it need the internet? No. The game works fully offline, and nothing you play leaves your device.
- How many people can play? 4 to 16 with friends, passing one iPhone or iPad round the table, or 5 to 16 on your own against the computer. Two or more of you can also fill out the table with computer players, up to 16 in all.
- How do I learn the rules? Tap How to play on the home screen. You can replay it any time from Settings.
- Can we call the two sides something else? Yes. When you set up a game, tap Sides and give each a name of your own, one and more than one. The next game in that setting starts with them.
- Where are my saved games? Under Resume game. A game you leave partway through is kept there until you finish it or swipe it away.
- How do I take a score off the leaderboard? Swipe it to the left, or tap Edit.
Buying settings
- What comes with the game? The whole game, every way of playing it, and one setting: Ashgrove Hall, a birthday weekend at a very grand house, with its own characters and thirty missions. There are no subscriptions, no ads and nothing to buy during a game.
- What can I buy? Seven more settings, each on its own: Heybridge & Partners (an office), Calderbrook United (a football club), The Aurelia (a liner on its maiden voyage), The Muddlecombe Village Fête, St Grimbald’s PTA (a school’s Easter fair), Chalet Les Marmottes (a ski chalet) and Christmas at Home. Each has its own characters, thirty missions, look, narration and night-time sounds, and its own names for the two sides. The rules are the same in all of them.
- How much does a setting cost? £2.99 each in the UK, paid once; the App Store shows the price in your own currency. A setting is then yours for good, on every iPhone and iPad signed in to the same Apple Account.
- How do I buy one? Tap New game. Where is it? lists every setting, and any you don’t have yet shows a lock and its price. Tap it, and the App Store asks you to confirm before anything is charged. Once it’s yours, the lock goes and it says “Yours to play”.
- Does everyone at the table need to buy it? No. Only the iPhone or iPad being passed round needs the setting, and everyone at the table plays it.
- Can my family share a setting? Not through Family Sharing: a setting belongs to the Apple Account that bought it. On a device signed in to that account, anyone can play it.
- Why does a setting say “Price unavailable”? The App Store couldn’t be reached, perhaps because the device is offline or in Airplane Mode. Connect, then tap the setting to try again. Settings you already own play offline.
- Why does a setting say “Waiting for approval”? Ask to Buy is on for your Apple Account, so a parent or guardian approves the purchase first. The setting opens as soon as they do.
- Why does a setting I bought show a lock? In Settings, tap Restore purchases, signed in with the Apple Account you bought it with. Do the same on a new iPhone or iPad.
- How do I get a refund? Purchases are made through Apple, so refunds are too: ask at reportaproblem.apple.com. A refunded setting locks again, though a game already saved in it can still be finished.
Privacy
The game collects no personal information. See the privacy policy for the details.