Terms of use.

Who we are and this agreement

Detective Puzzles (detective-puzzles.com) is published by Hamilton Digital Media Limited, registered in England and Wales, company number 15608219. By using the site you agree to these terms. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the site.

Our privacy policy and cookies page explain how the site handles data and form part of these terms.

Playing the games

Every game on the site is free to play in your browser for personal, non-commercial use. There are no accounts, subscriptions or in-game purchases.

We aim to keep the site available at all times, but we cannot guarantee it. We may change, pause or retire a game, a feature or a difficulty rank, and we may change these terms, without notice. Saved progress lives in your own browser (see the cookies page), so it can be lost if you clear your browser data or if a game changes in a way that makes an old case incompatible.

Printable case packs

Most games can produce a PDF case pack. You may print and copy those packs for:

• yourself, your family and friends;
• a class you teach, a library, a youth group or a puzzle club, including making copies for everyone in the group;
• any other use that is free of charge and not part of a commercial product or service.

Please keep the Detective Puzzles name on the printed pages. You may not sell the packs, include them in a paid product or subscription, upload them to other websites or sharing platforms, or present them as your own work. If you would like to license puzzles for a book, a publication or a commercial setting, write to [email protected].

Our content

The games, their names and stories, the artwork, the written guides, the case generators and the site's code are owned by Hamilton Digital Media Limited or used under licence, and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Classic puzzle forms such as word searches, crosswords, logic grids, nonograms and battleships belong to everyone; our implementations, rules variations, names, artwork and instructions are our own work.

You are welcome to link to any page on the site. You may not copy the games or guides to another website, embed or frame the games elsewhere, use automated tools to generate and republish cases in bulk, or remove any notice of ownership. Quoting short passages for review, teaching or commentary is fine with a link back.

Fairness and corrections

Every case is generated and then checked by a solver before it is shown to you, so that it has exactly one answer and can be solved without guessing. We describe that process on how we make our puzzles. It is a description of our method, not a guarantee: software and wording can still contain mistakes. If a case, clue or instruction does not hold up, please tell us and we will investigate and correct it.

Acceptable use

Please do not attempt to disrupt the site or its hosting, probe it for vulnerabilities without permission, send automated traffic that burdens it, or use it in any way that breaks the law or these terms. If you find a security problem, we would be grateful to hear about it privately at [email protected].

Advertising and other services

The site shows adverts served by Google AdSense and uses Google Analytics and Google Fonts. Those services are governed by Google's own terms and policies, and your choices about them are explained on the cookies page. Adverts are chosen by Google and its partners, not endorsed by us, and we are not responsible for the products or sites they lead to. Links to other websites are provided for convenience; we do not control those sites or their content.

Families and children

Detective Puzzles is a general-audience site that is suitable for families. The cases are cozy mysteries about missing items and mix-ups rather than violent crime. Children should use the site with a parent's or guardian's permission, and the site is not directed at children under 13. Our privacy policy explains how we approach children's data.

Disclaimer and liability

The site and its games are provided free of charge and "as is". To the extent the law allows, we make no promises that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free or suitable for a particular purpose, and we are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of it, including loss of saved progress.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud. If you are a consumer, you keep all the rights the law gives you in the country where you live.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction over any dispute about them. If you live elsewhere as a consumer, you may also rely on the mandatory protections and courts of your own country.

Changes

When we update these terms we change the date at the top of this page. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated terms.