The interactions between the Ru(bipy)(CN)(4) anion and N-methyl-halopyridinium cations have been examined in both the solid state and in solution. In the solid state, crystal structures of Ru(bipy)(CN)(4) salts containing iodinated cations (N-methyl-3-iodopyridinium and N-methyl-3,5-diiodopyridinium) show clear C-I...NC(Ru) halogen bonds between the externally directed cyanide lone pairs of the anion and the iodine atoms of the cation which dominates the structures. In contrast the analogous brominated cations (N-methyl-3-bromopyridinium and N-methyl-3,5-dibromopyridinium) do not exhibit C-Br...NC(Ru) interactions in the solid state, with the cyanide groups instead involved in hydrogen bonding, principally to lattice water molecules. The charge-assisted C-I...NC(Ru) interactions are therefore clearly of value as synthons in crystal engineering applications. In CH(2)Cl(2) solution, spectroscopic titrations between Ru(4,4'-(t)Bu(2)-bipy)(CN)(4) and both N-methyl-3-iodopyridinium and N-methyl-3-bromopyridinium cations show clear evidence for formation of distinct 1:1, 3:2, and then 2:1 cation/anion adducts with high association constants (>10(7) M(-1) for the first 1:1 association constant). However the presence of identical results using the non-halogenated cation N-methyl-pyridinium indicates that this strong cation/anion association in CH(2)Cl(2) is dominated by electrostatic effects: either C-H...NC(Ru) hydrogen bonds or C-X...NC(Ru) halogen bonds could be involved in the ion pairs but it is the charge-assistance that makes the association strong. This is confirmed by a titration between Ru(4,4'-(t)Bu(2)-bipy)(CN)(4) and the neutral halogen-bond acceptor C(6)F(5)I for which the first association constant is very low (ca. 6 M(-1)). The formation of adducts between Ru(4,4'-(t)Bu(2)-bipy)(CN)(4) and the various N-methyl-pyridinium cations in solution results in a clear blue-shift of the (1)MLCT absorption maxima associated with the Ru(II) unit, a characteristic consequence of interaction of the cyanide lone pairs with a Lewis-acidic site on the cation. The (3)MLCT luminescence from the Ru(4,4'-(t)Bu(2)-bipy)(CN)(4) center, however, does not show the usual associated increase in intensity associated with this blue shift in the (1)MLCT absorptions, most likely because of electron-transfer quenching by the N-methyl-pyridinium cations in the assemblies.