Best iPhone games. 20 Best Offline Games For iPhone in 2023

The 21 games that should be installed on every iPhone

The iPhone is home to some of the best portable video games ever made. Unfortunately, they must be downloaded from one of the worst digital marketplaces. Farming simulations and clones too often dominate the App Store’s best selling list. Unusual and inspired games are left to fight for short stints on the coveted front page.

Too many of the best games for iPhone are victims of an out of sight, out of mind economy. After a game’s launch, it sinks into the quicksand of mobile gaming junk until it’s buried deep beneath thousands of free-to-play cash-ins. Curation has in large part been left to those who remain passionate about the phone as a gaming platform, despite Apple.

What follows is a list of the 21 games that should be installed on every iPhone. As exceptional games continue to be released on the iPhone, we will expand this list. And we will create a similar list dedicated the the iPad and games that make the best use of its larger screen.

Please let us know what treasures you’ve found in the App Store. Because no matter how hard we watch the ceaseless stream of iPhone releases, great games sometimes slip past us.

Update: We’ve added Google Play links for games that are also available for Android. Thank you to ‘turbinenreiter’ for the help.

Bounden

Bounden‘s predecessors, Fingle and Friendstrap, encourage players to use their body to gain advantage against a friend. But roughhousing and expensive smartphones aren’t an ideal match, and so a match in either game could easily end in hurt feelings or worse, a broken screen.

And so Bounden feels like the culmination of years of experimentation by its creator. The key difference between those early games and Bounden is cooperation. Bounden is a dance game. Two people hold opposite ends of one smartphone, moving together to guide a cursor over a three-dimensional ball.

Bounden is simpler than it sounds, the sort of game that trains you to be an expert, as long as you give it the time. But more importantly, it’s one of the very few mobile games that forces intimacy with another human. Beautiful and affecting, Bounden is a masterpiece.

Desert Golfing

Desert Golfing begins, like so many video games, as an escape from the banality of life. Maybe you’re sitting on the subway or the toilet when you pull back the first swing and release. You finish one hole. You finish nine holes. You finish 18 holes. But the golfing continues to 50 holes, then 100, then 300, and slowly the experience changes.

At one point, a cactus appears. At another point, the game unlocks GameCenter connectivity. Sometimes the courses are extra hilly; sometimes they’re extra flat. The game just keeps going.

You begin to ask questions. The game tracks your score, but does the score matter if the game never ends? If the score doesn’t matter and the game never ends, why play? And why play video games? Here you are on the 400th hole in a 2D mobile golfing game and the big question hits you: Why do anything?

Drop7

It took 23 years for someone to design a Tetris-killer. Simple, elegant, endlessly deep, and shockingly novel. Drop7 is it. That’s indie game developer Jason Rohrer praising Drop7. This is the only video game I’ve played at least once a week every week for over five years. I’m not even that good at Drop7, but it’s simple and it can be played with one hand and one move at a time.

In short, the player drops chips labelled 1 through 7 into a 7-by-7 grid. Aligning for chips horizontally or vertically removes those chips to the board and does one unit of damage to unmarked chips, which gradually rise from the bottom of the screen. After a gray chip has been damaged twice, it breaks, revealing a numbered chip. Chips continue to rise and fall and you do what you can to trigger chain reactions and keep the screen clear. It’s not easy.

Drop7 is the ideal game to pick at throughout the day. Waiting for the elevator to arrive or the coffee pot to fill? Drop7. Have a couple minutes before the football game starts? Drop7. Can’t sleep? Drop7.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds popularity isn’t a fluke. Its creators — intentionally or not — made a beautiful version of the browser classic Crush the Castle. On its own that would have been enough, in those gold rush days of the app marketplace, to earn its studio a few million dollars. But the small studio did the extra work, releasing free updates for over five years, retaining the app’s spot on so many iPhones.

Now Angry Birds is a franchise and a phenomenon. There are plush toys, brand partnerships, and a feature-length film. You can play pseudo-sequels like Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds RIO, and Angry Birds Star Wars. And its sequel Angry Birds Space is perhaps a more enjoyable game than the original.

But Angry Birds is the most approachable game in the franchise, and after all those updates, it’s humongous. Costing 99 cents, Angry Birds is one the best deals in video games.

Eliss

Eliss is the sort of game you see people play in sci-fi films. You’re not entirely sure what it is or how it works, as it appears all anyone’s doing is moving around pulsating balls and dodging vibrating squiggles. Those impossible-to-decipher sci-fi game always look incredible. I remember the first time I saw Eliss. I stared at it like somebody had plucked a game from such a sci-fi film and placed it in front of me, like some sort of supernatural challenge — solve this riddle!

Eliss is actually easy to learn. Using all of your fingers, you split, combine, and move planets, so that they align with targets that appear on the screen. As the game progresses, the playspace fills with planets and you must be careful to avoid traps. It’s a test of digit dexterity. Developer Steph Thirion released an update, Eliss Infinity, in early 2014. Infinity has better image resolution and widescreen support, and also includes a sandbox mode, a nice place to pretend you’re in the sci-fi movie of your dreams.

Tiny Wings

Tiny Wings looks like a crude cash-in on bird games, a real genre of software that flooded the App Store in the wake of Angry Birds’ success. But Tiny Wings isn’t like Angry Birds or a bird game or really any game on the iPhone.

Frankly, I hate to call it a game. Specific goals are available for the player, and there’s an imperative to scoot an adorable, plump bird up and down the game’s two-dimensional hills before night falls. But for me, Tiny Wings is best enjoyed as a meditative tool. The wavy motion of the bird, its soft caws, the gentle children’s song gently bouncing in the background: every component merges together into this blend of sound and color, putting me into a relaxed trance.

Sometimes I want my iPhone to be an escape from stress. I don’t want something frenetic or an event that challenging. I want peace. How appropriate, then, that Tiny Wings ends with the moon rising and the bird gently going to sleep.

Kero Blaster

For the first five years of iPhone game development, both small indie studios and giant publishers alike tried to create touch controls so precise that a platformer — a Mega Man or a Super Mario Bros. type of game — would feel as comfortable on the iPhone as it would on a traditional gaming console.

In early 2014, one man accomplished the feat on his own. Kero Blaster is the best action and platforming game on the iPhone because it controls so well. And though it’s graphics are simple, Kero Blaster is one of the most console-like games on the device that wasn’t originally designed for another platform. Which is to say its adventure is so smartly designer that you’ll actually want to play until the very end. As a frog, you unlock and upgrade weapons, fighting bad guys that look like dustballs. The game doesn’t play like an original Nintendo game. It plays like those rose-colored memories of playing original Nintendo games.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

The iOS ports of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft: Auto San Andreas, originally released on consoles roughly a decade ago, are serviceable for those who can suffer sputtering about a three-dimensional world with touchscreen controls. But the best Grand Theft Auto game on the iPhone is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. It’s top-down view simplifies the experience of getting about, and looks better on the portable screen.

On the iOS version, the player can hotwire a car or break a window by twirling or tapping a finger against the screen. Rockstar designed Chinatown Wars for the touch-friendly Nintendo DS, and it shows.

Chinatown Wars also has one of the more interesting and controversial mini-games, a drug-selling simulation. It’s the closest mainstream games have come to playing Drugwars on my TI-83 in the back of trig class.

Dodonpachi Resurrection HD

Japanese developer Cave is known for creating exceptionally difficult old-school arcade games that fill their glowing screens with bright and colorful bullets. Their work is like Space Invaders on a cocktail of uppers and anabolic steroids. Completing even the early stages of a Cave shooter requires incredible skill and precision, making them the last games you’d expect to appear on the iPhone.

Dodonpachi Resurrection HD, and the rest of Cave’s mobile releases, play as if they were designed for touch controls. In fact, I find them easier than their arcade counterparts, perhaps because I can hold them a couple inches from my face without attracting judgemental looks. They’re beautiful — the dense, colorful animation gradually taking over the entirety of the iPhone’s glossy, high-definition screen. So yes, this genre, the shoot ’em ups, is notoriously difficult to get into, but the option to play Dodonpachi Resurrection HD, whenever and wherever, makes it an ideal entry point.

Super Stickman Golf

Each year, a gaggle of video-game journalists meet in California a few weeks before E3 to see a few dozen new games. The advance showing allows the press a little extra time to write previews before the industry’s most hectic week, and also to begin the vetting process for the annual E3 Awards.

For three years, the most popular game of the week was Super Stickman Golf, played exhaustively in tour buses and hotel lobbies. In single-player, the golfer knocks a ball across a two-dimensional stage, trying to land it in a hole with as few strokes as possible. But in multiplayer, the game becomes a race. Strokes no longer matter. What’s important is being the first to finish. This is the anti-Desert Golfing, a gamey game full of power-ups, hats, and level packs. It’s an addiction.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene

Space Invaders Infinity Gene ties together the original shoot ’em up, Space Invaders, with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. This isn’t a joke. The game earnestly brings the two together and an intelligent way. It does so gradually, so that the big changes to the classic game feel natural and obvious, and that the Darwinian connection doesn’t read utterly hamfisted. When a laser cuts up the screen at alternating 90-degree angles, and is followed by some nod to Darwin’s text, it feels like these things were part of Space Invaders all along.

The game features many new weapons and abilities, which can be layered onto your spaceship. The art style is monochromatic and gorgeous, like the most jaw-dropping game ever designed for Apple ][. And the music is thumping techno that should be grating and tacky, but somehow it fits. That’s the summation of this game, really: a bunch of ideas from across time and space, brought together as if they were always meant to be one holistic thing.

Threes

You may have played the Threes knockoff, 2048. Following Threes‘ release in March 2014, a free clone of the game, 2048, and a handful of clones of that clone, achieved wide popularity. According to Google Analytics, in April 2014 there were 100 searches including the term 2048 for every search of the term threes. Threes is an example of the limited protection an app has in the mobile marketplace.

Threes is also an example of a marvelously executed puzzle game. Sort of like those sliding puzzles you’d get as a birthday party favor, the player combines panels 1 and 2 to make 3, then two 3s to make 6, then two 6s to make 12, and so on, with a new panel appearing in the game’s grid with each swipe.

You shouldn’t just download Threes because it’s the original game. You should download Threes because it’s the superior option. It’s cute and charming, and carefully created so that players have documented mind-dissolving high scores, like this, on YouTube.

868-Hack

The most popular mobile games are the most accessible. They’re easy to understand and try their best to grab your attention right away. 868-Hack isn’t like that. After playing for months, it still feels like I only have a basic understanding of how things work. 868-Hack is a turn-based hacking game, where you proceed through a series of levels trying to steal as much data as you can. In order to be successful, you need to carefully consider every single move. Do you grab that power-up knowing it will spawn new enemies? Or do you make a dash for the exit only grabbing the easiest, safest data possible? One small mistake will lead to death, but in each replay you’ll learn a new, subtle nuance to make it easier the next time. Angry Birds hands out high scores like candy. 868-Hack makes you work for them.

Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time

The premise of Plants vs. Zombies is simple: fill up your front yard with cute-but-deadly plants in order to ward off surprisingly-cute-but-brain-loving zombies. Its success, like those adorable plants, has continue to grow and grow. While Plants vs. Zombies didn’t quite have the meteoric rise as, say, Angry Birds, its sequel is probably the best free-to-play game ever. 2013’s Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time doesn’t stray too far from the original formula but adds a lot of gameplay — multiple worlds (each with distinct challenges), several fleshed-out side quests, dozens of plants, and a lot of charm. The difficulty curve does go from 0 to 100 without a moment’s notice, but there’s plenty to do and a lot of jumping around you can do.

Best part? Free to play isn’t a misnomer. You can play for hours without having to wait for some arbitrary timer. The in-game coins are rewarded in abundance and the things you can buy for real-world money are completely optional to the game itself.

Ridiculous Fishing

Ridiculous Fishing is really three different games in one. Part one is the dive: maneuvering your way farther and farther down the lake, avoiding any and all creatures along the way. As soon as you hit a fish — or as soon as you run out of wire — move on to part two: grab every single creature (that isn’t a jellyfish) you can on the way up. Once you reach the surface, part three, which real fishermen and fisherwomen should be all too familiar with, begins: throw all the fish in the air and shoot them for a cash reward.

The experience involves a lot of phone wiggling (parts one and two) and screen-tapping (part three). The art style is gorgeous and wholly unique, and the power-ups really enhance the game. Before you know it you’ll be tying a hair dryer to a chainsaw lure powered by a huge tank of gasoline, only to blast a large squid from the sky with dual shotguns.

Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor

Thought it was released early in the iPhone’s life, there’s still nothing like Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor. Possibly because it’s one of the few video games about being a spider. You spin webs, catch insects, and solve the mystery of a spooky old mansion. You know, typical spider work. The art resembles the panels of a comic book with thick black lines and bold colors, waiting to be covered in spiderwebs.

There’s a sense, reading back through this list, that 2009 was a major moment of creativity on the iPhone, and that maybe creativity has dwindled on the platform over the years. That’s not so. Developer Tiger Style released its second game, Waking Mars, in 2012. Choosing between that adventure through the Martian landscape and Spider is like choosing a favorite flavor of ice cream. Today it just happens to be Spider. Tomorrow it will probably be Waking Mars.

The Room

In your hand you have an iPhone, a strange and magical device that you manipulate using just your fingertips. And on that device is a game, called The Room, about manipulating mysterious puzzle boxes with your fingertips. It’s a perfect match. The Room, and its excellent sequel, are puzzle games, but the joy comes as much from the interaction as it does from solving brain teasers. You run your fingers along a wooden box and find a hidden button. Pushing it reveals a secret latch that opens up a new section of the box. It’s wonderfully tactile and the dark, gothic ambience make it feel like you’re solving a really important mystery. The Room just might be the ideal touchscreen game.

Super Hexagon

The majority of my gaming happens on trains. For 30 minutes, twice a day, I have nothing to do but play games and it’s awesome. Where I play determines what I play. For a commute, a game needs to have enough depth to keep my attention, but be quick enough that I can finish before I arrive in Times Square. Spelunky, Rogue Legacy, and Super Crate Box are phenomenal train games for example. But only one game has actually made me miss my stop: Super Hexagon.

Super Hexagon‘s App Store description defines it as a minimalist action game, but in reality it’s an epileptic mindbomb. Your job is to guide a small triangle through an increasingly difficult maze of spinning hexagonal shapes, which conveniently always have at least one side open. The longest I’ve gone on the hardest difficulty is 92 seconds. When I first started, I lasted maybe five seconds on the easiest difficulty.

The fact that I last less than 92 seconds even when doing my best makes this an ideal iPhone game for the life of a commuter, even if I wind up playing for an extra hour and end up at the final stop of the F train.

Canabalt

Canabalt has inspired an entire genre of mobile games called endless runners, action games in which the player runs until an obstacle bring the sprint to a stop, and the entire process begins again. There are 2D endless runners like Alone and Jetpack Joyride, and 3D endless runners like Temple Run and Record Run. But Canabalt was the first really popular endless runner on the iPhone — and debatably the creator of genre.

Canabalt succeeds thanks to simple controls, killer sound design and a simple narrative hook: you’re outrunning the apocalypse across the rooftops of a neverending metropolis. The world scrolls quickly and automatically, with the player carefully timing jumps with a single tap of the screen. Five years after the game’s release, many mobile action games still try to replicate complex console controls. The pleasure of Canabalt stems from its simplicity: to get through the world all you need is the power to tap.

Spaceteam

You know that scene in every Star Trek episode where the captain barks commands to the different departments aboard the Starship Enterprise: turn the masthead, crunch the engine, twist the rotorooter. You know, Star Trek stuff. Spaceteam is a cooperative multiplayer game that recreates that moment. It’s a game about controlling chaos.

Each player’s iPhone displays a unique set of controls, like a knob, dial, or switch. The screen also shows commands, which may correlate to the controls on another player’s phone. To keep the ship together, everyone must learn to communicate in stressful scenarios.

When I say stressful, I mean it. The ships controls break down, requiring players to clean digital gunk off the panels and repair broken boards, all the while keeping the ship from spiraling into a black hole by shaking the phone or flipping it upside down. It’s a great game, an excellent ice breaker and a top-notch listening exercise. It should be mandatory for every first day of school.

Device 6

Every game released by Simogo would fit comfortably on this list and your iPhone. The small independent studio has done as brilliant a job as any developer challenging our expectations of video games. They design for the platform. As an iPhone game, Device 6 takes into account how, where, and why we interact with these devices. The design understands what works well on the phone — reading — and what doesn’t — complex controls.

Device 6 is, on the most basic level, a text-based adventure. It unfolds, however, into something more unusual. There’s a game beneath the text, littered with puzzles and tugged by an engaging plot to a memorable conclusion. Simogo’s games are so unique and surprising that they can’t be easily labeled or categorized or synopsised, which may be the best praise I can give then. Once you finish Device 6, be sure to try Year Walk, a spooky, chilling adventure game buried beneath an avalanche of Swedish mythology.

Best Offline Games For iPhone in 2023

We have curated a list of the best offline games for iPhone and iPad devices that you can play in 2023. Since offline games have become increasingly popular worldwide, many people are searching for them. Devices like iPhones are mostly connected to the internet. But games that do not need a good internet speed can give you pleasure and change your work speed.

The games listed on this page are from different categories like puzzles, action, sports, shooting, adventure, and many more. Don’t worry about anything while playing them because these games will support your offline entertainment time more than anything else. Remember that the games listed on this page run only on iOS devices like iPhones and iPad and are best for times without an internet connection.

Top 20 Best Offline Games For iPhone To Play In 2023:

It doesn’t matter which iPhone device you use, iPhone XR, 11, 12, or something else; you can always play the games listed on this page. Some games are free, some come with in-app purchases, and some are completely paid.

Don’t worry about anything because these games are being played by millions of people out there, and if you think we’ve missed a good game, do share your views on the game with us.

Into The Dead 2 :

Into The Dead 2 is an action-packed zombie shooter game developed by PikPok studios. In the game, the player fights off hordes of zombies using a variety of guns as they travel across the ruined United States. The vivid graphics and frantic action make this an exciting game for fans of the zombie genre.

Currently, the game has got 7 different chapters with 60 stages and hundreds of exciting challenges. The developers are quite active related to this game, and you can see new updates being released very often. Another good thing about this game is that it can be played online and offline.

Brothers In Arms 3 :

Brothers In Arms 3 continues the World War 2-themed tactical shooter series on iPhone and iPad devices. In this game, players take control of paratroopers fighting across Normandy and in Operation Market Garden. The unique squad command mechanics allow players to issue orders to their AI brothers in arms and fight their rivals.

The realistic weapons and detailed environments truly bring the history of World War 2 to life in this gripping warfare simulator. While the graphics of this game might not please everyone, it is definitely among the best shooting offline games for iPhone devices. Also, the game comes with some in-app purchases that unlock many new opportunities.

Grand Theft Auto- The Trilogy :

Who doesn’t know about the Grand Theft Auto games? This Trilogy lets you revisit the criminal underworlds of Vice City, Liberty City, and San Andreas in this collection of classic open-world action games. Steal cars, make deals, and chase down bounties across three massive cities filled with memorable characters and crazy missions.

With hours of gameplay, iconic stories, and legendary soundtracks, this trilogy offers the ultimate experience for GTA fans looking for classic thrills on the go. You will get 3 games in this bundle, making them the best offline games for iPhone. This bundle is paid for and will cost 11.99 on the Apple App Store. If you purchase them separately, then it will cost around 16.97, so this bundle is quite good, to be honest.

Subway Surfers :

Subway Surfers is an endless runner game where you play as a young tagger evading an inspector on the subway tracks. Collect coins to upgrade your character’s speed and tricks while avoiding oncoming trains and other obstacles. The characters and vibrant cartoon-style graphics make this a fun game for the whole family.

Kids especially enjoy the tagger theme and collecting coins to purchase new outfits and gear. You can also connect your social accounts with this game to find your friends’ high scores and beat them. It can be played both online and offline, but some features might not be available in the offline mode.

BADLAND :

BADLAND is a side-scrolling adventure platform game with a dark and ominous atmosphere. Players control one of four different winged creatures to navigate treacherous side-scrolling levels. Players must avoid traps, solve puzzles and face the Shadow Lord and his undead minions while trying to get to the end of the stage to get teleported into the next.

The hand-painted visuals and haunting music create a memorable experience in this challenging yet beautifully designed infinite runner game. After the first game’s success, developers released BADLAND 2 too, but if you have not played this game before, we recommend you try the first version before going with the second.

Alto’s Adventure

Alto’s Adventure is a gorgeous endless snowboarding game. Alto, a lone rider, snowboards down a mystical mountain landscape under blue skies and among lush bamboo forests. Players swipe to perform tricks or slide under obstacles. The simplistic yet tactile controls allow players to flow through each level easily, and that’s what makes it a good contender for the best offline games for iPhone.

The beautiful minimalist art style, snowy atmospheres, and soothing musical score all come together to create a deeply serene and meditative gaming experience. It is available for both Android and iOS devices, but for iOS, it is a paid game and costs around 4.99. The best thing about this game is that you can play it even on your Apple TV.

Reigns

Reigns is a unique card-based role-playing game where you play as a king ruling over your kingdom. Players swipe left or right to make decisions that impact their reign and the outcome of the game. Choices about taxes, military spending, social issues, and dealing with supernatural forces shape the kingdom for better or worse.

The game is generated in such a way no two plays are the same, and they both have control over it differently. Reigns are not just about distractions; it purposefully starts complex political and moral discussions in an accessible and light-hearted way. It will improve your decision-making skills and will help you in ruling better.

Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter puts you in control of your very own nuclear underground shelter. Your job is to expand the shelter, keep dwellers happy, and protect them from threats inside and outside the chamber. Players collect and manage unique dwellers with special stats and skills to produce resources, explore the wasteland, and fight enemies.

Resource management and base-building elements provide depth and challenge, while the Fallout universe and characters provide familiarity and humor. With its unique art style and simplicity, Fallout Shelter offers an accessible yet rewarding vault management experience. It is a very good game to pass your time and have some fun.

Monument Valley 2

Monument Valley 2 continues the adventure gameplay of its predecessor in stunning new environments. Players guide Ro and her child through fantastical towns and temples filled with impossible geometry and optical illusions. Puzzle solving and navigation take players through beautiful levels featuring clever use of lines, shapes, and perspective.

The thought-provoking story and stunning artwork combine to create the Monument Valley games, the best offline games for iPhone. Monument Valley 2 builds on everything fans loved about the original while delivering a moving story of parenting and connection in an unforgettable world. This game is paid for and will cost around 3.99 on the Apple App Store.

Mob Control

Mob Control is a creative mix of tower defense strategy and open sandbox gameplay. Players have to play the role of an all-seeing tower aiming to protect peaceful citizens from waves of rampaging mobs like giants, ninjas, mutants, and more. Players construct a wide arsenal of traps and obstacles across generated levels to stop oncoming enemies.

But players also have the option to ignore the town and instead summon mobs to wreak havoc and destruction. Mob Control’s enjoyable playback comes from both its strategic tower defense gameplay and the freedom to cut loose and unleash chaos. The game is free but comes with in-app purchases for additional benefits.

Real Racing 3

Real Racing 3 puts you behind the wheel of some of the world’s most exotic and legendary cars. You can engage in staged races, time trials, and driving challenges across realistic tracks from around the globe. The game allows you to fine-tune nearly every handling aspect of your car, from springs to dampeners to aerodynamics.

You can earn in-game currency to purchase new cars and upgrades in your quest to become a Champion of world-class motorsport events. With its stunning graphics, many cars, and an authentic physics model, Real Racing 3 delivers the ultimate racing experience on mobile, which is why every person searching for offline racing games for iPhone must try it.

Candy Crush Saga

Candy Crush Saga is a match-3 puzzle game with simple yet fun gameplay. You have to match candies of the same color to remove them from the game board. Chains, special candies, and power-ups help players progress to higher levels and earn more points. The design of Candy Crush Saga makes it very accessible and easy to pick up for short play sessions.

However, the combination of simple gameplay mechanics and increasing level of difficulty keeps players engaged over the long run in all the Candy Crush editions. The game’s cheerful candy theme with vibrant visuals and sound effects also contributes to its mass market appeal, making it one of the most successful mobile games ever.

Two Dots: Brain Puzzle Games

Two Dots is a relaxing yet challenging mix of logic puzzles, snake games, and marble rolling all in one. Players control a pair of dots rolling around maze-like levels to reach the end portal. Players make diagonal and straight lines by connecting dots of the same color and shape to clear the board.

As players progress through levels, new shapes, portals, and obstacles are introduced to keep challenges fresh. The minimalist design and soothing music allow players to lose themselves in this delightful brain teaser. While easy to learn, the deeply strategic later puzzles require impressive spatial skills and planning to conquer.

Asphalt 9: Legends

Asphalt 9 is the latest installment in the long-running best offline games for iPhone racing series. Players collect and race some of the fastest and most famous street-legal production cars, from Ferraris to Pagani to McLarens. Multiplayer modes allow racing against real players from across the globe. It is a physics-based game; thus, it requires skillful drifting, drafting, and near misses to gain speed boosts on each track.

Regular special events introduce new seasons, cars, and racetracks to keep gameplay fresh. Overall, Asphalt 9 creates an accessible yet extensive racing game experience with its huge car selection, stunning graphics, and frenetic arcade gameplay for racing fans on the go. If you are a fan of high-graphics offline racing games for iPhone, then you should not miss this one.

SevenBloks – Block Puzzle Game

SevenBloks is an engaging physics puzzle game featuring coloured blocks and strategic falling pieces. Players rotate, move, and slide blocks to align rows and columns of at least 7 blocks of the same color. Clearing sequences create new blocks to keep puzzles challenging. As players progress through levels, demanding rules and restricted movement are added to test puzzle-solving skills.

The minimalist block design paired with music lets players FOCUS on geometric reasoning while producing satisfying chains of cleared blocks. The game might look simple initially. but SevenBloks ultimately provides a highly tactical puzzle experience that requires planning, patience, and lateral thinking to master fully.

Mini Metro

Mini Metro is a simple yet compelling subway management game. Players must design an efficient subway map that connects new stations as they appear on the map. You must draw subway lines and add more carriages to accommodate increasing passenger demand. As the game progresses, many challenges appear, such as rush hour spikes, stations with limited space, and track upgrades that require planning and strategy.

While the core gameplay consists of only drawing lines on a map, Mini Metro features an elegant design that optimizes gameplay into bite-sized doses that are picked up and played. The minimalist visuals and chill soundtrack create a zen-like experience that both challenges and soothes the mind. The game is paid for and will cost you 3.99, but it is worth the money.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI

This game takes you on an epic quest to build an empire that will stand the test of time. Players choose from 18 historical civilizations to lead into a new era of exploration, religion, commerce, and conquest. Research technologies, manage diplomacy with other leaders, and develop new cultural traditions as you expand your empire across uncharted lands.

Engage in dramatic political intrigue, decide when to wage war, and enter into negotiations with other leaders. Civilization VI delivers an addictive 4X gameplay experience that captures the full scope and challenge of building a civilization on an unprecedented scale. While the game is good, it has scored an average of 3.4 Stars on the app store.

NYT Games: Word Games Sudoku

The New York Times Company has created this game, and it provides a collection of word games, brainteasers, and Sudoku puzzles. Players can choose from Crosswords, Spelling Bee, Letter-Boxed, Vertex, and KenKen with varying levels of difficulty. The Crosswords feature is thoroughly researched and has clues written by skilled constructors.

Players can compete for their skills against the game clock or sharpen their word and trivia knowledge. Modern word games like Spelling Bee and Letter Boxed provide fast-paced fun for those seeking a quick mental challenge. Meanwhile, logic puzzles like Sudoku and KenKen require math skills and lateral thinking to solve grid-based number placements.

Need for Speed No Limits

Need for Speed No Limits brings the iconic street racing series to mobile. Players build their dream garages by collecting and customizing over 150 exotic supercars. Compete in timed sprint races, knockout tournaments, and time trials across 11 diverse environments inspired by real-world locations. You can also customize and fine-tune your vehicles.

The game’s main objective is to win races and compete for objectives to earn rewards needed to upgrade your cars. Special boss car showdowns provide exciting challenges that only the fastest riders will do. With a massive selection of high-performance cars, stunning graphics, and sharp arcade handling, Need for Speed No Limits captures the spirit of street racing on mobile better than ever before.

Minecraft

Minecraft allows players to explore an infinite procedurally generated 3D world and to construct creative projects with textured cubes in a sandbox-like style. Players can gather wood, stone, and ore resources to create structures, tools, and equipment. Players can farm, mine, explore ocean monuments, fight hostile creatures, travel to different dimensions, and more.

The gameplay does not impose any specific goals on the player, allowing players to play the game how they choose. Players can build everything from simple houses to ornate cathedrals, from pyramids to castles, and from entire villages to cities. Minecraft’s simplicity and endless large-scale opportunities make it a groundbreaking and genre-defining gaming experience.

Final Words:

Offline games are a wonderful solution for those seeking to escape reality without relying on an internet connection. The games on this list provide fun and challenges that can occupy one’s time anytime, anywhere. Since everyone has different interests and preferences, we have included games of different categories in this post.

Readers are encouraged to explore the 20 best offline games for iPhone mentioned and find the one that suits their needs the best. Also, these games can be played on all iPhone models since they don’t require a specific device’s configuration. You can also share offline iPhone games with us if you have played some.

Hi, I am Anshul Mathur. A Cisco Certified Network Associate and Blogger from Sikar, Rajasthan. I love digging deep into the technology world, therefore I write about it on this blog.

Best iPhone Games of All Time

Former Lifewire writer Jim Squires is a walking encyclopedia of mobile gaming who has been writing about gaming for iPhones and iPads since 2009.

Christine Baker is a marketing consultant with experience working for a variety of clients. Her expertise includes social media, web development, and graphic design.

With hundreds of thousands of games to choose from on the Apple App Store, it’s challenging to find great games. Unless the App Store features an older game on its front page, most App Store classics remain undiscovered by the next generation of iPhone gamers. If you use an iPhone, don’t miss out on these best iPhone games of all time.

In the interest of fairness, these selections are presented alphabetically.

Angry Birds 2

Angry Birds 2 was one of the biggest games on the App Store and an Editor’s Choice, and it’s not hard to see why. The game’s mix of physics gameplay, carefully constructed puzzles, and adorable characters manage to amuse and infuriate in equal measure. For a puzzle game, that’s a very good thing.

What started as a simple puzzler eventually turned into a marketing juggernaut, spinning off into countless sequels and sister releases. As much fun as some of those may have been, though (Angry Birds Transformers, we’re looking at you), none has managed to live up to the high bar set by the original two versions. If you’ve never played an Angry Birds game, start here.

Clash of Clans

Clash of Clans has dominated the App Store charts for several years—and with good reason. Its mix of base-building, army creation, leveling, and combat creates a loop for players that’s nearly inescapable—and its creators wouldn’t have it any other way.

To play, you farm for resources that you can spend on new buildings, defenses, or troops, all of which are of the utmost importance if you want to ransack other players’ bases while defending your own.

Clash of Clans wasn’t the first game of its sort (a few titles like Galaxy Life and Backyard Monsters predated it), but it’s easily the best. If you’ve been playing any of the me too games that followed in its wake, be sure to include Clash of Clans in your rotation. There’s nothing like the cry of a barbarian to keep your spirits up.

Clash Royale

How do you take a big property and make it even bigger? By thinking about what makes the core so compelling and building a whole new game around that. Clash Royale is the first spin-off from Supercell’s base-building hit Clash of Clans, and although it retains the player-versus-player strategy appeal, it does so by using completely different gameplay.

Competing in real-time battles, you build a team from cards you collect, then play those cards to unleash a variety of troops on the battlefield. In a few short minutes, one player can destroy the opposing player’s castle and emerge the victor, earning a chest filled with more cards (delivering more troops).

Crossy Road

Taking inspiration from the arcade game Frogger, Crossy Road successfully paid homage to a classic while setting a new standard for free-to-play gaming. Its simple, one-tap nature make it a perfect fit for gaming on the go, and the familiar mechanics mean that everyone can grasp what to do from their very first tap. Just cross the road and don’t die in the process.

If you’ve ever played a game where you spend earned currency to unlock a random creature and add it to your collection, then watched a video ad to earn even more of that currency and did so with a smile on your face, you have Crossy Road to thank for that.

Similarly, if you’ve played a game in recent years with a voxel appearance that wasn’t Minecraft, there’s a good chance Crossy Road’s influence came into play there, too.

Cut the Rope GOLD

Back in the early days of the App Store, when developers were trying to duplicate the success of Angry Birds with mediocre clones, developer ZeptoLab went in a different direction. Instead of trying to make the next Angry Birds, the developers wanted to make the next physics puzzle hit. And it worked. Cut the Rope was as popular as it was fun, and Cut the Rope GOLD builds on that goodness.

The premise couldn’t have been simpler: Your pet monster, Om Nom, needs to be fed his nutritious dinner of candy. Getting it into his mouth, however, requires careful planning and quick fingers. Cutting strings in the right place at the right time sends the candy swinging, flinging, and floating across the screen. Even when you fail (and you will fail), it’s impossible not to wear a smile on your face.

DEVICE 6

Call them gamebooks, interactive fiction, or narrative adventures. No matter your preferred label, there’s no denying that turning reading into play is an absolute blast.

DEVICE 6 isn’t a traditional gamebook by any means, but that’s exactly what makes it so enticing. Rather than following a choose-your-own-adventure style, DEVICE 6 presents individual chapters formatted as works of art. Sentences change direction and wrap-around visuals that tie into the narrative; audio cues present new elements to further frame the story. To proceed to the next chapter, you’ll find a puzzle in which the solution is brilliantly hidden within the story you just read.

Don’t expect obvious answers, though. Instead, be prepared to comb through the entire tale again as you try to solve these head-scratchers.

Fruit Ninja Classic

Slicing and dicing fruit has never been easier to clean up than when done on your iPhone.

Fruit Ninja was one of the first truly great high-score chasers on the App Store — a game not only about splitting produce but about beating your personal best. Frantically swipe your finger to destroy as much fruit as you can while also trying to dodge the bombs that can bring a quick end to your life as a sword-wielding warrior.

The studio behind Fruit Ninja Classic, Halfbrick, has done a great job of keeping the experience alive, eventually delivering the (equally great) Fruit Ninja 2.0 update that added plenty to the experience.

Heads Up!

From 20 Questions to HedBanz, everybody loves guessing games. Heads Up! is a game that borrows liberally from the latter, and the result is nothing short of fantastic.​

To play, gather your friends. Then, place your phone on your forehead while it displays a word. Everyone else needs to help you guess that word—the faster, the better. The object of the game is to guess as many words as you can in 60 seconds.

What makes Heads Up! work so well is the sheer variety of themes available, everything from animals and sports to licensed content like Star Wars, Sesame Street, and Disney Parks. There’s something for everyone.

Hearthstone

Collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering have always been popular, but in an era where cards can exist digitally, there seems to be a new alternative hitting the App Store every week. None of them can hold a candle to Hearthstone, though.

A card game set in the Warcraft universe and designed by the premier game makers at Blizzard, Hearthstone retains all of the warmth and charm of its source material while crafting a new experience that’s both deviously strategic and infinitely collectible. It’s a well-balanced game that’s forever growing: Blizzard has continued to add new expansions, adventures, cards, and modes long after its release.

There’s a comfortable onboarding process that welcomes you no matter your skill level, and the game’s matchmaking ensures you’ll always end up in a fair fight. Don’t be intimidated by your preconceived notions of games like Magic: The Gathering. Hearthstone may offer plenty of strategy, but it does so in an incredibly accessible way.

Jetpack Joyride

There are thousands of endless runners on the App Store. Yet, despite the many fantastic games in the genre, there’s one that stands above the rest: Halfbrick’s Jetpack Joyride.

Touch your fingers to the screen to initiate the jetpack worn by Hero Barry Steakfries as he attempts to navigate his way safely through an increasingly dangerous lab. From lasers to missiles to electric gates, there’s plenty to dodge, duck, and dive through. With power-ups ranging from a teleporter to a cash-spewing red bird (that looks suspiciously familiar to the Hero of another game on this list), there are more than enough ways to help you get ahead. And, with how fast things will be moving, you’ll want every advantage you can get.

Kero Blaster

Many gamers lament the struggles they’ve had with platformers on mobile devices, and rightly so. It takes careful consideration to get the controls just right, which means that adding guns into the mix is not unlike asking players to rub their tummies and pat their heads at the same time. The result is that classic games like Contra or Gunstar Heroes don’t really have an equivalent on the App Store. or do they?

Kero Blaster, from the creator of the classic indie hit Cave Story, solves the run-jump-shoot conundrum by letting you adjust a slider so that your lizard Hero will auto-fire in whatever direction you choose. Add to this a gorgeous 8-bit art style, brilliantly crafted levels, and a brutal difficulty, and you’ve got a game that every old-school player can get behind.

Kingdom Rush

There’s no shortage of tower defense games on the App Store, but if you can only play one, play Kingdom Rush. The game’s FOCUS on balance and well-designed stages enables you to scale your strategy as the challenge mounts on each map.

A big part of what makes Kingdom Rush work so well is its limited range of buildings that you can upgrade in different directions. So, you may start with an Archer Tower, but you can eventually turn it into a well-armed Musketeer Garrison, a Crossbow Fort, or a Ranger Tower that would impress Robin Hood.

Powerful Hero units also become a part of the experience, which only continues to grow in the game’s sequels. You might also be interested in Kingdom Rush Frontiers for iOS and Kingdom Rush Origins for iOS.

Lara Croft GO

Few companies have been quite as successful at expanding their characters into new genres as Square Enix, and Lara Croft GO is a shining example. A turn-based puzzle game, Lara Croft GO retains the same spirit of exploration and adventure as the Tomb Raider franchise, but it does so in a way that requires forethought before every step. Whether you’re sneaking up on a snake or trying to avoid a trap, timing is absolutely everything.

Apple selected this game as a 2015 Game of the Year. Whether you’re a fan of Lara Croft, puzzles, or both, you’ll find plenty to love in Lara Croft GO.

Monument Valley

The best case for games as art on the App Store, Monument Valley plays like a living painting — specifically, one by M.C. Escher. You step into the role of Ida, a princess on a mission. As Ida explores her environments, you’ll move things in impossible ways to guide her safely to the exit.

The puzzles are absolutely charming, and the art is simply breathtaking. Monument Valley isn’t a terribly difficult experience, but it doesn’t have to be. In opening new paths for Ida, you feel less like a gamer and more like a caretaker.

If Monument Valley looks familiar and you’re sure you’ve never heard of it, you might have caught a glimpse of Frank Underwood playing it on House of Cards. The game was so compelling that it actually provided an important plot point in the show’s third season.

Ridiculous Fishing — A Tale of Redemption

Fishing is typically a calming, tranquil activity. So, what could make it ridiculous? How about flinging those fish in the air after you reel them in, then blasting them out of the sky with a shotgun?

Vlambeer’s angler-to-hunter experience managed to take home Apple’s coveted Game of the Year in 2013, and it’s not hard to see why. The game combines three different though equally fun experiences: guiding your trimmer line away from fish to sink it as low as you can, touching every fish you can on the way back up to catch them, and tapping like crazy to blast those sea vermin out of the sky.

It’s not the most conventional way to make fish and chips, but who really likes conventional, anyway?

The Room

Few puzzle games have been as universally applauded in recent years as The Room. Originally debuting on the iPad and later making its way to smaller screens, The Room is a game about physically manipulating boxes to uncover the secrets they contain. Place a gear to turn a switch to open a drawer. That drawer may contain a key, and that key will open another chain of puzzles that gets you closer to the mysteries that wait inside.

The Room is the very best kind of cerebral experience. The only problem is that once you finish, you’ll find yourself wanting more. Lucky for you, Fireproof Games has released three sequels: The Room Two for iOS, The Room Three for iOS, and The Room: Old Sins for iOS.

Threes!

The very best puzzle games require virtually no explanation and always make you believe you can get just a little bit better with each new attempt. Threes! checks both of these boxes flawlessly.

A game about combining like numbers to grow their value, the objective of Threes! is to get as large a set of numbers as you can before you gridlock the board. This can happen sooner than you expect if you’re not careful. Swipe to move all the tiles on the board at once in their preferred direction: up, down, left, or right. As a result, you can end up pushing pieces into problematic places.

The game is simple and clever: Few games live up to the App Store Essentials title quite as well as Threes. If you’ve played a variation on this game with 2048 in the title, do yourself a favor and play the far superior game that started it all.

rymdkapsel

Games that have tried to tackle real-time strategy on mobile devices have rarely met with good results. With the exception of Clash of Clans (which is a variation on real-time strategy), it’s hard to find a single example that wows. Other than rymdkapsel, that is.

Stripping the genre down to its basics, rymdkapsel is a minimalist strategy game about building rooms and assigning workers—and hoping you prepared the right balance to survive the next wave of alien attackers. Long play sessions don’t make rymdkapsel a natural fit for mobile devices, but once you get playing, that hardly matters; you’ll enjoy every second of it.

Spaceteam

If you’re looking for a party game to play with friends, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more suitable candidate than Spaceteam. Available as a free download (and cross-platform, so your Android friends can play, too), Spaceteam puts you in the shoes of an astronaut crew in a bit of a panic.

Each player has a different set of controls in front of them and is given a different set of instructions, but those instructions aren’t usually for the player who receives them.

Things devolve pretty quickly into a group of friends yelling things like, set shiftsanizier to 1m and refrigerate leftovers! It’s hilarious, delightful, and one heck of an icebreaker should you need one for your next party.

Super Hexagon

Super Hexagon is the digital equivalent of a high-G training centrifuge. You’ll spin around faster and faster and pretty quickly end up feeling like this is more than you can handle. But, like any good gamer, you strap in again for another go. You’ll best this. You have to.

You finally break 18 seconds. You feel like a Hero.

Super Hexagon is a minimalist survival game about spinning left and right on an endless quest to survive geometry that’s flying toward the middle of the screen. You’ll have to dodge the geometric shapes that are crushing in on you and do it all in time to a killer soundtrack.

Tilt to Live

One of the first games to use the tilt functionality of the iPhone, Tilt to Live is still one of the best. It’s a game of avoidance and survival. Tilt your iPhone to guide a little arrow safely through a sea of vicious red dots. If the dots reach a power-up, they can turn the tables, but only for a short time.

Tilt to Live doesn’t just control beautifully; the design ethos behind it — that players need to pivot from defense to offense and back again quickly — is executed to perfection.

Fans of Tilt to Live will want to be sure to check out the game’s successor, Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous for iOS.

Vainglory

MOBAs, or multiplayer online battle arena games, have exploded in popularity in recent years. From League of Legends to DOTA 2 to Smite, PC gamers have gobbled these free-to-play team-based challenges up like so many fallen minions. But on mobile? MOBAs have been a much tougher sell.

Vainglory is the one exception to this rule. Offering a single map, a diverse cast of characters, and gameplay that caters to MOBA and mobile enthusiasts equally, Vainglory has become a mainstay of e-sports competitions while remaining incredibly accessible to newcomers.

If you’ve never participated in a team-based battle for territory, Vainglory is the most authentic MOBA experience you’ll find on the App Store. Its main competitor, Call of Champions, may be a little easier on beginners, but there’s no question that Vainglory is the 800-pound gorilla in the room.

The Best Free iOS Games of 2023

Gaming on the go is more popular than ever before. Most of us walk around with a palm-sized computer in our s that’s capable of playing a huge variety of fun and engaging games. Better yet, there’s often no upfront cost involved, thanks to ad-supported and in-app purchase models for developers. Today, we’re looking at the best free iOS games.

There are a couple of factors to consider when choosing a new game. Obviously you want to pick games that are genuinely fun and align with your interests, but you’ll also want to consider how free the game really is.

These days, many “free” games are of the pay-to-win variety. That’s where developers push all sorts of microtransactions and upgrades that make the game easier and more enjoyable, in return for a few bucks. While most free games have this to some extent, some take it to excess and ruin the gameplay in the process.

When making our selections, we’ve avoided the most notorious pay-to-win games, and focused on those that offer a genuinely enjoyable experience without requiring any paid upgrades.

Ad-supported games are another option, although these days most have in-app purchases as well. Many developers offer an inexpensive upgrade to remove ads, often around 2-3. If you genuinely enjoy a game, it’s often worth paying this small amount to support the developer and enjoy an ad-free experience.

We have combed through our iPhones and Apple’s monstrous app store to come up with our picks for the best free games for iOS users. Game on!

If you’re happy to shell out a few dollars upfront, check out our picks for the best paid iOS games as well!

Words with Friends 2

Words with Friends 2 is the sequel to the word game that took the world by storm, and this edition features far more game modes and variety than the original. For the social aspects alone, this is the best word game for iPhone and iPad users.

The game mechanics are similar to Scrabble, where players are given a number of random letters and must use them to spell out words on a game board. There are several game modes, with the classic being a turn-based game that you can play with friends virtually.

You can also play against random players online, where you’ll be paired with a player of a similar skill level, and there’s a new Quick Play version that features competitive minigames. There is also a solo challenge mode to explore, allowing you to sharpen your skills by playing against themed WordMaster characters.

Words with Friends 2 has a variety of social and competitive aspects that really add to the addictive nature of the game. There are daily, weekly, and monthly challenges that you can complete to collect rewards, with a new theme every six weeks. There is even a new multiplayer team game mode that lets you play on a team of five with friends or random players.

Eternium

Eternium is a free action RPG game that’s modeled after some of the classic old-school role-playing games like Diablo. It’s made by a team of enthusiasts who set out to create a fun, engaging, and action-packed RPG that would NOT be play-to-win. As such, the game is free to play, and the in-app purchases that are available don’t substantially affect gameplay.

In Eternium, players can choose their character type and explore a massive world filled with dragons, skeletons, demons and more. Battle foes, explore dungeons, and gain experience along the way. Most game features are available offline, so this is a good game to play while you don’t have cell signal or Wi-Fi.

Eternium has intuitive controls, gorgeous graphics, and thoroughly addictive gameplay. As such, it’s easily the best free RPG game for iOS.

Data Wing

Data Wing is a stylish 2D racer that also has an engaging story. With dark, sarcastic humor (think Portal 2) and an attractive, minimalist neon landscape, this unique game is a fun way to ditch your real-world problems and shoot for the stars for a few hours.

The game has an arcade feel, with intuitive two-touch controls. Players navigate their ships through serpentine courses, gaining speed by drifting and thrusting off walls. It’s a style of racing that is simple to start, but insanely difficult to master. The game is surprisingly story-driven for an arcade-style racer as well.

Data Wing is completely free to play and has no-app purchases. It doesn’t even have ads, so this is a truly free iOS game that you should definitely download and explore.

Among Us

Among Us is a unique multiplayer game that combines simple gameplay with the complex psychology of human beings. In it, players must work together to prepare their spaceship for departure — while sussing out which player is the imposter hell bent on killing everyone.

The game exploded in popularity in 2020, as separated friends looked for ways to stay in touch virtually. Among Us combines teamwork with a healthy dose of suspicion, and can be a truly fun experience, particularly with a group of people you know. You can play with anywhere from 4 to 15 players, either online or over local Wi-Fi.

Among Us is ad-supported, or you can pay 1.99 to remove all ads. There are also in-game purchases available, but they aren’t required to enjoy the game.

The Battle of Polytopia

The Battle of Polytopia is a turn-based strategy game based on classics like Age of Empires and Civilization. Players seek to control the map by building settlements, learning new technologies, and fighting enemy tribes. It’s perhaps the best free strategy game for iPhone users right now.

Polytopia has both multiplayer and single player modes, so you can play even when you don’t have cell signal or Wi-Fi. There are three different game modes to explore, including a 30-turn quick version for when you’re in a hurry and the wide variety of tribe types keeps things fresh. This is a game that you can play for a long time without getting bored.

The Battle of Polytopia is free to play, but offers in-app purchases to expand the gameplay options. Upgrades aren’t necessary for new players, but you may wish to purchase new tribes or features as you progress.

Call of Duty Mobile

Every gamer knows the Call of Duty franchise, but did you know about Call of Duty: Mobile? This fast-paced free shooter for iPhone combines many of the best aspects of the console and PC versions of COD, all in the palm of your hand(s). This highly-competitive game has impressive graphics, several diverse game modes, and an extremely active player base.

There is a ton of content to explore in COD mobile, and the developers routinely add new content, maps, and game modes as they release new “seasons”. Some highlights of the game include a massive 100-player Battle Royale, 5v5 competitive team deathmatch, and sniper-only battles.

COD Mobile is free to play, but includes in-app purchases. These are primarily cosmetic, and include new weapon skins and other visual upgrades. You can certainly get a lot of enjoyment out of this game without spending a dime, which is why this is among the best free shooters for iOS.

Bike Race: Free Style Games

Bike Race: Free Style Games is a simple bike racing game that leans heavily on the game’s impressive physics engine. Players tilt their phones to lean and balance their bikes, while navigating intricate tracks and jumps. The game comes loaded with dozens of tracks and maps, and you can also design your own (through the website, but not on the app itself).

Bike Race: Free Style Games includes both single and multiplayer modes, and can connect with so you can challenge your friends. The controls are simple, but perfecting your technique on the game’s diverse terrain takes skill and effort.

The game is free to download and play, but some features require a paid subscription (which is quite expensive at 20 per month). There are other in-app purchases as well, like level packs to unlock new content, but you can still get plenty of game time in without reaching for your credit card.

Fallout Shelter

For fans of the Fallout series, Fallout Shelter is one of the best role playing strategy games for iOS. In it, players build an underground vault for their community of Dwellers. Your goal is design and build the perfect vault, while implementing different vault features to attract the right kinds of dwellers to your community.

The end goal is not just for your community to survive, but to thrive. You can use crafting to create new useful items, send your Dwellers out to search the barren wasteland for vital resources, and learn how to protect your community from both external and internal threats.

Fallout Shelter is a bit of an old title now, but Bethesda, the developer, is still routinely updating it. The game is free to play, but does include in-app purchases. Some affect gameplay (you can purchase supplies, for example), but they aren’t necessary to enjoy the experience, and you can complete the game without them.

Puzzledom

Puzzledom is one of the best puzzle game for iPhone and iPad users, consisting of four classic games in one: Connect, Blocks, Rolling Ball, and Escape.

Connect asks you to connect all of the dots of the same color on the game board without crossing any of the lines, while Blocks asks you to fill the board with blocks of different shapes without leaving a gap.

Rolling Ball, as the name suggests, requires moving blocks around to clear a path for your ball to roll through, and Escape (also known as Chinese Sliding Block) involves moving pieces around to get the red block to the exit.

Each minigame, while relaxing, challenges your logic, critical thinking, and observation skills in a different way. You can also play Puzzledom without Wi-Fi, making it a good option for traveling.

The game is ad-supported, but you can pay 2.99 to remove ads permanently. There are other in-app purchases, such as coins (the in-game currency) and a weekly “unlimited” subscription. These are largely unnecessary, however, as you can enjoy tons of the game’s best content for free.

Main image via oatakoi/Shutterstock.com, other images via respective game developers

About the Author

Austin Meadows

Austin is a digital nomad with a passion for exploring alternative lifestyles and testing the latest technological innovations. Rarely under the same roof for long, when he’s not sampling wine and cheese in Bulgaria or downloading the latest travel app, you can find him running, gaming, or cooking up something delicious.