The Best iPhone Games

After 10 years of the iPhone, you’d think that the games would start to feel a little stale. But Apple has always understood the importance of its gamer base and the amount of time the casual user likes to spend on their phone doing anything stimulating. The truth is, the game market has never been better for the iPhone and iPad.

With easier mobile functionality and capabilities, better graphics and faster speeds, the iPhone and iPad have allowed for new, inventive, and inspired games in the App Store that are extremely fun and just as addictive and habit forming as they have ever been. The best part of all of this is that the best of these games are all free.

Apple may have a monopoly on multiple devices, add-ons, and softwares for your phone that cost an excessive amount of money, but free games in the App Store continue to be a stronghold and a saving grace. You also don’t have to shell out a bunch of money to unlock levels, because these games are perfectly fun as they come, even before any bonuses are unlocked.

The iPhone has given us some of the best free games around over the years and here we’ve collected ten of the best games in the App Store that are ready to be downloaded and played by you right this moment. These games range from the biggest addictive time wasters to fun trivia shows to tricky puzzles to new spins on some old classics, like Pac-Man and Super Mario. They come with solo play or options for engaging with other iPhone users all over the world. If you find yourself growing bored or needing something engaging to help pass the day, these are the best free iPhone and iPad games. Trust us, they’re worth your time.

With its daily cash prizes and irascible host Scott Rogowsky (plus stable of guest hosts), HQ is both one of the best mobile games out and also one of the most fun new game shows to come out in a long time. HQ Trivia quizzes over a million users a day for multiple cash prizes in a sudden death challenge that knocks you out on your first wrong answer (unless you’ve got extra lives from inviting friends). The result is a maddening but exciting gaming experience that is made even more fun (or frustrating, depending on your preference) by Rogowsky’s hosting. Even if you don’t win any money, HQ is easily the most fun game available for iPhone. 

A mobile version of the popular game from our childhood, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has the appeal of a basic simulation game, conveniently packaged for your phone. The game allows you to imbue your own power and style to characters, living spaces, and communities through trading with other game players and helping out the animals visiting your campsite. It’s a highly interactive game that uses the minutia of design and world building in a way that’s more fun and addicting than it has any business being. Gather as much leaf tickets you can and build your own pocket kingdom.

Maybe it’s been a while since you heard this game’s name, but it is as fun and maddening as always. Sort of a precursor to HQ, Trivia Crack is a game where you try to gather all the characters based on question categories, before the person you’re quizzing against gets them first. It’s full of hundreds of thousands of intriguing questions that range from entertainment to history to science to sports. It’s sure to get your brain working overtime and have you bringing your best competitive game in order to dominate, and also prove to yourself that you didn’t forget everything you learned in college.

A game so silly and unnecessary that you can’t help but blow hours on it. Drawing your way into buckets is an addictive way to kill time; watch balls bounce in the air while you draw a trajectory to help them land in the basketball hoop, and try to avoid any bombs. It sounds incredibly simple, yet you find yourself wanting to keep going and trying to outdo yourself in order to achieve higher and higher scores. It also gives you a chance to get creative and find the most unique ways to dunk basketballs on your phone. Live out your dreams of being the ultimate scorer from the safety of your iPhone.

It may not be a viral sensation anymore, but the most fascinating thing that still happens is going for a walk and witnessing people still catching Pokémon nearly two years later. The thrill of getting notified about a rare Pokémon out in your neighborhood has not lost its luster. And with even more Pokémon than when the game first came out, there’s still potential for capturing all kinds of Pokémon in the wild.

The iPhone is full of inventive and complex ways to play the games we’ve known since we were kids. Chief among them is the word puzzle; Wordscapes plays with the crossword convention for a unique game that involves capturing as many words as you can. Wordscapes has 2500+ words in multiple crossword puzzles. The game is highly addicting and a true brain charger that will keep you playing all night.

The OG iPhone game that still keeps people coming back. Candy Crush Saga requires quick thinking and smart moves, in order to progress from one level to another. The saga series includes thousands of levels and the ability to play with friends. Most importantly, it sticks to the formula that made it a hit—never mess with a good thing.

You’re more than likely playing 8 ball on iMessage with friends, but trust that the app game has all the fun, plus an opportunity to play against other players all over. 8 Ball on the iPhone may start out a little tricky with figuring out how to position the cue stick and giving it the proper amount of force, but once you figure it out, you’ll immediately want to challenge any stranger that comes against you. 8 Ball is the most fun game on iMessage, it makes sense that it would be just as good on a wider playing field.