One of the most successful racing series on iPhone, the Asphalt
games are packed with high-speed fun. One-off races, career mode, time
trials, and a lot of mid-air trickery keep this game interesting longer
than many other racers. Career mode offers over 300 events, and you can
face off against up to 11 other players online.
Asphalt 8 has received a number of updates from previous
entries in the series, with more cars, more events, and new Infected and
Drift Gate race modes. Thirteen tracks and almost 100 cars provide
plenty of variety, making this well worth your time. If you’re a fan of
racing games, be sure to check out Real Racing 3, as well—there are fewer barrel rolls, but more realistic cars and tracks.
For fans of console first-person shooters like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Rainbow Six, Modern Combat 4 provides
a viable iPhone experience. With solid graphics for a mobile game, a
decent story mode, and all the multiplayer battling you could want, you
can easily sink a lot of hours into this game.
While a more recent game in the series, Modern Combat 5: Blackout,
has been released, the fourth entry in the series provides better
value. After paying $6.99 to download the game, you don’t have to worry
about paying for anything else. Because MC5 is free to download, you’ll face a lot more pressure to spend money in-game.
One of the most beloved board games of all time, Carcassonne
has players trying to build cities and roads, claim farming fields, and
disrupt opponents’ strategies. The game is quite simple, but after
you’ve played a few times, you’ll start to see just how strategic each
turn can be. Don’t be intimidated, though—the in-game tutorial makes it
easy to learn and start playing quickly.
Local network play, online multiplayer matches, rankings, nine
different AI opponents, and a whole bunch of expansions give you plenty
of different options to make up for the rather significant cost of
$9.99. There’s a reason why this game is an award-winner and classic,
though; it’s a blast.
Magic: The Gathering has dominated collectible card games for decades, and Hearthstone is looking to become the digital giant in the genre. Blizzard’s World-of-Warcraft-themed
card battler is easy to pick up, but takes a long time and a great deal
of effort to master. As one of the most competitive card games out
there, you’ll need to earn and buy the best cards for your deck if you
want to compete.
Introductory missions get you up to speed on casting spells and
summoning minions, playing against computer opponents will help you get a
hold on what it takes to win, and a huge online community will let you
face off against real opponents for awesome prizes whenever you want. Hearthstone is known to be very addictive, so prepare yourself for many hours of head-to-head fantasy combat!
If you’re looking for arcade sports action, Football Heroes will give it to you. The fun, cartoony graphics harken back to the days of old-school football games like Tecmo Super Bowl and give the game an arcade-style feel, breaking away from the standard set by the very realistic Madden
series. Super moves like Windmill Toss, Power Throw, and Distraction
give the over 1,800 real NFL players a bit more power on the field, and
making successful plays increases their stats.
With several play modes, including asynchronous online league, wifi or Bluetooth local multiplayer,
Cup mode, quick match, and sudden death, there are plenty of options,
no matter what kind of football game you’re looking to start. And
because the game is free to play with no annoying countdown timers or
paywalls, you can get started right away (though you’ll be tempted to
buy packs of players to boost your team).
While many of the board games that successfully make the transition
to iOS lack the deep strategy that makes tabletop gaming so fun, Lords of Waterdeep
is an intensely strategic game that’ll have you thinking tactically.
Assigning agents, collecting resources, completing quests, recruiting
units to go on adventures, and constructing buildings around the city
all require your attention throughout the game. (Don’t worry; the
tutorial will show you how everything is done.)
Both asynchronous online and local pass-and-play multiplayer for up
to five players (six with an expansion) are available, so you can
challenge your friends whether they’re in the same room or across the
world. And you can practice against the computer when you’re on your
own. Two available expansions add even more possibilities to the game,
and they’re reasonably priced at $2.99.
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games have long been the territory of PCs, dominated by titles like DotA and League of Legends. Vainglory
is Super Evil Megacorp’s attempt at bringing console-level MOBA action
to the iPhone, and it’s received rave reviews from fans of the genre.
Pick a hero, customize them with items, and get into the arena!
New heroes, card collecting, a huge amount of variety for each character, and action-packed 20-minute matches make Vainglory
tough to put down. And its impressively high-quality graphics make it
great to look at. Because the game is totally free to play, you can try
it out without spending any money, though there are purchasable bundles
from $4.99 all the way up to $99.99.
If you’ve never played Ticket to Ride, you’re missing out on
a fantastically fun and competitive board game. The premise is simple:
draw a card with two cities on it, connect those cities with trains, and
collect points. But you’ll need to think strategically—trying to get
the longest train, block your opponents, and plan for potential future
destinations makes this a very fun, very rewarding, game.
The pocket version of Ticket to Ride lets you play the game
on a small screen without having to squint at tiny maps or cards. And
with single player, local multiplayer via bluetooth or WiFi, and online
asynchronous multiplayer, you can challenge your friends around the
world or take on other players in automatic match-ups. And if you’re
looking for more locomotive strategy, check out Ticket to Ride Europe Pocket, which adds a new map as well as some fun new features.
Most racing games involve high-end cars with massive engines, sprawling urban tracks, and a lot of engine-revving noises. Fun Run 2
does away with all that in favor of cute forest creatures in a
side-scrolling 2D footrace. Sound strange? It is; and it’s just weird
enough to work, especially when you’re taking on up to three of your
friends in online multiplayer.
Picking up weapons like saw blades and bear traps adds a measure of
hilarious havoc to this goofy runner, and destroying your opponents is
at least as fun as making it to the finish line first. Fun Run 2 is a simple game, with only two buttons, but is a great way to spend some time battling your friends.
The tabletop version of Pandemic is a popular cooperative
game that sees players trying to save the world from certain doom at the
hands of killer diseases. The iOS port brings save-the-world-or-die
tension to your phone, and even lets you play with up to three friends
in pass-and-play mode. With a tutorial, in-game rules reminders, and
three difficulty settings, you’ll get up and running in no time. Pick
from one of the available roles (Scientist, Researcher, Dispatcher, and
others) and get to work saving the world!
The On the Brink expansion, available with an in-app
purchase, lets you play with up to five players and introduces a number
of new roles and events, adding even more variety. Whether you’ve played
the board game or not, Pandemic will get your heart racing as you work to save a world on the brink of total destruction.
Pool is a classic game the world over—the combination of luck, skill,
physics, and a great social atmosphere make it a bar staple and a
basement favorite. 8 Ball Pool brings the experience to the
iPhone in a mobile-friendly version that lets you compete against your
friends Facebook and other players around the world.
Although there isn’t much to the game other than playing pool,
Miniclip does try to make it rewarding to play; you can earn Pool Coins
to customize your cue and the match location, making the game
environment suit your tastes. The game’s simplicity adds a lot to its
appeal—if you want to play pool, open the app and play pool! (If you’re
into table tennis, another popular bar game, check out Virtual Table Tennis, a great way to play with friends on the iPhone.)
If the realistic warfare of Modern Combat isn’t your thing, but you still want to smash your opponents, Battle Monkeys
may be exactly what you’re looking for. You control a small army of
monkeys and face off against opponents to see who comes out on top.
Choose from a wide range of monkeys, customize their outfits, level them
up, and show the other monkey army who’s boss!
Battle Monkeys‘ live multiplayer is a great feature, letting
you fight against your friends or other players so you can hone your
skills and level up your monkeys. The game is totally free to play,
which is a nice bonus, but you can also pay for in-game perks with real
money. You shouldn’t miss this 3D multiplayer game for iPhone.
In Spaceteam, you’ll race to save your rapidly
disintegrating spaceship from certain doom by taking actions on your
control panel. You’ll receive instructions to turn dials, flip switches,
and move sliders, and if you do it in time, you might survive. What
makes it interesting is that those instructions are delivered to your
teammates, and the dials and sliders on your control panel are often
labelled with images instead of words, making for hilarious outbursts
like “Set the squat jumper to 3!” and “X-ray elevator on!”
Spaceteam is a great party game and is sure to get everyone
laughing. You can play with two to four players as long as everyone has a
mobile device that can run the free app. Once everyone downloads the
app, you can get started trying to save your ship . . . be ready for
hilarity!
One of the most popular European-style board games, Settlers of Catan gets an iPhone treatment with Catan,
an app that stays true to the classic. You can challenge other players
(including players on other platforms such as Android), take on the AI,
or try your hand at some of the scenarios created by the game designers.
Two expansions are available as well, at $4.99 each.
If you haven’t played Catan, you’re missing out on a great
cross platform board game experience. The need for planning ahead,
reacting to your opponents, and quickly coming up with new strategies to
counter the rolls of the dice make for an absolute staple of the board
game genre.
Words with Friends is one of the most popular games on iOS,
with over 108,000 reviews on the App Store. If you’re not familiar with
the game, the premise is simple: it’s just like Scrabble. You
get letter tiles and you create words, crossword-style, on the board.
Each letter is worth a certain number of points, and whoever has the
most points at the end wins.
Challenging your friends or random players will keep you entertained
for hours as your sharpen your word-wrangling skills. You can access
your games from any of your devices, so you aren’t tied to your phone
exclusively. And the dictionary and word-of-the-day features will help
you build your vocabulary to use some killer words for huge points.
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