The iPhone has arguably the best games of any mobile platform. Come check out our picks of the best iPhone and iOS games, with selections from many genres.
While gaming phones are picking up steam, there’s often no better gaming phone to buy than the iPhone. With more than a million iPhone apps available in the App Store, the gaming options on the iPhone are nearly limitless. But finding the best iPhone games isn’t always easy. Not every game in Apple’s massive library is worth $1 — or your time, for that matter. Luckily for you, we’ve taken on the burden of sorting through the heaving sea of titles to bring you some of the best iPhone games. So, whether you’re looking for a casual match 3 game, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), or a battle royale, take a look at our list of the best games you’ll find on your iOS device — whether it’s a massive iPhone 12 Pro Max, a tiny iPhone 12 Mini, or the budget iPhone SE. They’ll even work on an iPad (but don’t let anyone know we told you). Subscribers to Apple’s library of games — which we think contains enough gems to justify the price of membership — should check out our picks of the best Apple Arcade games. For more ideas, check out the best Android games, because many of them are available for the iPhone as well. And if you want to switch off that screen, the best board games could offer a welcome alternative. Battles are fought on the edge of a knife, with snap decisions made in the spur of the moment often being the difference between victory and defeat. While we hope you never have to experience that for real, Warpath is a fun way to dabble in real-time battle strategy on your phone. With excellent-looking and realistic graphics, a range of battlefronts, and customization elements that unlock as you play, this is fun if you’ve always seen yourself as an armchair strategist. Unfortunately, there are complaints of pay-to-win aspects, but if you’re not worried about that, then this is a really fun real-time strategy game. iOS Reckon you can tell Iceland from Patagonia? Mongolia from Russia? What about Idaho from Yorkshire? If you’re something of a geographical whiz, put yourself to the test with GeoGuessr. The concept is extremely simple — you’re dropped into a random location from Google Street View, and your job is to figure out where exactly in the world you are. You can either play by yourself or compete against other players. iOS Like a Dino! is perhaps the cutest game on this list — just look at that little dinosaur’s adorable smile! Tap and hold on the dinosaur and drag it from side to side to hit the bars as they fall, in time with the tune playing. It’s another simple premise, but the tunes and gameplay are both catchy enough that you’ll be playing more than you intended. Earn coins for lasting longer in the songs, which get gradually faster, and buy new songs to play. iOS The mobile game that propelled Supercell into the position of dominance it now holds — and spawned a number of spin-off games — Clash of Clans is absolutely worthy of a position on this list. It’s the biggest and best idle town builder game on iOS and an awful lot of fun to play. You can go up against rival villages, join up with alliances and fight in Clan Wars, or just quietly try and do your own thing while chaos erupts around you. It’s an excellently fun game; just be careful of the micro-transactions. iOS There’s a whole world of forbidden knowledge and alien gods out there, and you, a 1920s researcher, are just the person to find it all out for yourself. Cultist Simulator is a notoriously unforgiving but fun card game that centers around unholy mysteries, secret histories, and an immersive storyline. Gather knowledge, bind others to your will, and summon ancient entities for just $3 — what a bargain! Be warned, though: There’s no tutorial for this game, as part of the fun is finding your way. Embrace failure and death as a part of Cultist Simulator! iOS Your neighbor is up to something nefarious, and you’re going to find out what it is. Except he’s a wiley sort, and while you’re busy sneaking into his house, he’s carefully setting up traps to stop your investigations. An advanced artificial intelligence (A.I.) runs behind the scenes in Hello Neighbor, and it learns from your actions. Bear traps along routes and cameras near entrance points are just two of the ways your neighbor can stop you, so you’ll have your work cut out for you. iOS Who doesn’t love Mario? One of the biggest stars of video games is available on your smartphone in a couple of games now, but Super Mario Run is the purest and most true to the original vision, and the one that will make you nostalgic for the first time you played as the Italian plumber. It’s basically an endless runner, so you’ll know what you expect if you’ve played anything like Temple Run. Mario runs towards the right side of the screen, and all you do is control when he jumps. Smush Goombas, break blocks, and collect other characters to play as. The first few levels are free to play, but you’ll need to pay $10 to access the rest. iOS Supercell is the studio behind huge games like Clash Royale, Boom Beach, and — of course — Clash of Clans, and it also has an excellent arena shooter. Brawl Stars throws you into arena battles against other players, with the aim being to kill as many other players as you can to unlock new characters with unique skills, and skins for existing characters. Like many Supercell games, matches only take a few minutes, which makes Brawl Stars a great choice if you need a quick game on the bus. Unfortunately, it’s monetized, but money tends to only speed along your progress and you don’t have to pay if you don’t want to. iOS Shadowgun Legends was the first phone-based first-person shooter (FPS) to show us what the smartphone could really do. Playing as a legendary hero, one of the Shadowguns, your job is to fight off alien invaders that threaten to end life on Earth. There’s a 200-plus mission single-player campaign, but that’s not the only thing to keep you interested. PR is as important as weaponry to a Shadowgun, and you’ll also need to become famous as a warrior-celebrity to access some rewards. Take part in battles against the computer and even other players to build your Fame and become the greatest Shadowgun around.
