Free iPhone Games

Because of its responsive touchscreen and motion sensor, iPhone has special appeal for dedicated gamers. Shoppers can find nearly 5000 games at the Apple app store. Moreover, 38% of iPhone users report they have downloaded a game in the last month. Users of all other handheld devices—just a little over 3%.

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Not surprisingly, the most popular iPhone games have earned their reputations on Nintendo and play station; to the developers’ credit, though, all of the adapted games have been retooled specifically for iPhone. In fact, some of the games work better and have a greater “fun factor” on iPhone than on a PC.

Because gaming ranks so high among iPhone users’ preferences, you find literally hundreds of authoritative “Top Ten” game lists, no two of which have much in common. “Free” stands-out as the keyword in this list. Compiled from a variety of reputable and reliable sources, this list works by three measures: (1) How addictive is the game? (2)How often have iPhone users downloaded the game? And (3) What do professional reviewers say about it? Arranged here in ascending order, following the sophisticated gamers’ preferred format, find the ten games that rock then iPhone world.

Gamers’ Choices of the Top Ten Free iPhone Games

10. Jelly Car—“Jelly physics” make this road-race game deliciously difficult and amazingly habit-forming. Of course, you try to navigate your car around a race course in the fastest possible time, but your jelly car stretches and bends—and, yes, it does even break. iPhone newbies probably should wait to test-drive Jelly Car, because it requires proficiency with the phone itself; you use the motion sensor to steer the car, and you use both thumbs to control its speed.

9. Cube Runner—A sophisticated derivative of old-fashioned maze games, Cube Runner challenges you to pilot your plane between a series of cubes. You tilt your phone left and right to control your plane, and the cubes grow closer together and stand at more oblique angles as you progress. The longer you manage not to crash, the more points you score. The game gives you one point for every second you manage to stay airborne. Long-time Cube Runner players say the game becomes almost meditative, because it requires tremendous concentration and quickness.

8. Tap Defense—The most popular in a huge genre of defensive games. You must build increasingly strong and powerful defensive towers to ward-off swarms of enemy invaders. You always play defense. Once you have bought and built your towers, demons attack, and your automatic weapons repel them. If you have placed your weapons wisely, you may buy more towers and prepare for the demons’ next sortie. The demons grow stronger and more elusive with each successive wave; you have to improve your defensive strategy in anticipation of how they may evolve. Fun, but also frustrating!

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7. Topple—Because the code-writers perfectly adapted the game to the iPhone environment, it challenges your iPhone proficiency and manual dexterity as well as your intellect and imagination. As blocks tumble from the sky, you must stack them. Easy concept but difficult task! You must drag and rotate your blocks, stacking them gently and precisely to make sure they do not topple. The longer you keep going, the more the blocks test your skill. The blocks change shape and form, and odd, not-so-stackable stuff—eggs, for example—complicate your task. Because your mind keep telling you the game is simple and your results keep discovering its difficulty, you quickly get hooked.

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6. Cartoon Wars—Adapted and sophisticated from an old arcade favorite, Cartoon Wars for iPhone works on the original game’s premise. Since the beginning of time, Color Cartoons have enslaved and oppressed Black-and-White Cartoons; but the time has come for revolution. You become a hero of the Black-and-White Tribe, working with thirty different elements to assemble unique units for assaulting and conquering the Color Cartoons’ castle. For a little extra incentive, the game includes an online ranking system.

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5. Lux Touch—Comparable with “Risk,” the family’s all-time favorite board game, Lux Touch challenges you to build strong armies and capture new territory as quickly as possible. An innovative system for “taking turns” replaces scoring in real time. Using your skill and dexterity to get maximum effect from each turn you take, you add armies to the board and move them into new territories. Unlike some of the other popular iPhone games, Lux Touch requires both offensive and defensive skills, because you must acquire new territory without leaving your forces exposed and vulnerable.

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4. Haunted 3D Roller Coaster Rush—Yes, you take a serious roller coaster ride in an engaging haunted world, where haunted castles may trap you and evil pumpkins may sabotage your ride or take you captive. In the free version, you have a choice of three tracks with high peaks, extreme drops, and breath-taking curves. You control your cart to survive dangerous loops, gravity-defying chasm leaps, and all kinds of dangerous traps, unlocking more speed and increased G-force as you go.

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3. Kingdoms Live—Released in September, 2009, Kingdom Live skyrocketed to the top of the popularity charts. A multi-player online game with nearly two million worldwide users, Kingdoms Live lets you choose among three races—Human, Orc, or Elf—and launches you on a quest to become absolute ruler of the mightiest kingdom in the realm. You start with nothing, battling your way up the ranks and gaining skills, weapons, and power as you advanced. Spectacular sound and dazzling graphics make Kingdom Live wonderfully engaging even at handheld size. The game’s interactive features—real time updates, communication with your armies, and opportunities to comment on your enemies—contribute both to the fun factor and to the friend factor.

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2. Zombies Live—For the most part an alternative version of Kingdoms Live, but far creepier. Like Kingdoms Live, you play Zombies Live online, building armies, conquering enemies, and acquiring territory until you become the mightiest crypt lord in the world of the undead.

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1. Marine Sharpshooter—Based on the best-selling PC sniper game, Marine Sharpshooter’s designers have customized the game for iPhone, making your anti-terrorist missions more challenging and fun. You belong to an elite American anti-terrorist unit, and you have dropped-in behind enemy lines, where you will thwart all kinds of evil, insidious plots.

You may complete five different missions, each of which takes you through a dozen different combat environments—from remote outposts to major bases, from the desert to city streets. The game allows you to choose between story mode and arcade mode; avid players inevitably prefer story mode.

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