Features

10 free iPhone games that you should try

Play without spending a penny

10 free iPhone games that you should try
|

Now that the App Store has launched, it's becoming clearer what the price strategies will be for iPhone games.

£5.99 is the ceiling right now, with some publishers experimenting with slightly lower prices. Meanwhile, indie developers are focusing more on games costing less than a couple of quid.

And then there's the freebies. There are over 200 free apps on the App Store, although many of those are Web 2.0 apps.

But there's a decent number of free games, so we've picked ten of the most interesting ones out. All of them are well worth a look.

Tap Tap Revenge This game's been around for a while for hacked first-generation iPhones, but an official version also made it to the App Store this weekend. It's a music rhythm game where you tap the screen to the beat while shaking left and right as arrows fall. You can download new tracks, and take on a friend in the two-player mode. (get it)

Aurora Feint: The Beginning If you like Puzzle Quest on mobile, you should definitely check out Aurora Feint. It's a free game that sees you levelling up your character by playing puzzle games, collecting magical items along the way. It's an introduction to what's planned to be iPhone's first massively multiplayer online game, and judging by the customer reviews on the App Store, it's already a big hit with gamers. (get it)
Adventure We wrote about this text adventure on App Store launch day, and it was one of the most popular stories on the site that day. Which just goes to show there's more pent-up demand for a good GO NORTH HIT TROLL dose of adventuring on the iPhone than you'd think. It's an authentic port of the classic Adventure / Colossal Cave game from 1977. (get it)
pearMe Remember those memory games, where you have to turn over tiles or cards to find pairs? Well, pearMe is one of those, taking advantage of the iPhone's touchscreen. However, its schtick is that the cards are actually photos – with a built-in set, but also the ability to add in your own photos from the iPhone itself. Cool. (get it)
Moonlight Mahjong Lite Keep an eye out for the 'Lite' suffix – a number of developers are experimenting with offering cut-down versions of games for free, to persuade you to upgrade to the paid-for version. It's a smart tactic. Moonlight Mahjong looks cool too, being an isometric 3D Mahjong Solitaire game, with you zooming round the board and matching pairs of tiles. (get it)
Match We don't know who Jirbo are, but they've certainly been busy releasing a bunch of casual games for iPhone, all starring the same array of cartoon animals. Match is another memory game, where you're trying to get the best score against a time limit. Neatly, you can then upload your score to Jirbo's connected community to see how you rank. (get it)
Morocco It didn't take long for iPhone to get its first version of Othello / Reversi, which is tailor-made for the touchscreen. Morocco is a well-designed version too, offering three difficulty levels, and the option to show or hide the current legal moves (newbies will appreciate this). Meanwhile, you can play against another person if your iPhone isn't up to the challenge. (get it)
Riddle Racer Lite Another lite version of a paid game, Riddle Racer is a quirky puzzler that sees you driving a car to a chequered flag by swiping it and the nearby road cones into position. Sounds easy? When slid, they'll keep on moving until they bang into something, which makes it harder (if you've played mobile game Slyder, this'll be a familiar dynamic). (get it)
SimStapler Okay, this is a bit silly, but we had to put it in. It's iPhone's first stapling simulation, tasking you with the onerous job of, well, stapling stuff. And getting scored for it. "Now, your children can learn to be more human by imagining they are stapling two sheets of paper together," promises the blurb. Strangely addictive, we promise. The Mac OS interface is a bonus. (get it)
Says Another Jirbo game, this, following the Simon Says model. So, you're shown a pattern of those animals, and have to repeat it. For those of you focused on the detail, we can report that these include a pig, a duck, a dog, a cow, a tiger and a rooster. Although the latter could be a chicken, we don't know. Anyway, the point is if you're in the habit of passing your iPhone to a child to keep them occupied, Says is well worth having installed. (get it)
Stuart Dredge
Stuart Dredge
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)