Top 10 Moon-related iPhone games to celebrate Apollo 11

So here's a thing - on 20 July 1969, exactly 43 years ago today, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and co landed on the Moon and took man's first steps on its dusty hills and crevices.

These days we have the International Space Station, commercial rocket firms, robots on Mars, and space tourism. Yet, the Moon landing still marks a huge achievement for the human race, and one that will always have a page or three in our history books.

We wondered "hey, what are the best iOS games that feature the Moon?". And wouldn't you know it, here we are sharing our findings with you now. We are truly the kindest of souls.

Earth vs. Moon
By Low Five Games

The Moon is great - it makes tides and stuff - but sometimes it gets a little too big for its boots and needs taking down a peg or two.

This is the case in Earth vs. Moon, where you need to defend our home planet from a Missile Command style attack from the big cheese in the sky. It even throws in Space Invaders and Breakout minigames for good measure.

Angry Birds Space
By Rovio

First, the Angry Birds were being mardy all over Earth. Then the pigs got ambitious and took to space, meaning our feathery friends had to launch into the stratosphere and sort them out with consideration for ever-changing gravity shifts.

There was a whole level pack called Fry Me to the Moon, during which the pigs sat atop many a moon and taunted the birds, who proceeded to get a whole lot angrier.

Lunar Racer
By Noodlecake Games

When we finally start to populate the Moon in the near future (make it happen, Branson/Gingrich/China - delete as appropriate), it's obvious what the very first thing we'll do is create racetracks all over the dust dunes and bomb around in slow-motion.

Lunar Racer showed us just how brilliant the reality of this idea would actually be, as you balance the use of your gravity drive and nitro to pull off some seriously slick in-air moves.

NASA Lunar Electric Rover Simulator
By NASA

Did you know that there's an official NASA iPhone game for traversing the Moon's surface? It's called the Lunar Electric Rover Simulator, and it's actually not too shabby.

Okay, so it's nothing like actually cruising around on the moon (we assume), but it's surprisingly detailed, with tasks to complete and information for any budding astronauts.

Astronaut: Spacewalk
By Jorge Hernandez

Released earlier this month, Astronaut: Spacewalk is described as "a highly realistic astronaut jetpack simulator" which, let's be honest, sounds cool as hell.

With missions taking place all over deep space, you'll no doubt see the Moon go swinging by every so often. Don't forget to give it a quick wave as it goes by.

Boy Loves Girl
By Grubby Hands

Now for something a bit different - Boy Loves Girl follows a guy who will do anything to show a girl how much he loves her. Including dragging the entire Moon by a piece of string.

Now, putting aside the fact that this would be physically impossible, what we should really be concentrating on is his complete lack of regard for the finely-tuned orbit of the moon, and the fact that, by pulling it out of said orbit, he has no doubt doomed us all.

Cheers for that, pal.

A Moon for the Sky
By Egg Ball

You may wonder how the Moon got into the sky in the first place - a very good question, if ever there was one. The answer is quite simple: someone bounced it up there, Doodle Jump-style.

Or so goes the story of A Moon for the Sky, with its dreamy aesthetics and trampoline-drawing gameplay. A lot more fun to play if you treat it as a documentary.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
By Capybara Games

While all the games in this list feature the Moon in some form, gorgeous adventure game Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP takes it one step further, incorporating the real-life moon into play.

Essentially, the Moon in the game follows the actual real-life lunar cycle, and certain parts of the game require you tackle them when the real-life Moon is at a specific point of said phase. So good luck with that!

MacGuffin's Curse
By Brawsome Games

MacGuffin has fallen victim to what is surely one of the coolest curses ever - he can transform at will into a werewolf simply by stepping in moonlight.

This allows him to switch between either being ridiculously strong, or working the digits on his human hands to pull handles and the like.

And as luck would have it, he's also surrounded by dozens of puzzles that require such skills and switches. What are the odds!

Grand Theft Auto III
By Rockstar Games

This may seem like a bit of an odd choice, but bear with us for just a moment. There is a night and day cycle in Grand Theft Auto III, meaning that every so often, if you look up into the night sky, you'll see our lovely round fellow.

But here's why the game is featured in this list - if you grab a sniper rifle, aim at the Moon and fire, our lunar cousin will get bigger and smaller. It's true! Go and give it a try.