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Top 13 best simulation games for iPhone and iPad (iOS)

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Top 13 best simulation games for iPhone and iPad (iOS)

Ever wondered are the best iPhone simulation games better than the real thing?

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Updated on August 22nd, 2023 - re-checked the list. Original list by Matt Thrower, updated by Nitisha Upadhye

If you are a fan of simulation games, we strongly recommend you to keep reading. These are the best simulation games for iPhone and iPad!

Games that belong to this genre used to give PC owners the chance to prove just how dour and serious they were. They used to give PC owners reasons to justify shelling out large quantities of cash for their expensive rigs.

Well, most of the time, anyway.

And while it might seem that these realistic simulacra would be poor fits for mobiles - requiring bags of computing power and complex input devices - they're actually proliferating on iOS.



After all, the modern mobile packs a walloping great processor and a hugely versatile touchscreen. You just have to get the user interface right.

So, here are ten simulation games for iPhone that we feel you should download immediately onto your iOS device. Though some are undeniably more realistic than others, all are worth your time.

 

Click Here To View The List »

1
112 Operator

Publisher: Games Operators
Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Simulation
Find out more about 112 Operator
112 Operator

112 Operator is an iPhone simulation game unlike any other. You are put in charge of emergency services, starting off as someone who answers phone calls when people call for an emergency. You then need to talk things through with them and decide what action to take. Once you know what places need, you will need to route different vehicles to these places. But there is so much more to the game.

You will need to plan out what vehicles are in the area, decide what workers are in each one, upgrade their tools, hire more people to answer calls, and start to solve major crimes through your direction and guidance. It's an intense game, and there's nothing not to love about it.

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2
Plague Inc.

Developer: Ndemic Creations
Available on: iOS + Android + Steam
Genre: Simulation, Strategy
Find out more about Plague Inc.
Plague Inc.

Sticking with our tactic of avoiding 'customary' simulation material, here's an even odder one. In Plague Inc., you play as a virus attempting to wipe out the entirety of the human race (strikes too close to home right now, huh?).

While realistic, it's a lot less grim and a lot more challenging than it sounds. In effect, you're trying out different combinations of diseases and infection vectors in your quest to render the earth a sterile husk. And once the body count starts rising, you can tinker further with your DNA to ramp up the seriousness of the plague to biblical proportions. One of the cruelest simulation games for iPhone, as it depicts our current state perfectly, but that's exactly why it's one of the best games out there!

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3
The Sims Mobile

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Simulation
Find out more about The Sims Mobile
The Sims Mobile

Speaking of PC ports, let's get this obvious candidate out of the way before we go any further.

While it might not strictly qualify as a simulation in the traditional sense of the term, it deserves a spot on the list for being an incredibly rich and fun game that - unlike the previous entry - has lost virtually nothing in its transition from desktop to handheld.

And anyone doubting that there's not some genuine real-life replication value ought to read the story of Alice and Kev.

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4
Football Manager 2023 Mobile

Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Simulation
Find out more about Football Manager 2023 Mobile
Football Manager 2023 Mobile

The next simulation game on the list is definitely one of the best options if you are a football fan. Indeed, currently, one of the best sports games for mobile devices is Football Manager 2023. In this simulation app, you will take control over one of the famous (or less famous) teams, implement new strategies, trade players and lead it to victory.

You will find many well-known football superstars who can be a part of your team. So, create the strongest team, compete with your opponents, and become the number one football manager in the game! If you are looking for other similar titles, make sure to check our list of the best sports games for iOS.

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5
True Skate

Developer: True Axis
Publisher: True Axis
Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Sports
Find out more about True Skate
True Skate

People tend to assume that 'simulations' have to be based on either transportation or the military. Or both. So, here's an oddball sports sim to start us off. Anyone scoffing at the idea that you can make a realistic copy of any physical sport really ought to try True Skate. Because this is the closest thing to real skating you'll find on the App Store. Well, short of adding wheels to your iPad and heading down to the local skatepark.

As you might expect, it's fiendishly difficult. That just makes it fiendishly satisfying, though, when you pull off the stunts with style.

Read the True Skate review |

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6
Minecraft

Developer: Mojang
Publisher: Mojang
Available on: iOS + Android + Windows Phone + Xperia Play
Genre: Adventure, Brain training
Find out more about Minecraft
Minecraft

Minecraft is one of the best and definitely the most popular survivor simulator on mobile devices. There is no end to your creativity in this game.

In the game, you will find a creative mode that gives you unlimited resources and allows you to do whatever you want and a survival mode that challenges you with tons of enemies. Will you be able to survive in the dangerous world of Minecraft?

It is regularly updated with new exciting features. You can also play with your friends on different devices. Minecraft is one the best games in the simulator category that is worth playing!

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7
Bridge Constructor

Developer: Clockstone Studio
Publisher: Headup Games
Available on: iOS + Android + Steam
Genre: Puzzle, Simulation
Find out more about Bridge Constructor
Bridge Constructor

Raising crossings over a bewildering array of different chasms using a limited palette of materials for each is more engrossing than you could imagine. You'll learn a surprising amount about physics and suffer from a surprising amount of indigestion as you nervously load traffic onto your bridge here. Guaranteed.

Bridge Constructor is as addictive as it is beautiful. It's got some astounding elements that make it so much more realistic than it has to be (honestly) but that's exactly where its flair comes from. The game looks stunning, cleverly combines strategic puzzle elements, and is easily one of the best simulation games for iPhones.

Bridge Constructor review |

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8
Battle Supremacy

Publisher: Atypical Games
Available on: iOS
Genre: Action, Multiplayer, Shooter
Find out more about Battle Supremacy
Battle Supremacy

Let's face it: however much you might want to pretend that your simulation tastes run to strategically micro-managing transportation, what you really want to do is get in a virtual tank and blow stuff up. Well, unsurprisingly enough, there's an app for that. And it's called Battle Supremacy.

While Atypical Games' tank battling game does include unrealistic features like an enemy lock-on, it's still an exciting, detailed, and challenging affair (especially once you throw multiplayer in the mix). And it's probably a GOOD idea that the game developer doesn't try to replicate being stuck in a small hot metal box with a sweaty driver who's eaten too many military-issue beans.

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9
Startup Panic

Publisher: tinyBuild Games
Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Simulation
Find out more about Startup Panic
Startup Panic

Startup Panic puts you in the role of an owner at a new Startup. You've quit your job, you are sick of working for a demanding boss, and now you are trying to become your own boss and correctly run an office. Your job is actually to create a game studio, using skill trees to create different aspects of the game and doing freelance contract work to boost your cash flow.

Unlike other iPhone simulation games, you will need to give your workers vacation time and manage how often they are in the office if you want to be successful - no longer can you work people into the ground.

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10
Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders 2

Publisher: Atypical Games
Available on: iOS
Find out more about Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders 2
Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders 2

The Sky Gamblers series has gone through various iterations, with its creator improving the accessibility and graphics each time until it's become the benchmark aerial dogfighting game on iOS.

Go back a few versions, however, and you'll find Storm Raiders 2, an incredible mixture of thrilling combat and demanding realism set during World War II. This represents arguably the pinnacle of the franchise so far. And it just goes to show that ramping up the simulation qualities of a title can make it all the more exciting, rather than just making it less approachable.

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11
Stardew Valley

Publisher: Chucklefish
Available on: iOS + Android + Switch
Genre: Multiplayer, Simulation
Find out more about Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a role-playing sandbox with elements of a farming simulator. Players will have the opportunity to live in a small province, where young farmers have many ways to interact with the environment and the inhabitants of the town.

Having inherited an old farm, you need to build a new cool place on your site. For this, you have to extract resources, raise livestock, cut down forests, and create new tools for gardening. Also in the future, you will have the opportunity to team up with fellow villagers and fight back against the Hoya Corporation.

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12
House Flipper: Home Design

Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Simulation
Find out more about House Flipper: Home Design
House Flipper: Home Design

House Flipper is a fun first-person management sim where you become a one-man maintenance crew. In the game, you will buy abandoned houses that are in need of a full-scale renovation. And after the work is done, you can sell them at the best possible price.

There are over 500 adorable decor and furniture items to unlock. House Flipper will provide you with hours of fun, so we can call it one of the best simulation games for iPhone and iPad.

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13
Fallout Shelter

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Available on: iOS + Android
Genre: Simulation
Find out more about Fallout Shelter
Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter is one of the best building and surviving simulators. The game will make you manage your resources smartly. Also, you cannot arrange rooms in the shelter randomly. You need to monitor the number of resources and do not forget that bonuses will help you develop your shelter faster.

Each inhabitant has a bunch of characteristics that you should take into consideration to choose the most effective workplace for them. If you are looking for a construction simulator that will teach you how to manage available resources correctly, you should give Fallout Shelter a try! And while you are here, make sure to read our article about the best layouts for Fallout Shelter!

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Matt Thrower
Matt Thrower
Matt is a freelance arranger of words concerning boardgames and video games. He's appeared on IGN, PC Gamer, Gamezebo, and others.