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6 games that could work on the Apple Watch right now

Hot wrist action

6 games that could work on the Apple Watch right now
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This week saw Apple enter into the world of wearables, with the Apple Watch. This clever gizmo sits on your wrist and tells the time, monitors your fitness, and relays info from your iPhone.

But one thing was curiously absent from the announcement: games.

Sure, maybe an itty bitty screen is unsuitable for playing games on. And only being able to use one hand is going to limit your options. But we reckon there are some games that could actually play nicely on your wrist.

Here, then, are six games - from fitness-focused zombie sagas to creaky old retro games - that might work on an Apple Watch..

Zombies, Run!

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This is the go-to game when it comes time to talk about the gamification of health and fitness, and for very good reason.

All unwelcome health benefits aside, Zombies, Run! is a superb game, and the Apple Watch has several features that could enhance its already excellent mechanics.

The taptic feedback system could add some real urgency to the chase, providing a quickening heartbeat pulse as the undead approach, while the touchscreen would deliver quick and simple controls that don’t involve stopping or looking away from the path while running at full pelt.

Blend in the Apple Watch and iOS 8’s fitness tracking and heart rate monitoring, and Zombies, Run! is the complete wrist-mounted package.

Tiny Wings

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The graphical power of the Apple Watch has yet to be put through the wringer, but we’re willing to be it could handle the pastel tones and 2D physics of the excellent Tiny Wings.

What’s more, the pressure sensor built into the Watch’s touchscreen could add a new dimension to the titular bird’s control. You'd tap for a standard dip, or give the watch a forceful press to dive bomb and hit slopes you’d otherwise miss.

To be fair, Tiny Wings represents a whole sub-genre of one-touch titles that would be equally suitable. Dare we say Flappy Bird? Nah, we dare not…

Draw Something

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Described as Pictionary meets Words With Friends, Draw Something could be adapted to make use of those minimalist communication features that Apple demonstrated on stage.

As a simple one-to-one game, Draw Something could offer up subjects that you’re required to doodle out on the touchscreen. Your opponent is watching your finger paintings as they happen, and either types out, selects from multiple choice answers, or potentially speaks their guess using voice recognition.

This type of asynchronous, direct back-and-forth between two players could go a long way in Apple Watch gaming, making the likes of chess, cards, and other non time-sensitive, turn-based mechanics into enjoyable strap-on engagements.
Ingress

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Location gaming and augmented reality are both fringe efforts that have yet to fully catch on, but if anything’s made headway in these sectors, it’s the Google-built Ingress.

It’s one of the few games that actually requires physical participation, and can’t be fudged from the armchair. Although you’d still need an iPhone in your pocket to feed GPS data through to your Apple Watch, much of the display could also be routed through to the wrist.

Interacting with the game is already pretty simple, relying mostly on a modified Google Maps, which the Watch is already geared up to display. The crown control would take care of fitting it all onto the small screen, while touches are all that’s needed to fight for the portals at the centre of Ingress.
Reckless Racing

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We don’t know how well the Apple Watch handles fancy graphics, but it’s fair to assume it’s not up to the 3D likes of Reckless Racing. But by the time the Apple Watch 3S arrives in 12 or 18 months (alonging with a forward-facing camera for making WristTime calls), it might be. Right?

Well maybe, maybe not, but the crown control could actually make for a decent micro-steering wheel, with a thumb on the touchscreen to cater for breaking. Combine the two and you’ve got driving game controls complete with power slides.

And if Reckless Racing is just too far outside the box to fantasise about, perhaps something like the one-touch controlled Slingshot Racing is closer to reality for comfort?

Temple Run

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Or any infinite runner, really. The controls are always dead simple, with taps and swipes taking care of most everything this very popular, touchscreen-centric genre needs.

Bringing the viewpoint around to the side, Canabalt style, would take care of any horsepower issues while still keeping the core gameplay neatly intact. Much like Tiny Wings and it’s ilk, a bit of extra depth can be brought into the controls via the pressure sensitive screen.

Perhaps, with the phones hooked up, there’s no reason a game like Temple Run couldn’t adopt a simple multiplayer angle too, with you and another Apple Watch-wielding runner going head-to-head, and wrist-to-wrist.

Space Invaders Infinity Gene

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A game like Space Invaders Infinity Gene, or its coin-op ancestor, might work quite nicely on an Apple Watch. You could use either the touchscreen or the Digital Crown to move the gun turret across the bottom of the screen.

In actual fact, the simple control schemes of retro games - and their low-fi visuals - could make them perfect for the Apple Watch.

How about Missile Command, Scramble, Donkey Kong, Pole Position and Asteroids, all buzzing and beeping like only the freshest neon 80s parties knew how?

Hook these up and we’ll rock that Watch like you wouldn’t believe.

Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.