These are good iPad games that offer a fun, clever, elegant, or otherwise good experience. For Web games, see my other good games list. -mark
| Name | Price | Date Added | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Crate Box | Pick up a crate, get the weapon, then blast your way to the next crate. Difficulty is high, but the tight gameplay and overall elegance of the design make it worth trying out. | $1.99 | Feb 13, 2012 |
| Reflexions | Line up the mirrors to bounce the proton onto the target. Solidly designed puzzle game. (Tx, C.H.) | $1.99 | Jan 3, 2012 |
| Temple Run | Clever knockoff of Indiana Jones: as the hero runs through the temple from the bad guys, swipe to turn, jump, and duck to avoid obstacles. Surprisingly good for a free download. | Free | Dec 12, 2011 |
| Where's My Water? | This one's a winner: elegant, fun, unique. Remove obstacles for the water to flow to the friendly alligator's bath. | $0.99 | Dec 5, 2011 |
| Scribblenauts Remix | Solve each puzzle by typing the name of anything you need to solve it - a ladder, a pegasus, a giant yellow dog. Clever and imaginative for anyone, though more oriented toward younger players. Originally a very popular game on the Nintendo DS system, now on iPad and iPhone. | $4.99 | Oct 20, 2011 |
| Otomata | A music maker. Not exactly a game, but a fun and easy toy to create minimalist masterpieces. (This is the iPhone/iPad version; there's also a free Web version.) | $0.99 | Aug 3, 2011 |
| Bumpy Road | Attractive visual design and comfortably simple game play in this cute, kid-friendly adventure. Tap the screen to make the car jump over streams and onto platforms. | $2.99 | Jul 27, 2011 |
| Ticket to Ride | Another example of the iPad becoming a board game platform. This is a faithful recreation of the fun, easy to learn board game of the same name. Lay tracks to create routes between your assigned cities. (Note: Currently the multiplayer mode is online only, with no pass-and-play - say, for a partner sitting there on the couch.) | $6.99 | Jun 7, 2011 |
| Mozzle | A unique twist on jigsaw puzzles: here the pieces come from an on-screen animation. Drag them into the correct position to solve the "mozzle" (motion puzzle). | $0.99 | Apr 10, 2011 |
| Sword & Sworcery EP | Long-awaited adventure game, meticulously designed for the iPad. Got an enthusiastic review upon launch. (via) | $4.99 | Mar 24, 2011 |
| Solitaire | Nicely done port of the classic Solitaire game for Windows. I was inspired to try it out by this post by Matt Haughey, who praised the gameplay and Game Center achievements. (There's also a free iPhone version with ads.) | $0.99 | Feb 15, 2011 |
| Three Little Pigs and the Secrets of a Popup Book | Delightful. Telling the familiar story of the porcine trio, this virtual popup book lets you push, pull, and rotate elements just as you would in a physical book. The twist is the x-ray button, which shows the mechanical workings inside each page. Art direction, music, and mechanical engineering come together to create a uniquely good experience. (Looks best on iPad, though also works on the iPhone.) | $3.99 | Feb 15, 2011 |
| World of Goo | Build sticky goo-structures to achieve the goal. Nice use of the iPad's size and touchscreen - arguably better than the existing Mac/PC version of the game. | $4.99 | Feb 7, 2011 |
| Carcassonne | Beautifully designed version of the popular board game (as recommended in past Uncle Mark guides) - especially nice on the iPad. Solitaire mode is nicely done. Only drawback: $10 feels a bit high. | $9.99 | Jan 21, 2011 |
| Dungeon Defenders | For advanced gamers who enjoy D&D and tower defense, this is a surprisingly rich, full-featured game. Not recommended for casual gamers. | $2.99 | Jan 10, 2011 |
| Infinity Blade | Cinematic and impressive, if a bit over-serious: swordfight many baddies and upgrade your skills and equipment. (Quicker and more elegant is Beast Boxing, which has a similar fighting mechanic without all the D&D baggage.) Same app works on both iPhone and iPad. | $5.99 | Dec 21, 2010 |
| The Incident | Jump higher and higher on the pile of items that continually fall around you. Weird inversion of Tetris. Works great on both iPhone and iPad. | $1.99 | Nov 1, 2010 |
| Shot Shot Shoot | Unique game, sort of a blend of Missile Command and Pong, best in two-player mode, which makes great use of the iPad's size for head-to-head competition. An early example of the multiplayer iPad games to come. | $1.99 | Oct 18, 2010 |
| Keltis Oracle | A board game, essentially, on the iPad - good for one player, but works for up to four. It requires a few minutes to go through the tutorial but is fun and easy to play once you do. We'll see more board games for the iPad; this is an early indication of what's coming. (This download also includes an iPhone version, but it's much better on the iPad.) | $4.99 | Sep 8, 2010 |
| Osmos for iPad | Unique, fun, meditative. Grow your circle (is it a planet? a cell? a balloon?) by bumping into smaller circles. Great ambient soundtrack. (This is the iPad version.) | $4.99 | Aug 26, 2010 |
| Solipskier | Fun skiing game - draw the slope to make big jumps. (Single purchase of the app gets iPhone and iPad versions - both nicely designed.) There's also a free Web version. | $2.99 | Aug 19, 2010 |
| eBoy FixPix | Tilt the device to align the layers of pixels to reveal the full picture. 100 fun, quick levels. | $1.99 | Jul 9, 2010 |
| Orbital HD | Great new game, a bigger and better version of Orbital Free for the iPhone. Here in HD the two-player mode is outstanding and could never have been created without the iPad. Elements of air hockey and billiards. | $2.99 | May 7, 2010 |
| Angry Birds | Slingshot birds to knock down structures. Similar to the Web game Crush the Castle, but cuter. Plays well on both iPhone and iPad. | $0.99 | May 5, 2010 |
| Galcon Fusion | Fast-paced, intuitive war game - like playing Risk in 60 seconds. This version, Fusion, is built for an iPad-sized screen. Play solo or multiplayer over Wifi. The price is admittedly high but it's probably the best multiplayer strategy game for the iPad. | $7.99 | May 5, 2010 |
| Flight Control HD | Land planes on the correct runway by dragging flight paths. The extra screen size improves on the excellent iPhone version. Includes 2-player mode. | $4.99 | Apr 14, 2010 |
| KDice Trainer | A faster version of Risk, for one player (against computer players). Actually released as an iPhone game, it works much better on the iPad. Full-screen mode makes small territories much easier to distinguish. | $2.99 | Apr 14, 2010 |
| Plants vs. Zombies | Cultivate plants to keep zombies off your lawn. Cute fun. (Previously just a PC game, now an iPad game.) | $9.99 | Apr 10, 2010 |
| Scrabble | The classic. Play 1 player or multiplayer. Optionally use iPhones as letter racks. Engadget called it (here) "the best $1,000 you ever spent on a board game." Includes annoying usability errors but perhaps they'll be fixed in future versions. | $9.99 | Apr 10, 2010 |
