Almost all great iPhone games can be sorted into three major categories: bathroom, train or airplane. Bathroom games offer up a few minutes of snap fun but don’t hold up under the scrutiny of lengthy play sessions. Train games are too meaty or complex for short bathroom visits but offer up the perfect morning commute distraction. Finally, airplane games give gamers a full console-quality experience. They might cost more, but they can provide hours of unbroken entertainment.
Mobile gaming moves so fast it can be hard to keep up, even if you subscribe to IGN’s daily App Store Update. If you’re a busy gamer looking for the scoop on which time-killer, commute-easer or 20-hour epic to pick up, we’ve got you covered.
Of the three categories, these quick-hit bathroom games are the most often misunderstood by gamers. They’re simple time killers. By design they are ultra-casual and ultra-simple. Short rounds of Fruit Ninja or Angry Birds aren’t meant to replace the time you spend with Skyrim or Call of Duty. They are meant to replace the time you spent reading the back of the shampoo bottle.
“OK, I’m going to go off the ceiling, through the teleporter, onto the conveyor belt and then nothing but net.”
Gasketball is an asynchronous multiplayer game with a set of H.O.R.S.E.-style rules. You compete with your friends (or strangers) to see who can create the most elaborate shots possible using an ever-escalating set collection of gadgets and obstacles. The catch is that before sending a challenge to your friends, you have to successfully make the shot yourself. It’s a lesson in physics, motor skills and puzzle design all rolled into one.
Get a few games going, then kill any free minutes catching up on your turns.
Honorable Mention: Pitfall
Gamers that drive to work can’t truly appreciate the commuting doldrums of those that travel via bus or train. Sure people-watching is entertaining for a while, but eventually more gamers will strive for a meaty mobile game to fill the time. It needs to be lightweight enough that it doesn’t require your full attention but deep enough to remain fun for plenty of 20-30+ minute rides.
Cafeteria Nipponica (More Info) (Buy)
Famed sim-maker Kairosoft’s latest gives gamers the opportunity to build and run their own collection of restaurants. Hire staff, set the décor, find ingredients, discover recipes and more. Cafeteria Nipponica is not in Kairosoft’s top tier. The player doesn’t make enough major decisions to break the feeling that the game is on rails, and too much time is spent simply waiting for money to accumulate. But it’s still a perfect train game because it's tailor-made for medium-length gameplay sessions. By the time you get to work you’ll have managed at least one major restaurant upgrade or recipe breakthrough. You’re always one step away from the next big reward.
Airplane Games are best for gamers that have serious time to kill. At their best, a good airplane game will provide a console-quality experience free from compromise. At the very least it should offer up enough hours of unbroken fun to help you forget the screaming baby in the seat behind you.
Organ Trail: Director’s Cut (More Info) (Buy)
Organ Trail’s premise is simple: imagine the classic PC & Apple II sim Oregon Trail… but with zombies. It is every bit as bleak and awesome as you’re probably imagining. For bonus dark humor, name your party after your friends. In my first game Colin Moriarity was instantly abducted by bandits and killed in the rescue attempt. Daemon Hatfield lost an arm and eventually succumbed to his wounds when I ran out of medkits. Andrew Goldfarb was bitten and I was forced to put him down before he turned on the group.
Your station wagon losing its muffler becomes a major concern due to its noise-attracting undead. Bison-hunting has been replaced with frantic zombie defense scenarios. Every new city you visit has a ravaged, post-apocalyptic skyline lovingly rendered with a small handful of blocky colors.
Honorable Mention: World Conqueror II
Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. He has been reviewing cell phone games since the dark days of Java flip phones. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
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