Let’s face it: most Apple Watch games aren’t that great. It’s not always the fault of the developers either. It’s hard to make great games that really work on the device’s small screen.
However, don’t take that to mean that there aren’t great Apple Watch games out there. In fact, the roster of quality Apple Watch games has grown considerably over just the last year or so. From the usual suspects like puzzle and word games to more complicated strategy titles, the variety of great Apple Watch games is something every device owner must experience.
Here are just some of the best Apple Watch games available today.
Pokémon Go!
Pokemon Go took the world by storm for a brief while. In recent months, though, it feels like you hardly hear about the game. You’d almost swear it was dead.
Fortunately, that’s not the case. Pokemon Go is alive and better than ever. That’s especially true of the miraculous Apple Watch app which makes it possible to play Pokemon Go without needing to constantly stare at your phone. This makes it so much easier – and safer – to enjoy catching wild Pokemon in the neighborhood.
If you stepped away from Pokemon Go, give it another shot on the Apple Watch.
Pocket Bandit
Heist games are great, but you wouldn’t expect to find one on the Apple Watch. Most heist games are complex machines featuring many characters in complex roles. It’s hard to replicate such experiences on a watch.
Pocket Bandit is a different kind of heist game. The gameplay honestly doesn’t boil down to much more than turning a safe lock to find the right numbers. When you hit the right number, your watch vibrates and you lock it in. The fun comes from the many levels, gradually increasing difficulty and the simple joy of the gameplay.
This is one of the ultimate “five-minute killers” on Apple Watch.
Rules!
Rules! has long been one of the best puzzle games for iOS. It should come as no surprise to learn that it’s still great on Apple Watch.
Yet, the Apple Watch version of Rules! is surprising. Just like the base game, this app requires you to complete various levels by following seemingly simple rules. However, the presence of a timer and increasingly difficult rules make the game incredibly addictive.
Rules! may have been simplified for the Apple Watch, but the spirit of the game remains the same. In fact, the simpler Apple Watch version makes it easier than ever to enjoy a quick game.
Tiny Armies
You wouldn’t think the Apple Watch could handle a true strategy game, but Tiny Armies proves that is not the case.
What makes Tiny Armies work on Apple watch is the game’s visuals. By using a series of simple icons to represent in-game units, Tiny Armies manages to maximize the device’s display size. Granted, it’s closer to a tile-laying game than simulated warfare, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the game’s subtly complex but addictive gameplay.
If you want an Apple Watch game that’s just a little different, consider downloading Tiny Armies.
Komrad
Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of developers who want to use the Apple Watch for spy games. Even in a fairly bloated genre market, though, KOMRAD stands out as one of the best.
In KOMRAD, you play a person who has made contact with an advanced A.I. the Soviet Union designed during the Cold War. The only problem is this A.I. doesn’t know the war ended. Now, you must have a conversation with the A.I. in hopes of talking it down.
This narrative adventure is light on gameplay but is utterly fascinating in every other way.
BoxPop
Like many of the best puzzle games, there’s actually not much to BoxPop. It’s just a pretty simple concept that so happens to be perfect for Apple Watch.
As described on the app’s store page, BoxPop basically requires you control a figure that can only move like the knight in Chess. The goal is to pop every box in a level without getting trapped. That goal becomes all the more difficult as the levels grow more complex.
BoxPop feels like one of those games that was made for the Apple Watch even though that’s technically not true.
Twisty Color
Silly name aside, Twisty Color really is one of the most addictive apps on the Apple Watch.
This simple, reflex-based title requires you to control a wheel made of three colors. You just have to rotate the wheel so that incoming colored projectiles hit the area of the same color. It takes seconds to figure out, but the speed of the game ensures that you’re never far away from another challenging run.
Twisty Color really is at its best on the Apple Watch. It’s the kind of game that anyone can fall in love with.
Letter Zap
Word puzzle games tend to work well on Apple Watch. It’s just a shame that there are so few of them worth playing.
Thankfully, there’s always Letter Zap. This puzzle game requires you to unscramble a series of random letters in order to find the hidden word. That process is already more challenging than it seems, but Letter Zap on Apple Watch ups the ante. The extra challenge there comes from a heartbeat mode that reads your heartbeat and uses it to dictate the timer.
Letter Zap is simply a clever game that’s always a good time.
Best Fiends
Look, not everybody falls for the most innovative and clever apps. Sometimes, you just want something mindless and cute. That’s why Candy Crush is so popular.
Actually, Best Fiends is pretty similar to Candy Crush. Just like that runaway hit, Best Fiends sees you match three or more icons on a puzzle grid in order to clear them. Unlike Candy Crush, Best Fiends features a very light story that manages to inject quite a bit of atmosphere into the basic gameplay.
If you’re being honest with yourself, this is the kind of app you’ll probably return to again and again.
Cosmos Rings
Square Enix, the studio behind the legendary Final Fantasy series, set out to make an RPG specifically for Apple Watch. Most people thought they were crazy.
However, Cosmos Rings shows that there’s some merit to the concept. This iPhone/Apple Watch game isn’t very deep, but it’s certainly clever. By requiring you to perform some time traveling and time manipulation via the Apple Watch’s interface, Cosmos Rings manages to use the watch as an effective companion piece.
This app won’t replace the hardcore RPG in your life, but it’s worth playing based on its own ideas.
Nuggetz
Of the many, many simple games supported by the Apple Watch, there may be none simpler than Nuggetz.
The entirety of Nuggetz gameplay consists of identifying colors. The twist is that the color is shown in the form of letters that spell out the name of another color. As it turns out, getting your brain to consistently separate the color itself from the name your shown isn’t that easy.
Nuggetz is a surprisingly great brain training tool that’s also just a lot of fun. Trying to beat your record can be insanely addictive.
Runeblade
It seems that the best Apple Watch RPGs are actually the ones that use the Apple Watch as a companion piece. While their inclusion might constitute cheating to a degree, these games really do represent some of the most interesting uses of the Apple Watch.
That’s certainly the case with Runeblade. This RPG uses the Apple Watch to expand the RPG’s interface. In other words, it makes it so that you can enjoy the simple fantasy adventure and spend less time in menus.
The idea is great, and the execution is excellent. This is the Apple Watch RPG you need.
Snappy Word
Generally speaking, there’s not much to word search games. The fun usually comes through their familiarity. At best, you get one that manages to be just different enough to feel fresh.
That’s roughly what Snappy Word offers. This word search game gives you some blank spaces and a few letters. It’s your job to find all the words you can make using those letters.
The interface is brilliant, but what really sells this app are the various modes. You can even message a friend and challenge them to complete a level the fastest. This simple app actually has a lot to offer.
Tamagotchi Classic
In case you didn’t know, there was a time when the world became fascinated by Tamagotchis. These digital pets on keychains could be found in every school. The fad eventually died, but the memory remains.
If you want to relive the Tamagotchi glory days, there’s always the Apple Watch app. This app is pretty much just the Tamagotchi keychain game you remember plus a few new features. That’s no problem, though, if you just want to relive some nostalgia.
Even if you weren’t into the originals, this Tamagotchi app is compelling enough to attract new users.
Elevate
It wasn’t that long ago that brain training apps were everywhere. While the concept’s popularity has declined somewhat over the years, the appeal remains the same. After all, who doesn’t love testing their brain in a fun way?
Elevate really is the best brain trainer on Apple Watch. The variety of puzzles featured in the app combined with its various stats makes it a surprisingly effective way to stay sharp. It doesn’t hurt that the game itself is actually pretty fun.
Whether you’re looking to stay sharp or learn a few new things, Elevate is an essential Apple Watch experience.
Bubblegum Hero
Every now and then, you hear about an app concept that you have to see to believe. Bubblegum Hero is that app.
Essentially a different take on the rhythm genre, Bubblegum Hero requires you to blow bubbles of various sizes. If the bubble is too small, you miss out on a multiplier. If it’s too big, you can lose outright. The mechanics used to dictate the difference ensures that you’ll constantly need to hone your skills if you’re going to progress.
It may sound unusual, but Bubblegum Hero really is a fantastic gaming app.
Field Day
Another puzzle game? Hey, it turns out that the Apple Watch just so happens to excel at delivering compelling puzzle experiences.
Besides, Field Day has more to offer than just some tile matching. One part puzzle game, one part farm simulator, this app takes simple, planting-based puzzle gameplay and uses it as the basis for something larger. The game’s mission-based structure means there is always something new to do, and the crop gameplay never fails to remain enticing.
There’s a lot going on in Field Day, but the fact that you never feel like there is too much going on ensures that it’s easy to return to.
Lifeline
If you’re looking for your first Apple Watch game, you could certainly do worse than this one some have called the device’s very best.
Lifeline is an adventure game that plays out in real-time. You’re tasked with helping an astronaut who has crash-landed on a distant planet. Not only do you get updates via notifications that keep you up-to-speed on the story’s progress, but the story itself will change based on the decisions you make.
This is a shockingly well-written game with gameplay that makes the most out of the format. You’ve got to experience it.
The Martian: Bring Him Home
Honestly, The Martian is pretty similar to Lifeline in a lot of respects. Both are adventure games that require you to help an astronaut survive on a distant planet. This one just so happens to be based on the book and movie of the same name.
However, the biggest difference is the increased difficulty of The Martian. This game’s various puzzles typically rely on some kind of technology or scientific principles. You don’t need to be an expert to solve them, but a little knowledge can help you make the right decisions.
This app offers a surprisingly smart adventure that tells an engaging story.
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