While simple in premise, Turret Commander is a fun mindless way to burn away a few hours. It may not provide the most variety or impress visually, but there is just something about the addicting mechanics that will keep you coming back, round after round.

Despite its somewhat twitch gameplay, Min – A Space Adventure really is more about quickly but passively reacting to what is happening on screen rather than directly engaging with it. However, sometimes reacting to something cool and interesting is engaging in its own way. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

It's a format that many will have played in a slightly different guise, but that doesn't stop Words of Wonder being rather good fun.

This game is a no brainer for any fan of the physics puzzler genre, especially at a price of just $0.99 for a universal app.

Arcade games were designed back in the day to be insanely hard in an effort to eat up quarters. While the modern arcade is more of a novelty at this point, the spirit of difficulty still remains in a title such as this.

A Mean Girls tower defense game makes way more sense than you'd think.

The gameplay is addicting and even with a clear end to the game, it'll take you some hours to finish. Everything is well-balanced, and the evolution of the game as you progress just makes it better.

Exterminate the infestation of robots by creating paths of conveyor belts to reach their targets. It's a fun, unique, and addicting arcade puzzle game.

This roguelite deckbuilder isn’t perfect on mobile but it has enough charm and novelty to make it worth playing.

Deep Dungeons of Doom is more than just a goofy title. It's also a surprisingly great distillation of action RPG elements.

The shooter portion of Commando Jack is really the most interesting part of the game: the rest of it feels like a fairly traditional genre entry, though the maps have layouts that are interesting to strategize on. This isn't the worst thing in the world, though: just having that interactivity by itself is enough of a wrinkle to make this a definite recommendation for even the most world-weary tower defense fan.

Its emphasis on slow-burn cash earning creates a different pace than the titles fans might be more accustomed to, but it's every bit as addictive and charming.

This high-octane endless runner will challenge your reflexes and put a smile on your face.

While the inclusion of a pass-and-play option is nice, it's fairly pointless when the game needs an online connection to simply start up. Still, once a game (or several) is going it can be plenty of fun. Especially earning the ticket pot after coming in first.

Hexuma is a beautiful mathematical puzzler where players must connect tiles in order to create a correct calculation as quickly as possible.

The simple graphics are clean and work really well. The controls are responsive and the racing is tons of fun. There's no reason not to give Pocket Racing 2 a try.

Little Rockets starts out slow and easy, which had me worried for a bit, but it gets much tougher after those introductory levels. And that's a good thing. It comes down to trial-and-error most of the time, but it's plenty satisfying when that perfect score is finally earned.

Prepare to embark on a platforming adventure in the name of universal balance.

Even if you're not a fan of stealth games, Sneak Ops is fast-paced, clever, and fun enough for everyone to enjoy.

Antigen has some control issues to work through, but on the whole, it's anything but an antiseptic experience.

The virtual joystick and buttons can be a bit unresponsive and sluggish at times, but they work well enough to allow players to enjoy the game.

Go Rally is an excellent game that offers a near unlimited amount of racing fun. It may not feel as fast or flashy as some other titles out there, but it's great fun nonetheless.

Snowball!! is a remarkably straightforward pinball game, which might be a good or bad thing depending on who you are. I imagine this game won't quite appeal to folks that loved what PinOut!! did to pinball on mobile, for example. It's not the deepest experience in the world, but it doesn't really have to be. Much like a fresh snowfall, Snowball!! is best appreciated for its simple purity.

Players can view stats and achievements for each game, which is really nice. The app tracks many different stats and even will display the info in a chart. Word Chums has a ton of content and everything anyone could want, except a lower price, from a word game.

Dungeon Nightmares is truly one of the most immersive and scariest experiences on iOS for some time.

I love grappling hooks, and this game is chock-full of hooking action.

Moon Control is a little like Lunar Lander and Flight Control cranked up to 11, making for a pretty intense reflex game.

Other than the screen limitations however, Special Enquiry Detail: The Hand that Feeds is a pretty solid hidden object style game. Offering a bit more to the genre than just spotting objects, there's some extra longevity here and the 12 chapters in all feel sturdy enough in length to make the asking price of $4.99 reasonable.

As an advertising tool for the actual event, World Series of Poker is a great free game that offers plenty to see and do. If you are in any way curious about the lifestyle or in any way talented in the ways of Texas Hold-em, it is an app well worth downloading.

Diver Dogs is the cutest undersea animal rescue game on the App Store, by far.

Continuing the dark trend started by the first episode, Cognition: Episode 2 is a sometimes quite brutal serial killer focused adventure game.

Toca Hair Salon Me now allows players to add a photo to create a character in which to create a new look.

Pinball Arcade is an impressive title, and one that is bound to please pinball fans. It's a shame a couple of issues get in the way.

Fury of the Gods is tough at times, at least until learning the value of using abilities over straight tapping, but it’s more than enough fun to make up for it. The small stable of gods to play as still offer plenty of levels to enjoy and plenty of abilities to unlock and upgrade.

Help get jellyfish to safety in this gorgeously flowing roguelike of a sort.

Cross Fingers is a very serene and intelligent game, and feels like something you can only experience on the iPhone. It's a great puzzler, as well as a nice demonstration of what some multi-touch can offer.

Were it not for the fairly hefty price and just as hefty storage requirements (1.2 gigs) I'd easily recommend Spectral Souls for any strategy RPG enthusiasts. I'll recommend it anyway, actually, but these are some factors that are most definitely worth weighing.

You are never full in control of things in Bad North, and that’s part of what makes it such a tense strategy game.

Make juice or die in this wacky fight for human survival.

ISLANDS is so beautiful and haunting that you cannot walk away from the experience unmoved. It's definitely not your typical game experience, but it's absolutely one worth having.

In an age where far too many physics puzzle games try to stump the audience into submission, Tito’s Shell proves that variety can be just as fun. Though the title may not be overly long, the process of perfecting each level could end of being a tremendous time suck. Never has venturing into the deep dark unknown sounded like so much fun.

Hybrid games can be tough to pull off, but Foursaken Media makes it look easy. Not only is Block Fortress great, but it does a wonderful job of catering to all three of its core game types. Fans of just about anything should definitely think about taking the $1.99 plunge.

If you are eager to take on new challenges with your favorite birds, then dropping $0.99 on Angry Birds Rio is a no-brainer. For those who have Angry Birds fatigue and have had their fill, there is nothing dramatically new to pull you in.

Roll Back Home may have an incredibly familiar platformer structure, but it's what it does with its look and how it feels that make it worthwhile.

The graphics are excellent and the sound effects are good, too.

Big Win Blackjack does blackjack and it does it well. It's just that that's about all it does. But if that's what an iOS user is looking for, then there's no reason for them to avoid it. Especially since it's a free download.

If you want to take your loot shooting on the go, I can’t think of a better game to pick up than Gigantic X. It’s top down shooting is fun and satisfying in its own right, and the game has varied and interesting gear to keep you on the grind.

Sideways Racing makes for a great arcade racer. Harking back to the old days of top down racing is an excellent move and it makes Sideways Racing all the more endearing.

Pi-Pi-Ee successfully balances simple rules with strategic depth.

Champion of the Gods is a compelling Choose Your Own Adventure story.

The great controls and unique gameplay make Day Night a fun game with plenty of challenge. Definitely something here for players looking for something different.

Of all of Knizia's games, Kingdoms is definitely one of the less immediately accessible examples. That said, it can also be one of the most rewarding and entertaining once that barrier for entry is broken down. Although I think I'm always going to hate that stupid dragon tile.

An ideal stress reliever. It might take a little while to get going but once it does and some upgrades have been unlocked, it's quite fun despite its repetitive elements.

BuggyFun allows children to create their own tracks for bugs to interact with for a unique open-ended experience.

Turning a five minute session into a much longer session is a tough job for any iOS game but this one manages it well.

Gridrunner, much like the rest of Jeff Minter's games on iOS, is a must-buy. He's actually one of the few developers that I would buy a game from as soon as I found out it was available, and I'll keep up with this.

It doesn't matter if a painting is beautiful. If it's only half of the picture, it's impossible to predict the quality of the end product. The same also applies here.

Puzzle Dungeons manages to balance fun, challenge, and progress quite successfully. Each of the three playable characters offers up a unique set of abilities (and by extension, strategies), and there's never any real punishment for failure.

Exceptionally good fun. It's an enjoyable re-imagining of a tried and tested formula and one that easily offers that 'one more go' factor.

Thanks to microtransactions that hog the spotlight, Dropple may very well be one of the most generous free offerings released in this New Year. When the barrier to entry is this low, there is no excuse not to put the game through its paces.

It turns out that sometimes the simplest of ideas really are the most fun. I was impressed to see just how fast time went once I got into Tasty Planet and found myself working my way through each level. My only complaint is that it might be a little too easy as there's a definite lack of peril here, bar larger things being able to reduce your size.

Tumbledrop just oozes cuteness. Thankfully, there's a substantial, challenging physics puzzle underneath that sugar-sweet skin.

Standing in the path of a rampaging dragon is never fun. Being a rampaging dragon, on the other hand, is quite entertaining.

Minerollr puts a new spin - and a new layer of difficulty - on the classic Minesweeper formula. Hardcore fans rejoice.

The difficulty level is a little inconsistent with some puzzles proving much harder than others despite being earlier in the game. Other than that, however, The Hacker is a great idea that stands out from the crowd. Mini games alone might have made for a mediocre title but with the backing of an original interface and storyline, The Hacker is well worth a look at a bargain price.

Baseball Superstars 2011 is still far from being a perfect game, and the changes in this year's version are really only minor tweaks to the overall formula. But the minor tweaks add up to make this a better game, in some ways, even if the pitching is still far from perfect.

This endless runner literally flips traditional gameplay formulas for the genre on its side, making for a distinctly radical experience.

I did enjoy my time with Avengers Alliance, but it required a bit more patience than most freemium titles I’m used to because of all the down time. However, it’s still an entertaining game about recruiting a bunch of superheroes and fighting lots of supervillains, and who doesn’t enjoy stuff like that?

High Rise is a surprisingly novel puzzler that rises above the competition.

Bungle! is a simple, silly reflex game that's lots more fun than working a cruddy summer job.

Being able to play XCOM 2: War of the Chosen on iOS is a good time, even if the port is far from perfect.

Prepare for chillaxing while busting aliens in Chillaxian.

I've just been having an absolute blast with Zombies and I can't wait to jump back in for more. An update with some slightly more forgiving hit boxes for the control sticks would certainly be nice, but it's nowhere near a necessity. Grab it. Play it. Love it.

Hero Bears is not only an adorable endless runner, but half of all profits benefit the UK-based Help for Heroes charity.

Through Mr Fiddle tends to amble at a snail's pace, his adventure still offers fun and intrigue.

Time travel through your social media feed in this creative and thoughtful interactive fiction game.

Even with the annoyances, Nose Invaders still manages to be quite a bit of fun. So long as breaks are taken from the occasional irritation.

An extremely well put together, although short experience. The controls are on the cusp of being perfect for the genre, the graphics and sound are top notch, and the online gameplay is definitely a glimpse into what iPhone FPS multiplayer will be like.

Fans of puzzle games will definitely get a kick out of Portaball, but its unforgiving nature and lack of any real graphics or sound will turn away some. If you can get past the utilitarian design, Portaball really is a good game.

Excluding the weak mini games, Tapper World Tour is pretty good fun. It's not long before it's quite tough, but it is fairly addictive.

Cally's Caves 2 is a very decent mobile action game, though the lack of recovery time after getting hit makes it unnecessarily difficult in spots.

The first chapter of Space Marshals 3 is more of the same great stealth/action that made the first two games worth playing.

Riptide GP 2 improves on the fast-paced hydro jet racing action of its predecessor, adding new tracks, vehicles, and tricks for players to splash around with.

Guide trucks along their delivery routes in RGB Express, a testing but charming puzzle game.

This arcade-style sports game is still in its early stages, but already shows a great deal of promise.

The love put into every sprite and asset oozes from the screen, and also, there's pudding with a monocle.

This isn't a title for adrenaline junkies, but Underground Kingdom is ideal for adventure fans. I'm hopeful to see future titles from Choose Your Own Adventure covered on the App Store.

I found Survivor Z an ideal game to drop into on a daily basis, hopeful that I’d continue to survive, especially when travelling further afield. Fans should greatly enjoy the change of focus, much as I did.

Even though I worry about Train Crisis HD+'s longevity, what's already there is certainly worth it. I can't get over just how much more interesting everything became once a few of those new elements were introduced. And to think, there's potentially at least twice as much game looming on the horizon!

For a free game, Freekick Battle's core gameplay is compelling enough that those who don't choose to indulge in the shop shouldn't feel too cheated. Conversely, while its extra content is weird and superfluous, it's still a nice option to have. Freekick Battle is great for anyone looking for an on-the-go soccer fix.

Surprisingly tactical, Tile Temple Tactics is a fun board game all about gaining the highest scoring tiles.

In all honesty, it's pretty shallow at its core but at least it's shallow with some effort put into it.

A game that's been around for thousands of years may need a face lift. Here it is, done to the plight of the middle class office worker.

Slender Man Origins is so satisfyingly creepy that most people probably won't notice the complete lack of an origin story.

Galactic Alliance 2 doesn't do much to set itself apart from the rest of the genre. What it does do differently though, multiplayer, it does quite well. That alone makes it worth a look.

The gameplay manages to be deep yet accessible, and will draw the player in for hours.

Earthcore: Shattered Elements is slow to start, but it builds quite nicely.

Overall there's a lot of game here. Well made for those that like to sit down and play for hours or just play in quick bursts. If you enjoy strategy games, you'll enjoy Plants vs. Zombies.