If you’re looking for something a little different in the falling blocks category, or just want to see what comes after the brilliance that was Pair Solitaire, Domino Drop is an easy recommendation.

A Normal Lost Phone is thoughtfully designed, leveraging voyeurism, curiosity, responsibility, and compassion to tell a strong, character-driven story unlocked through satisfying puzzle-solving.

If you’ve got the time and the storage to spare and love card battlers, or if for some reason it took The Elder Scrolls to finally drag you into this genre, you’re going to want to give this game a try and very well might find it your newest mobile addiction. Let’s hear it for iteration.

The menus may not look like much, but Jaipur is a great port of a fun game. The tutorial isn’t useless, the game itself is enjoyable, there are several different options when it comes to how you want to play. I can’t stress enough just how nice it is to play a board game conversion that actually understands how sometimes a basic 1:1 port just doesn’t cut it. This is good stuff, and you should play it if you like board games – digital or otherwise.

With the ability to upgrade your weapons, collect pets, and increase your stats, there’s a constant sense of progression in WitchSpring R. It’s one of the best things about it, and makes it an essential purchase for RPG fans.

The Major impresses where it counts: gameplay and innovation.

Ultimately this is an improved version of an already almost perfect strategy game, and its bulkier sequel isn’t bad either. We recommend you sign up forthwith.

Radiant Defense is still a tower defense game, but it's a really good one. Your iOS device is no doubt already packed with games in this genre, but you'll start clearing them out once you have this title.

Perhaps best of all, there’s no energy system or other restriction on how much you can play at one time. That might be the ticket to figuring all of Earthcore out, sifting through the different layers of strategy and getting a handle on all the cards available.

Even if you’re not necessarily a Yo-Kai Watch fan, Wibble Wobble is a puzzle game worth checking out. And if you are a fan, I think it’s going to keep you busy. At least, so long as you know to expect a matching puzzler and not a ghost-hunting RPG.

The Blockheads is missing the real secret sauce that made Minecraft king of the current gaming zeitgeist: community.

If you’re a fan of city building games, then you will love this. If your not a fan of city building games, then you’ll love it more. It is the perfect game to spend any train journeys playing, it fills you with a real sense of accomplishment and does tedious activities like collecting revenue from shops automatically. Your focus is very much on what do I build next, how do I increase my revenue and keep my city safe.

An utterly adorable iOS app. The game is approachable, offers plenty of bang for your buck, and the enjoyment you'll get out of playing through its many levels is priceless. I do wish earned stars were currency I could do more with, but for the asking price, Early Bird is about as good as mobile gaming gets.

Despite its control issues, Bee Leader is a game I feel every iDevice owner should try. Like a honeycomb dripping honey, it oozes quality from nearly every facet.

Feast or Famine limps along at times, but as a whole, it deserves a spot near the top of the endless runner food chain. Grab it, hunt down a Big Mac, and play.

You get to meet all these quirky characters, you finally have levels where there is more to do then swallow everything, but then the game just ends. I like everything about this game, it’s just too short to recommend.

Grumpy though I may seem about it, I actually kind of love Thimbleweed Park. It’s got a couple of weak spots, sure, but I’ve got no problem parroting all of the other reviews that have called it a love letter to classic point-and-click adventure games. They were right. So if you like that kind of stuff and you haven’t tried Thimbleweed Park yet for whatever reason, now is as good a time as any to see what the fuss is about.

Slingshot Racing is as smooth graphically as it is in its tether turning system, and it's well worth a spin into your app library.

If you were a fan of the original, Junk Jack X is going to need a place on your iPad.

As a highly competent two-stick shooter, there is no reason not to recommend it. If you have fun with it for an hour and never play it again, it will have been worth your money. Chances are you will have fun with it for at least that long. But will you be playing Darkside two weeks from now? I doubt it.

In every way imaginable, Bardbarian steps up as the perfect mobile experience, and it has everything you could ever want in a video game, for that matter: a fun-loving presentation, a seamless blend of different gameplay types, and an addictive balance of challenge and progression that will always keep you coming back for more.

As a fan of battling card games like Magic: The Gathering and Shadow Era, Kard Combat scratched my card-fighting itch sublimely. The game is simple enough that anyone can pick it up, yet deep enough that a tougher opponent can really test your skills.

At first glance, Shake Spears! seems rather shallow and repetitive. But it turns out that isn't the case. There's a surprising amount of strategy involved with the gameplay, especially in the latter portions of the title. As a result, there's a lot of challenge, depth, and fun.

Offers what might be the most ideal word game in the series yet. The rounds are long enough to be engaging but short enough that you can play them in between other things. This coupled with the refined and accessible "With Friends" structure makes Scramble With Friends one of the better asynchronous mobile games available today.

McPixel does perhaps the most audacious thing of all: embrace the idea that joy in gaming comes in equal measure from knowing what you're doing and having absolutely no clue. Betting big on the concept that games aren't simple tests of what you can already do, but tests to see how much you're willing to learn. And hey. It doesn't hurt that Sosowski packs every scene with video-game related in jokes, pop culture references, and intertextual nods to earlier characters, improbably crafting a world one twenty second scene at a time.

Breakout is a classic game, but a little bit dry. Super Bunny Breakout has a couple of hiccups, but it's a cute, worthy upgrade of an arcade mainstay. It also serves as a good indication that both Atari and Zynga might be getting the hang of developing stuff for this "mobile game" fad.

Quell Memento is an easy recommendation, if not a must play, for fans of puzzles, indie-style games, art games, people who want their games to take story more seriously, and anyone with an iDevice in need of a new relaxing distraction. Quell Memento is ideally suited for mobile play, and exactly what I want from a mobile title, and games in general.

One of those mobile games that are so simple they just work. The swiping/tapping mechanism will be familiar to everyone, even kids, and the bright colors and easy-to-see stars make it a very accessible game. Star Thief also has a lot of replay value, a good variety of environments, and straightforward gameplay that doesn't punish you if you're not an iOS virtuoso. Extraordinarily enjoyable on every level!

As it stands, Almightree is a capable puzzle game offering a unique assortment of challenges that fall just short of their potential.

As the third iteration in Pixelbyte’s Reckless Racing franchise, Reckless Racing 3 continues to deliver the excellent gaming experience that the series has become known for.

The game will be enjoyed most by players already familiar with the aspects of Icewind Dale and are seeking a mobile dosage of Dungeons and Dragons on the go. But if you’re not a seasoned veteran, approach these cold mountains with caution.

The App Store might be cluttered with near hits and near misses, clones, copycats, and one-week wonders, but every now and then a game like Pair Solitaire comes along and reminds us that the mobile marketplace can be a place where simple genius can shine. Threes! was one great example of that this year, and Pair Solitaire is another.

Star Wars Rebels: Recon Mission does a lot of things right: it features a fair and flexible IAP system, it respects the Star Wars source material, and it offers an easy-to-play control scheme for a platformer on a touchscreen device.

I’m a firm believer that Loot & Legends will approach or reach the heights of Card Hunter, but I can only review games in the forms they take when we can actually download them to our tablets. This one is an unstable version of a classic for now, so here’s hoping we can revisit it in a few months and find it’s realized its full potential.

Circa Infinity will certainly frustrate you but never so much that you quit.

This is a brilliant, engaging and intelligent use of mobile tech to tell an important story. It’s rich in all the right ways, and will leave you thinking long after you’ve put it down.

For some Frog Detective won’t offer enough actual detective work, but it’s still a gently amusing ride that will certainly appeal to younger gamers.

It’s a very short title, but anyone looking for a chilled puzzle experience should be checking out Paper Trail.

Overall Islets is a brilliant take on the Metroidvania genre though. The fast paced gameplay, brilliant boss battles, and interesting characters, all add up to it being a beautiful and unique take on the genre.

Some might be quick to call games like Spellsword a copycat, but when a game improves on its inspiration in just about every way imaginable like Spellsword does, it's hard to justify such labels. While Super Crate Box may have invented the formula, Spellsword elevates it to the next level. Fans of SCB, consider yourself warned – you have your new addiction.

Sneaky Sneaky makes one of the most compelling cases I’ve seen this year for premium experiences on mobile, and – quite fittingly – sneaks under the wire as one of the best titles of 2014.

Between these two interlocking gameplay hemispheres, Star Trek: Fleet Command has a huge amount to offer. Fans of the series should enjoy the game’s sense of exploration and its idiosyncratic cast of characters, while fans of strategy-MMORPGs in general should appreciate this novel take on the genre. If you choose to boldly go, you won’t be disappointed.

In fact, other than the so-so synthesizer soundtrack and lack of additional content once you've completed the Puzzle Mode, Collision Effect is a really compelling game.

Hunters: Episode One is a good title that's on the verge of being absolutely great. Aside from needing some bugs fixed, the game could also use some story missions to provide a solid narrative that players can get behind.

Best of all, it’s enjoyable - even when you sigh at yourself for the twentieth time because you were foolish and ran too fast. For those reasons, this is a particularly classy hardcore dungeon crawler.

One of the best racing games available on iOS, rivaled only by Firemint's own Real Racing series.

If you’re looking for an addictive, challenging, creative game that’s perfectly suited for mobile play (and why wouldn’t you be?), then Zoombies: Animals de la Muerte is the zoo for you. The game doesn’t overstay its welcome, and intelligent design decisions ensure that failure prompts you to retry the level rather than delete the app. Unlike first-person shooters with virtual sticks, this is a game that belongs on the iPhone, and belongs on yours.

In truth, it’s clear the developers of Fates Forever were trying to build something very much akin to Blizzard’s casual hit – boiling down push-and-pull of MOBA into something quick, simple, and great to look at (the game looks great, by the way, though the human/animal character design is uninspiring). They just happened to reveal the limitations of doing so in the process.

If you’re strongly attached to another racing game, switching to GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience will be a hard sell, despite its lack of price tag.

There’s no story, dialogue, interesting art style, humor, characters, flash, or multiplayer to rely on as hooks. If you’re not immediately inspired to struggle for survival against the CRUSH!, then you probably aren’t going to be. Public tours available, hard hat required.

By flying in the face of tradition and encouraging players to stay engaged for as long as they like, Tiny Tower has set a wonderful new standard for freemium games on the App Store. With great presentation, style, and gameplay, this is one tower you'll want to move in to.

Maybe the slot machines are supposed to be a metaphor for all of the dice rolls, seen and unseen, that affect every fantasy RPG from Dungeons & Dragons to World of Warcraft. It's also possible that's a massive over-thinking, and the guys from Game Stew Studio just really like to hit the casinos on their days off. Regardless, Tower of Fortune is one to bet on for a pretty great time.

Celestia: Chain of Fate completely took my breath away, and it truly felt like I was in a fairy tale. The art and music are beautiful, and I loved that even the people you only meet a few times have additional stories and extras dedicated to them. I’ve already romanced Luke… so I think I’ll go for Ash next!

Ultimately, it’s a game best experienced for yourself, and we recommend it to literally every single person who owns an iOS device. Sky is a breathtaking, heartwarming, and incredibly rewarding experience.

Moment for moment, this is simply World of Warcraft with a different world to explore, perfectly optimized for the touch screen, and a few elements left on the cutting room floor. As a Warcraft fan, I can honestly say that this lack of originality is more than appreciated. If you're going to steal, steal from the best.

Overall though there’s actually very little to criticise about The Skywalker Saga. It’s a perfectly constructed love letter to a series of films that will appeal to young and old alike. The force is strong in this one.

It's a must-download for anyone who enjoys games that require fast reflexes and quick thinking, or just wants to have a blast while making sure humanity sticks around for a while.

Definitely one of the best games on iOS. You should expect everyone to be talking about this game soon enough – this one is as platform defining as games get on the App Store.

Cave Bowling features original design, mechanics and challenges, something many iPhone games lack these days. For the price, it's a prehistoric good time on the go.

Colourful, packed with a genuine sense of play, and far more than the sum of the parts; a simple set of building blocks that combine to form something full of nuance and depth.

It’s going to be a little weird going back to Facebook though after this, because now that I’ve had the very impressive Draw Something 2 experience, my boring old newsfeed is just going to pale in comparison without all those awesome drawings covering my wall.

Duet is a fantastic, brain-melting ditty of an iOS game. It's a hypnotic, "try, try again" love song that you just won't be able to bring yourself to feel hatred towards, despite the numerous splattered deaths that will tear at your heart. This is essential mobile gaming.

Thanks to the forgiving difficulty and appeal to roguelike newcomers, there’s really no way to lose: but it is easy to get lost in Sproggiwood.

Where Solitairica falters is its depth. It’s not as deep as it sounds. Once you’ve unlocked all the classes, you’ll find yourself gravitating to your favorite and mostly using the same spells repeatedly. That’s fine, but it means that Solitairica outstays its welcome eventually. There are only so many times you can play it until you feel as if you’ve had your fill and seen enough. Fortunately, that amount of content just about warrants a purchase, but you’ll burn out earlier than your initial playthroughs would have you think.

Heroes and Castles isn't visually stunning, and its controls might cost you more than one battle, but it's not a bad package when it's taken as a whole. Glory to the king and his butterfingered champions.

The main problem with Burn It All ends up being its repetitive gameplay. While having 100 levels is certainly nothing to sneeze at, the fact that you're presented with virtually the same problems and pitfalls all the way through (i.e. burn things in the right order, don't get extinguished) gets a little stale after a while.

Battleloot Adventure has a lot more going for it than we expected in a budget app. If you don't mind straight questing, there's easily 10+ hours of content here to play through. Combat is slick, and the dozens of unique creatures are a blast to pummel. The lack of a story, grinding, and glitches keep it from being a definite must-buy, but it's still a decent RPG experience.

Matchmaking and respawn annoyances aside, Call of Champions is a great first step into the world of MOBAs for players new to the genre.

Even though Tiny Troopers 2 may not have set out to redefine the Tiny Troopers franchise, the game still functions as a fairly impressive sequel with great visuals, fun gameplay, and a perfect balance of depth and pick-up-and-play accessibility.

Seal Force is simply a joy to play. The gameplay is incredibly well-done, but it's the overall feel here that makes this such a winning title. It's just almost impossible not to find yourself grinning while you play it, which is pretty much the only appropriate reaction when it comes to watching commando seals take on armies of mutant shellfish.

Thanks to some super-challenging puzzles, unique presentation elements, and the tease of a possible prize for those who see all 60 levels through to the end, The Heist manages to take a number of old elements and turn them into something compelling.

Twisty Hollow is just a solid game with a unique concept. Not game of the year material, perhaps, but a solidly entertaining puzzle game.

When Time Surfer does require your input, it's one of the most rewarding experiences you'll find in an "endless" game to date. Even after playing the first 500 meters over and over again, and only seeing the back 3,000 thanks to serious sympathy from the game, I cannot put it down.

Deeply addictive, wonderfully presented and filled with non-violent goodness, it's almost a crime to not get Air Penguin. I'd say more but the only thing that is crossing my mind in regards to my opinion of the game is the word 'Perfect'.

Hanging with Friends is a pretty basic app, but it still manages to be fun and engaging.

Pinball Arcade collects a few of the best known pinball tables of old and brings them back to life in a stunning manner.

I had refused to believe a game like this could succeed on mobile, but Afterpulse has proved me wrong.

Traffix isn’t a hugely expansive experience – there’s no two player mode for example, and it’s perhaps a little too slight for some – but it’s a undeniably satisfying action puzzler that’s perfect for short bursts of play.

Luckily, you don't need power-ups to appreciate Funky Smugglers. On its own, the game is fun, silly, and addictive. But it is unsettling that the game's planes always take off regardless of how shoddily you perform behind the scanner.

This is gaming stripped down to its bare bones. Woah Dave! is the grunge rock of video games, and I’m loving every minute of it.

It’s slickly packaged, you know exactly what you’re getting, and it hits the spot even if it doesn’t challenge your gaming palette in any way.

A fun, fast-paced platformer that deserves some extra attention because its gyroscopic controls work so well. In order to master the game, players are required to replay several of the levels until they're finally able to nail them flawlessly; thankfully, iStunt 2 is fun enough that the constant replay is an enjoyable scenario.

Whether you enjoyed Super Hexagon or not, Boson X is a game that needs, nay, requires a place on your mobile device. Its manic split-second gameplay will reel you in, while the thought of someday topping the leaderboards will keep you coming back time and time again.

So for everyone who’s always wanted a hardcore gaming experience on a mobile device, while still maintaining that simplicity of design and addictive short bursts of gameplay, then Dungeonism is most definitely the dungeon crawler for you. And if anything, it can always teach you a thing or two about making it out alive.

Gentlemen! is great fun, and well worth splashing out on if you often find yourself wanting to play tablet games with a friend. Solo players need not apply, obviously, but if you're hankering for some friendly Victorian-style deathmatch, then this is a game that will suffice.

The Shivah: Kosher Edition doesn't have all the answers, but it does supply a top-notch adventure experience. Nosh a little.

The only real knock one can give to League of Evil 2 is that it is an extremely tough game, and thus will only resonate with a certain segment of the gaming populace.

Hardcore gamers will certainly be able to sink their teeth into Indigo Lake and enjoy an edge-of-your-seat experience, but anyone who is, perhaps, a more casual player will have trouble staying patient or tenacious enough to reach the real meat of the game.

But even in its current shorter, simpler form, Odd Bot Out is a rare treat.

Despite a few nitpicky critiques about little elements of the presentation, we really don't have a single bad thing to say about Puerto Rico.

I have to emphasize the first two worlds here, because while the puzzling in Sprinkle is fairly easy, unlocking World 3 and beyond is incredibly hard.

All in all, there is literally nothing to complain about with Zombie Parkour Runner. The gameplay is tremendously gratifying despite its general control simplicity, and the overall presentation and animations are phenomenal. A game that seems like it will initially be like any other automatic side-scroller, Zombie Parkour Runner is one heck of a pleasant surprise.

Wordament is so well-built that pointing out faults feels like nitpicking. You do need to be online to play, and more annoyingly, you're sometimes thrust into a match with a minute left on the clock, which pretty much dooms you to a low score. A lobby option would be a nice addition, but as it stands, Wordament is one of the App Store's must-have word games.

Like a game of tic-tac-toe, Kindo is best enjoyed sporadically and in small doses or you risk a quick burn-out.

Last Horizon is a great little mellow but not really mellow space adventure that reminds me a little bit of Out There if it was more arcade-y and less simulation-y. That is to say I really like it, though it can certainly be frustrating at times.

Miss Fisher and the Deathly Maze is a lot of fun while you play it. It just that happens to be a double edged sword. It leaves you rushing through it, then longing for more. It’s a promising start to a potentially very interesting story. It just needs longer future episodes, and a slightly more challenging set of clues and puzzles to live up to its potential.

Little touches, like different dialogues from NPCs depending on who you have selected as your active character, bring the world to life and reward players who explore in depth. The amount of game here—easily six hours plus—is massive for an app that is 100% free without ads or in-app purchases, with each of those hours lovingly crafted by a team that obviously cares about all of its source material. This is a gift to fans of Stranger Things or NES/SNES-era adventures with no strings attached, except the time you’ll inevitably lose once you’re sucked into its world.

Exhumed Powerslave is not one of the best first person shooters of the mid-nineties, but has more than enough interesting ideas to be worthy of retrospection. Just make sure you go in with a sufficient amount of patience.