A very opinionated list
The iPhone is a great game console when a game respects the screen, the controls, and your time. These are the ones I keep thinking about.
01
ustwo games
An immaculate little world of impossible architecture. Every screen feels like a piece of art you get to unfold.
This is a game that sticks with you. The artistry, the feeling. I dislike the phrase, but the vibes are so good with this game. I still think about the world and imagery they created.
02
Snowman
A serene, endlessly replayable snowboarding game. The one-touch controls, changing weather, and tiny moments of flight are nearly perfect.
This game actually gives off the same feeling as snowboarding. Wild that an iOS game could do that, but with the changing weather, the day-night cycle, and the beautiful graphics, it does.
03
Snowman
Everything lovely about Adventure, transported to dunes, canyons, temples, and a gorgeous desert sky.
Personal note coming soon.
04
Simogo
Part novel, part puzzle box. You rotate the phone, follow text through rooms, and slowly realize the book itself is the game.
A weird little game that surprises you and makes you think, “Hmm, computer games on a phone could be so much more interesting.”
05
Raw Fury
A clean, compact real-time tactics game. Defending tiny islands from Vikings is tense, readable, and wonderfully unforgiving.
The perfect little real-time strategy game. The Vikings are sometimes scary. Sometimes you feel invincible, then the next wave comes in and you are caught out of position. Very fun.
06
Andreas Illiger
A tiny bird, rolling hills, and one perfect input. It still feels joyful every time you catch a slope just right.
Personal note coming soon.
07
HypeHype
A dark, tactile side-scroller where momentum and physics turn a strange forest into a beautiful obstacle course.
Personal note coming soon.
08
Capybara Games
A moody pixel-art adventure with an unforgettable soundtrack and a wonderfully strange sense of place.
Personal note coming soon.
09
Hexecutable
A cute, clever collision of match-three puzzling, Minesweeper, and fake-computer hacking. Weird in exactly the right way.
Personal note coming soon.
10
Idle Friday
Beautiful mechanical toys you can poke, spin, slide, and solve. It feels like a shelf of immaculate little machines.
Personal note coming soon.
11
Annapurna Interactive
A funny, charming reverse-Katamari where you control a hole and swallow an entire town one object at a time.
Personal note coming soon.
12
Vectorpark
A short, surreal toy-box puzzle full of delightful interactions and discoveries.
Really enjoyed this one.
13
webbfarbror
A deeply satisfying brick breaker with just enough strategy: aim carefully, dig deeper, and make every bouncing ball count.
Personal note coming soon.
14
KO_OP
A bright collection of tactile monster-head puzzle boxes. Turn knobs, press buttons, and watch each miniature world wake up.
Personal note coming soon.
15
Ketchapp
The number-sliding classic: immediately understandable, endlessly tempting, and always one move away from disaster.
Personal note coming soon.
16
Flippfly
A smart little number-merging puzzle about crafting a 12. Simple rules conceal a properly demanding challenge.
Personal note coming soon.
No longer listed in the U.S. App Store.
17
Laser Dog
Hyper-charged pocket tennis with great game feel, eccentric characters, and frantic same-device multiplayer.
Personal note coming soon.
No longer listed in the U.S. App Store.
18
Kumobius
Two orbiting dots, one thumb, and an escalating sequence of obstacles. Minimal, rhythmic, and brutally precise.
Personal note coming soon.
19
State of Play Games
A handmade puzzle adventure built from real paper, card, lights, and motors.
Too hard since you don't know what to do, and it takes forever to get from one place to another.
The backlog
Games that look promising, but I haven't spent enough time with yet.
Poker hands become an endlessly replayable roguelike deck-builder.
The modern foundation for strategic, run-based deck-building.
Hand-drawn illustrated panels combine to create a new kind of puzzle.
A beautiful open island containing more than 500 interconnected puzzles.
A wordless pilgrimage through ruins, sand, and distant mountains.
A quiet visual story told through memories and landscape-shaping puzzles.
A meditative game about growing and shaping trees toward the light.
A playful, hand-drawn hidden-object world packed with interactions.
Rotate a pixel-art world between 2D and 3D to reveal its secrets.
Manipulate time across surreal islands built from childhood memories.
Tile-placement strategy mixed with roguelike tower defense.
A cozy sequence of clever track-laying puzzles about two traveling dogs.
Minimalist unhooking puzzles that gradually unfold into three dimensions.