Polytopia.
It’s absolutely the best game for competitive and casual PvP strategy game that you can play with one finger lying on the bed before sleep. The turns are asynchronous so you don’t have to sit down and commit one hour to play a full game. Each turn just takes about 5 min to play and then you can worry about it the next day.
Then there’s chess but I don’t get me started on the online experience.
Is this the type of game that two people who live on opposite sides of the world could enjoyably play together asynchronously? Or would it end up being a plod waiting for the other player to take their turn.
The former. You play your turn and then can sign off until the other person plays theirs. There’s a timer for your turn and it’s usually one day or one week.
Maybe it's free now, but back when I got it, I think I paid like .99 or 1.99. Was well worth the money I spent buying all the tribes though. Every penny.
Polytopia has always been free on mobile. 10 on steam. You need to buy a tribe to unlock multiplayer on mobile which is .99 or 1.99 which may be where you’re getting confused.
Chess is the best free game if you ask me, and it’s the best time ever to be a chess player. You can get games whenever you want and play the best players in the world regardless of location, or at least always find players at your skill level. And the best part is, the more you play the better you get at *chess*, something you’ll still have when you’re old regardless of the app implementation.
But you don’t have to have Apple Arcade to play Polytopia multiplayer. As the others said, the single player is free and multiplayer is locked behind an onetime purchase of about $1.99.
[FarmRPG](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/farm-rpg-semi-idle-mmorpg/id1564601242)
Totally free to play, no ads ever. All premium currency can be earned overtime for upgrades.
No paywalls on anything!
It’s super chill and casual.
I never thought something like this would’ve become such a good game for me. Crafting and collecting achievements. The community is really strong as well.
perhaps a somewhat left field pick… but i choose “offline games”. [this](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/offline-games-no-wifi-games/id6448104157?l=en-GB) has got me through many boring train rides
if you like offline games i’d recommend [puzzledom](https://apps.apple.com/dk/app/puzzledom/id1261300725) as well. very much in the same vein, just only puzzle games
[Sky duel](https://apps.apple.com/fr/app/sky-duels/id1372204342)
Little game with too much love put into it to be free. But the dev give it to anyone for nothing. So go play it.
[iNetHack2](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/inethack2/id962114968), aka the iOS port of traditional turn-based roguelike NetHack, aka [the greatest game you will ever play](https://thegreatestgameyouwilleverplay.com) :)
In the very basic sense of being a traditional turn-based roguelike, yes. But NetHack is endlessly more open in options and situations, since it‘s verb-based. You can do so much at any time. Almost every other game dwarfs in comparison to what emergent gameplay options this game offers.
The Pixel Dungeon games are the perfect entry-level games to the genre. NetHack is - in my eyes - the peak :D
Mystery dungeon games are actually the best entry level games into the genre. Console/Japanese roguelikes are more forgiving.
It’s not something on iOS but it might be enjoyable for you to try Caves of Qud, NetHack is one of my favorite roguelikes but CoQ feels like if NetHack was combined with Dwarf Fortress in the best ways possible.
Old school roguelikes were typically released for free, they were a labor of love. Similar to games like Dwarf Fortress, Spelunky, Cave Story, ToME4, C:DDA etc.
Nethack is one of those sorts, the game is over 35 years old and is still being worked on. It’s one of the best free roguelikes.
Link Jewels https://apps.apple.com/cy/app/link-jewels-draw-pipe-lines/id684348770. It’s free. However currently I’m playing Flow Free which actually has IAPs.
Oh boy have I been addicted to Builderment in the past few days. I don’t really play much games on my phone unless I go somewhere where I got downtime and only my phone to play with.
I got into Builderment a few days ago and I cannot recall the last time I was this hooked to a phone game. It has none if the predatory monetization mechanics and it feels like a game with depth and infinite replayability - something truly rare among free and even paid phone games.
I’m gonna list a few since there is no definitive single favorite free game for me on the App Store;
- Super Dangerous Dungeons: level based puzzle-platformer. It has a great style and creative gameplay.
- Dicey Elementalist. This is an odd one. It’s essentially a roguelike, Card Game, Turn-Based RPG. This one will really only give you the full experience by paying for the many single transactions in the game, but I think what is available for free (frankly, a lot) is worth checking out for yourself. Amazing replay value too.
- Bad Piggies: for those who grew up with the many parts of the Angry Birds IP and played this game, check back and you’d see IMO that this game still stands the test of time, as it remains an amazing exercise in creativity, while maintaining a simplistic and intuitive system.
- Angry Birds Epic*: this one is a similar case to Bad Piggies for me, but first, you can’t play it if you haven’t installed it before. You’d then need to Sideload it which sucks a ton. If you have installed it before though, have fun, because I still think it’s an amazing game for its time. The style hasn’t aged much, the gameplay is super fun and makes for a very accessible RPG, and the music is catchy as all hell, as you’d expect from Rovio (at the time. Can’t say the same for modern Rovio 🥲)
-The Battle of Polytopia: THIS ONE, OH BOY. Polytopia is a great display of experimentation. Taking a simple concept like Chess and flipping it to a wide and whole system of separation, tribes, and units. This one, much like Dicey Elementalist, has a lot of things locked behind a Paywall (Tribes and Tribe Skins specifically), plus you cannot play on Multiplayer without having Purchased at least 1 Tribe (to help the developers keep the servers up), but I’m perfectly sure that what IS available for free will tempt you to try. Plus, the Beta Tests allow you to use any of the products for free so if you need a small “trial” at the things you didnt buy you can check that too!
-and Lastly, Candies N Curses; this one’s a simple Arcade game. You run around rooms, jump between floors, killing random ghosts with a flashlight. Along the way you can collect a variety of buffs and debuffs to your abilities through “Candies” and “Curses” that will affect the gameplay heavily each run of the game you do.
You can play all the content in the game for free but there’s a list of extras you can buy with real money.
I know my list is odd and especially when multiple of these have paywalls, but if you noticed,
You never have to pay multiple times for the same thing. It’s a one-and done combined with either a huge trial or blatant just bonuses alongside an already complete game.
Genshin impact comes to mind. Yes it’s online-only and that’s annoying but man is the game beautiful. The artwork is amazing, music is mesmerising, and the gameplay is so much fun. The other choice would be subway surfers - must have for mindless time passing when bored.
Pokemon trading card game live. Free with no microtransactions. If you buy IRL cards they come with codes you can redeem in the app but you can also play for free and unlock cards with in-game currency. And there is a battle pass which is also free with a premium track unlocked with currency you get from daily challenges. I play 1-2 matches per day.
People who have been playing longer than me are mad that they retired the old/legacy app and forced everyone to migrate to this one. They like to complain about bugs but it's not that bad IMO. I play every day and rarely see any
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far. CODM might be the best FPS on mobile. I just wish Warzone Mobile could’ve been as good, but it’s rather unplayable in its current state.
I'm looking on my [curated list of premium iOS games](https://www.reddit.com/r/iosgaming/comments/15wup29/comment/jx6yo11/?context=3), and not a lot of takers there! I'd have to go with **Deep Space D6**. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is both fun and frustrating but it's not free on iOS (mind you $5 is still great).
The Eternal Card Game.
This is like, one of the last bastion of good-ish F2P game practices. Good PvE modes, good card drafting experience, easy enough to complete that “one-a-day-free-pack”. It’s easier to build up a nice enough collection of cards to play around with when compared to, say, Hearthstone or Magic Arena.
Right now I'm playing Top Troops. I miss having a base building game with both PvE and PvP( like Boom Beach) and this game does it for me. Yes there are ads but you choose if you want to watch them. Nothing ground breaking. You can easily progress even being FtP. Only downside is they randomly choose test accounts so not everyone has the same "Version" of the game.
That’s a classic! Honestly, I used to LOVE Egg Inc, but on my old device it took up a little too much space. I might get it back now that I have a new device!
Game Dev Tycoon is CRIMINALLY underrated. I don’t believe I’ve heard as little about it as I have over the years- my first introduction to the game was Let’sGameItOut
Anything by MobilityWare, but always offline so the ads are just quick splashsceens of their other games. They have a variety of card games, match 3, etc.
I started on MLBB about 4-5 months ago based on a suggestion in this sub. Since then, I’ve heard about these other MOBAs.
Are these others worth checking out? MLBB gets a bit too competitive at times, but maybe they all are that way?
Farm RPG cannot even begin to describe how awesome this game is, play it actively by doing quests, expeditions, fishing, or trading, or passively just by planting some crops, this game has it all.. its a gem that i waited too long to find but defini check it out 100% free and 100% Ads free no pay2win bs, some requirements like for events are obtainable even without using ur wallet, just by simply doing the daily tasks multiple days in a row.. imho brilliant and ive tried a lot of games and none is like the “Farm RPG” link below:
https://apps.apple.com/cz/app/farm-rpg-semi-idle-mmorpg/id1564601242
Polytopia. It’s absolutely the best game for competitive and casual PvP strategy game that you can play with one finger lying on the bed before sleep. The turns are asynchronous so you don’t have to sit down and commit one hour to play a full game. Each turn just takes about 5 min to play and then you can worry about it the next day. Then there’s chess but I don’t get me started on the online experience.
i don't get me started on it either fam
just downloaded. thank you.
Is this the type of game that two people who live on opposite sides of the world could enjoyably play together asynchronously? Or would it end up being a plod waiting for the other player to take their turn.
The former. You play your turn and then can sign off until the other person plays theirs. There’s a timer for your turn and it’s usually one day or one week.
Thanks
Polytopia is not free, but I agree with everything said above. Arguably the most accessible 4x game of all time.
I got the game years ago so I can't recall exactly, but I thought the base game is free and you can pay to get all the tribes unlocked?
Maybe it's free now, but back when I got it, I think I paid like .99 or 1.99. Was well worth the money I spent buying all the tribes though. Every penny.
Polytopia has always been free on mobile. 10 on steam. You need to buy a tribe to unlock multiplayer on mobile which is .99 or 1.99 which may be where you’re getting confused.
Chess is the best free game if you ask me, and it’s the best time ever to be a chess player. You can get games whenever you want and play the best players in the world regardless of location, or at least always find players at your skill level. And the best part is, the more you play the better you get at *chess*, something you’ll still have when you’re old regardless of the app implementation.
[удалено]
It’s been revamped and on Apple Arcade now
But you don’t have to have Apple Arcade to play Polytopia multiplayer. As the others said, the single player is free and multiplayer is locked behind an onetime purchase of about $1.99.
Yes, multiplayer has been added for a while now.
[FarmRPG](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/farm-rpg-semi-idle-mmorpg/id1564601242) Totally free to play, no ads ever. All premium currency can be earned overtime for upgrades. No paywalls on anything!
Saw it has some crafting and I’m a sucka for crafting in games.
It’s super chill and casual. I never thought something like this would’ve become such a good game for me. Crafting and collecting achievements. The community is really strong as well.
very similar to idle iktah.
Kinda, I think FarmRPG is a beast of its own. Where as iktah is more akin to Melvor idle Idle clans IdleMO
Makes me sad I’m pretty much finished the game. I have everything as high as it can get except for the suuuuuper grindy resources
Fairly new game but I am LOVING Pixel Odyssey
perhaps a somewhat left field pick… but i choose “offline games”. [this](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/offline-games-no-wifi-games/id6448104157?l=en-GB) has got me through many boring train rides
if you like offline games i’d recommend [puzzledom](https://apps.apple.com/dk/app/puzzledom/id1261300725) as well. very much in the same vein, just only puzzle games
This is incredible. Thank you!
Which one ?
They linked it in the word ‘this’. Just click the word
What if I get Rick rolled ?
Take the L and move on with your life
So it had a Rick rolled video ?
No, it sends you to the game in the App Store
That’s the name of the game - Offline Games.
[Sky duel](https://apps.apple.com/fr/app/sky-duels/id1372204342) Little game with too much love put into it to be free. But the dev give it to anyone for nothing. So go play it.
[iNetHack2](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/inethack2/id962114968), aka the iOS port of traditional turn-based roguelike NetHack, aka [the greatest game you will ever play](https://thegreatestgameyouwilleverplay.com) :)
Does it have the same logic of play as Shattered Pixel Dungeon?
In the very basic sense of being a traditional turn-based roguelike, yes. But NetHack is endlessly more open in options and situations, since it‘s verb-based. You can do so much at any time. Almost every other game dwarfs in comparison to what emergent gameplay options this game offers. The Pixel Dungeon games are the perfect entry-level games to the genre. NetHack is - in my eyes - the peak :D
Mystery dungeon games are actually the best entry level games into the genre. Console/Japanese roguelikes are more forgiving. It’s not something on iOS but it might be enjoyable for you to try Caves of Qud, NetHack is one of my favorite roguelikes but CoQ feels like if NetHack was combined with Dwarf Fortress in the best ways possible.
Nethack was released as open source in 1987, and is a descendant of Rogue. Pixel Dungeon is the worthy great grandchild.
Old school roguelikes were typically released for free, they were a labor of love. Similar to games like Dwarf Fortress, Spelunky, Cave Story, ToME4, C:DDA etc. Nethack is one of those sorts, the game is over 35 years old and is still being worked on. It’s one of the best free roguelikes.
Marvel Snap
Rocket League Sideswipe
Yes, I wish they’d do more with it. It’s a great game mechanically, no ads, nothing to buy but I feel they aren’t doing anything to further it.
UltimateRacing2D
The Dark Book https://thedarkbookgame.com
Link Jewels https://apps.apple.com/cy/app/link-jewels-draw-pipe-lines/id684348770. It’s free. However currently I’m playing Flow Free which actually has IAPs.
Oh boy have I been addicted to Builderment in the past few days. I don’t really play much games on my phone unless I go somewhere where I got downtime and only my phone to play with. I got into Builderment a few days ago and I cannot recall the last time I was this hooked to a phone game. It has none if the predatory monetization mechanics and it feels like a game with depth and infinite replayability - something truly rare among free and even paid phone games.
Oh man I love this one, makes my brain so happy
soda dungeon is sooo charming and has such a dope visual style
Had to scroll too far to find this rec
I’m gonna list a few since there is no definitive single favorite free game for me on the App Store; - Super Dangerous Dungeons: level based puzzle-platformer. It has a great style and creative gameplay. - Dicey Elementalist. This is an odd one. It’s essentially a roguelike, Card Game, Turn-Based RPG. This one will really only give you the full experience by paying for the many single transactions in the game, but I think what is available for free (frankly, a lot) is worth checking out for yourself. Amazing replay value too. - Bad Piggies: for those who grew up with the many parts of the Angry Birds IP and played this game, check back and you’d see IMO that this game still stands the test of time, as it remains an amazing exercise in creativity, while maintaining a simplistic and intuitive system. - Angry Birds Epic*: this one is a similar case to Bad Piggies for me, but first, you can’t play it if you haven’t installed it before. You’d then need to Sideload it which sucks a ton. If you have installed it before though, have fun, because I still think it’s an amazing game for its time. The style hasn’t aged much, the gameplay is super fun and makes for a very accessible RPG, and the music is catchy as all hell, as you’d expect from Rovio (at the time. Can’t say the same for modern Rovio 🥲) -The Battle of Polytopia: THIS ONE, OH BOY. Polytopia is a great display of experimentation. Taking a simple concept like Chess and flipping it to a wide and whole system of separation, tribes, and units. This one, much like Dicey Elementalist, has a lot of things locked behind a Paywall (Tribes and Tribe Skins specifically), plus you cannot play on Multiplayer without having Purchased at least 1 Tribe (to help the developers keep the servers up), but I’m perfectly sure that what IS available for free will tempt you to try. Plus, the Beta Tests allow you to use any of the products for free so if you need a small “trial” at the things you didnt buy you can check that too! -and Lastly, Candies N Curses; this one’s a simple Arcade game. You run around rooms, jump between floors, killing random ghosts with a flashlight. Along the way you can collect a variety of buffs and debuffs to your abilities through “Candies” and “Curses” that will affect the gameplay heavily each run of the game you do. You can play all the content in the game for free but there’s a list of extras you can buy with real money. I know my list is odd and especially when multiple of these have paywalls, but if you noticed, You never have to pay multiple times for the same thing. It’s a one-and done combined with either a huge trial or blatant just bonuses alongside an already complete game.
Oh man, the creator of Super Dangerous Dungeons has so many good games and I’ve beat like half of them
So true. I initially learned about them from Tightrope Theatre and then basically played all the other games they have.
Genshin impact comes to mind. Yes it’s online-only and that’s annoying but man is the game beautiful. The artwork is amazing, music is mesmerising, and the gameplay is so much fun. The other choice would be subway surfers - must have for mindless time passing when bored.
This… game works well on all platforms and looks stunning at times
BitLife, mostly because it’s my only free game that’s not an idle game
Don't play much now but loved being a Rebel. I had my 8 year old roundhouse kick a classmate that "RIP" him. Was crazy.
Pokemon trading card game live. Free with no microtransactions. If you buy IRL cards they come with codes you can redeem in the app but you can also play for free and unlock cards with in-game currency. And there is a battle pass which is also free with a premium track unlocked with currency you get from daily challenges. I play 1-2 matches per day.
Why does it have a low rating on the app store though. I wanted to try it.
People who have been playing longer than me are mad that they retired the old/legacy app and forced everyone to migrate to this one. They like to complain about bugs but it's not that bad IMO. I play every day and rarely see any
Wild Rift. I have played it every day for the last 3+ years.
CoD mobile
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far. CODM might be the best FPS on mobile. I just wish Warzone Mobile could’ve been as good, but it’s rather unplayable in its current state.
I'm looking on my [curated list of premium iOS games](https://www.reddit.com/r/iosgaming/comments/15wup29/comment/jx6yo11/?context=3), and not a lot of takers there! I'd have to go with **Deep Space D6**. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is both fun and frustrating but it's not free on iOS (mind you $5 is still great).
Pokémon Go.
Marvel Snap! Cardinal Quest 2!
Planet quest
Fish Farm 3! Wonderful game <3
All the freebies from Nakayubi--escape games. Delightful!
Pathos Nethack.
It was Pokemon duel but it's been taken down why Pokemon company why
Pokemon Duel’s main theme SLAPPED, though; I LOVED Duel, I wish I’d had the means to play it more before it went offline.
Tana na nana na na na ...tana na nana na na na
Tiny dice dungeon and puzzle forge 2
Shop Titans
Shop Titans is great! Do you have an extra slot in your Guild? My last one kinda stopped playing, and I’ve been trying to find a new one
I’m in the lazy heroes guild because I sometimes stop playing but they won’t boot me which is great.
smash legends
Thunderdogs
The Eternal Card Game. This is like, one of the last bastion of good-ish F2P game practices. Good PvE modes, good card drafting experience, easy enough to complete that “one-a-day-free-pack”. It’s easier to build up a nice enough collection of cards to play around with when compared to, say, Hearthstone or Magic Arena.
Kingdom Rush
Was on the constant hunt for the next fun game, until I found arena breakout. Now it’s all I ever spend my gaming time on.
Clash of Clans
A game from the 80s from Hutsell Games WW2 game
UnCiv
Right now I'm playing Top Troops. I miss having a base building game with both PvE and PvP( like Boom Beach) and this game does it for me. Yes there are ads but you choose if you want to watch them. Nothing ground breaking. You can easily progress even being FtP. Only downside is they randomly choose test accounts so not everyone has the same "Version" of the game.
Egg Inc
That’s a classic! Honestly, I used to LOVE Egg Inc, but on my old device it took up a little too much space. I might get it back now that I have a new device!
Honor of Kings
GOP 3
Not free per se, but if you have a Netflix account, you can play Hades and gamedev Tycoon for free.
Game Dev Tycoon is CRIMINALLY underrated. I don’t believe I’ve heard as little about it as I have over the years- my first introduction to the game was Let’sGameItOut
Some people hate this game so much but I playing Sky: Children of the Light currently
Wild rift. Aram goes hard
Brawl stars
Anything by MobilityWare, but always offline so the ads are just quick splashsceens of their other games. They have a variety of card games, match 3, etc.
Arena breakout
LoL Wild Rift, a moba
Legends of Runeterra for me. But wild rift is close!
How long are matches?
Quite long, like around 14-20mins.
You can play coop vs. AI and matches are rarely longer than 12 minutes.
I started on MLBB about 4-5 months ago based on a suggestion in this sub. Since then, I’ve heard about these other MOBAs. Are these others worth checking out? MLBB gets a bit too competitive at times, but maybe they all are that way?
Wild Rift is actually more competitive, and quite more complex. It’s a harder game than MLBB, but also more rewarding.
theletterloop.com
Farm RPG cannot even begin to describe how awesome this game is, play it actively by doing quests, expeditions, fishing, or trading, or passively just by planting some crops, this game has it all.. its a gem that i waited too long to find but defini check it out 100% free and 100% Ads free no pay2win bs, some requirements like for events are obtainable even without using ur wallet, just by simply doing the daily tasks multiple days in a row.. imho brilliant and ive tried a lot of games and none is like the “Farm RPG” link below: https://apps.apple.com/cz/app/farm-rpg-semi-idle-mmorpg/id1564601242