It truly embodies everything that is great about mobile gaming. First, it’s free to play and, perhaps more importantly, it doesn’t push you into paying. You can even use gold earned in-game to unlock new cards or expansion packs; something increasingly rare in mobile games. It may take longer to build the deck of your dreams, but you’ll have loads of fun on the way. Hearthstone is one of those rare games that’s easy to pick up but still equipped with enough depth that you’ll always have some strategy to refine. Both Baldur’s Gate and its sequel have been ported to the iPad, and they’re just as good today as they were when they made their debut. If you like to sit around playing Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder with your friends, this is a must-have. Plants vs Zombies is easily one of the best such games on the iPad. Capitalizing on the immortal popularity of zombies, the game equips you with weaponized plants and fungi to fend off advancing hordes. But unlike most zombie movies, it’s not violent. The animations are cute and cartoonish, and there’s a level of humor that makes the game accessible to all ages. XCOM: Enemy Within is also one of the best strategy games on the iPad. The game underwent a name change from Enemy Unknown to Enemy Within with the sequel, which includes all original content plus some expansion material. Infinity Blade defines high-end gaming on the iPad. From the start, it has proven that you don’t have to sacrifice graphics to deliver a fun and engaging mobile game. It may not have the visuals of an Xbox One or PS4 game, but it still looks fantastic. Infinity Blade also uses touch-style elements to control gameplay, which may be more common now but was unusual when the first edition came out. If you don’t know Minecraft yet, you need to experience it. It’s one of the most popular and sensational games of the last decade. Though it’s intentional lack of direction means it may not be for everyone. As the name suggests, you spend most of your time in The Room, unraveling its mysteries by solving various puzzles. The first few aren’t very challenging, but over time you’ll find yourself scratching your head, tempted to turn to Google for a way out of the puzzle. Second, the game has been adapted to the iPad brilliantly. It looks and plays just like the board game, so you can seamlessly switch from one to the other. The AI opponents can be pushovers, but when you dial in the hardest settings they prove quite challenging.
