14 of the best iPhone & iPad games to play right now

Among Us spread like wildfire a few years ago, and while it’s not as commonly discussed in 2025, it’s lost none of its charm.

The idea is simple: You and your crew of astronauts need to keep your spaceship trucking along, but one of your squad is an imposter tasked with ensuring just about everything goes wrong.

It’s a bite-sized murder mystery that’s easy to understand and great fun with friends, just remember not to act too ‘sus’.

Roguelite deckbuilders are nothing new. The idea is simple, setting players a series of challenges to overcome with a set of cards that can shift at regular intervals, forcing them to make tough choices about what to add and what to keep.

Balatro’s genius is in grounding that experience in the popular game of poker. Whereas Slay The Spire has you casting attacks and spells to keep your run going, Balatro pushes you to rig your deck to make it easier to find poker hands and score multipliers.

If that sounds bizarre, you’d be right, but it’s also shot to popularity as a truly unique experience that’ll have you playing into the small hours.

Call of Duty’s mainline entries on console and PC will divide fans regularly with their fresh mechanics, revamped or new maps, and ever-shifting arsenal of weapons, but Call of Duty Mobile feels like a one-stop shop for the franchise.

It includes classic maps and weapons alongside its own new ideas, and shorn of a campaign, there’s an awful lot to see or do.

You get that same drip-feed of constant unlockables to keep you playing, and controller support makes it feel closer to the home platform versions, too.

It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since the debut of Dead Cells, and it’s still keeping players coming back.

It’s a roguelite Metroidvania, which essentially translates (in this instance) to being a combat-focused platformer with random loot as you progress through its dark world.

Die, and you start again, but the feeling of cobbling together a build that can take on the game’s tough bosses is unmatched.

Perhaps most infamously known for its announcement when fans were expecting Blizzard to announce Diablo Immortal, as well as a particularly grindy endgame, there’s still fun to be had in Diablo Immortal without spending a penny.

Sure, progression is slower, but this is a Diablo game on your phone, with all the fun and gore that comes with it. Not for younger gamers, Immortal makes the smart choice of letting players swap between classes.

That means you don’t feel pigeonholed if you want to move between, say, a Blood Knight (a new class for this game) and a Monk or Wizard.

Sadly, this one is iPadOS only, but if you have an Apple tablet, it’s a must-play. Before Baldur’s Gate 3 took home just about every award imaginable in 2023, developer Larian Studios released Divinity Original Sin and its sequel.

Originally released in 2017 on PC, you won’t need to have played the first game to enjoy Original Sin 2’s turn-based combat and the player choice that would go on to make Baldur’s Gate 3 an all-time great.

There are so many subtle touches I could go on for hours, but it really does feel like having a whole Dungeons and Dragons campaign in a slimline tablet you can take anywhere.

It would have been easy for Fallout Shelter to become the very capitalist hellscape the series lampoons so vociferously, but there’s so much charm here.

Players manage the health and happiness of their Vault’s population, pushing to expand the vault and bring in new characters. These then level up over time in one of the tightest management games around, all shot through with the zaniness you’d expect from the franchise.

If you loved the Prime show and don’t have a console or PC to play Fallout 3, New Vegas, or 4 on, this is a safe bet for a fun time.

Final Fantasy 7 is back on our minds after the excellent remake and Rebirth chapters in recent years, but Ever Crisis is a little different.

It’s partially a retelling of the 1997 original’s story while also offering additional narrative details, particularly around the enigmatic Sephiroth.

It’s sadly dependent on loot boxes to acquire weapons and outfits, but if you’re OK with that trade-off, you might learn something new about the lore of one of gaming’s most beloved greats.

After a legal battle that felt longer than Fortnite’s entire lifespan, the game is back on iPhone and iPad.

It’s also better than ever, with the current season at the time of writing adding a crossover with the Power Rangers. Even removing all of the cameos and purchasable skins, though, Fortnite is a very, very fun game.

Mechanically sound and with great visuals, it’s a goofy battle royale that sets itself apart from rivals like PUBG with a zany tone.

Genshin Impact is such a huge game it still feels a little baffling that it’s even possible to play on a phone.

It offers a huge open world to explore, with players using ‘gacha’ mechanics (loot boxes) to unlock new characters to add to their team.

Even without spending money, it’s enjoyable to just explore a huge world with satisfying, elemental combat

Possibly the most cheerful game about cleaving creatures in two, Grindstone was an Apple Arcade title that’s since jumped to other platforms.

It’s still only found on Apple Arcade for iPhone and iPad gamers, but it’s worth the monthly price of admission. Players align colored critters for protagonist Jorj to carve his way through, drawing patterns to switch colors mid-turn.

With bonus objectives and satisfying animations, it’s a game I keep coming back to. 

It’s been over a decade since Hearthstone, Blizzard’s card battler based around its Warcraft universe, and it’s still popular for anyone looking to play against friends or AI.

With relatively short games, a rotating selection of cards, and additional modes that include an autobattler and a party-based roguelike, it’s easy to learn and tricky to master.

It’s also got a tone that’s all its own: the digital equivalent of playing a board game next to a roaring fire.

As far as tutorials go, Arena might be the best way to learn to play Magic: The Gathering, the card game that’s been around since 1993.

While the game can be overwhelming for new players, Arena takes the hassle out of learning to play and in doing so makes itself an invaluable part of the wider ecosystem of the physical game, too.

It’s also just a great way to play Magic when you don’t have anyone to play locally, and it has cross-save with the Mac version (available via Epic Game Store).

Speak of the Pikachu, and it shall appear. The buzz around Pokémon Go may have died down since the boom of Summer 2016, but Niantic hasn’t stopped adding to it.

The game remains as enjoyable with loved ones as ever, letting you go for a walk to find new Pokémon to catch, battle, and trade with friends, levelling up your trainer to tackle boss fights and more.

It’s best played on iPhone, though, given how much you’ll be walking around with your phone in hand.