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Looking for the best free iPad games? We've got 12 brilliant free gaming apps for iOS gamers to choose from, covering everything from puzzle games and RPGs to sports and racing games and deck-building card games. iPad gamers will find plenty to enjoy here without spending any money at all.
Before we get started, however, be warned that free games aren't always the bargain they first appear, you should always ask yourself one question: "If this app is free, how are the developers planning to make their money?"
Free (or 'freemium') iOS games, more than any others, tend to be passionately fond of in-app payments (IAPs). It's particularly worth making sure that children are told about the dangers and expenses of in-app purchases if you're setting them up to play freemium games, and we'd recommend using parental controls to avoid an unexpected and unpleasant surprise when you get your credit-card statement. If IAPs aren't the planned source of revenue, the app may be stuffed with adverts; that was Flappy Bird's business model.
Despite these caveats, however, there are some excellent free games out there for keen iPad games on a budget - all of the iPad games in this article are free to download and can be enjoyed without spending anything, even if a couple feature (cheap) unlocks or premium versions we'd probably recommend if you can afford it. Let's get on to the games reviews; you'll notice that many of them now include video reviews.
The best free games for iPad
Addictive in the classic 'just one more go' sort of way, striking-looking if not classically handsome, expertly honed and unapologetically simple, dEXTRIS tasks you with... making two coloured squares follow a never-ending corridor without bumping into the jagged shapes in your way. There are only four possible 'moves': leave the squares to sit in the middle (press nothing); send them both to the left or to the right (press on either the left or right side of the screen); or split them, as in the screen image below (press with both thumbs at once). And then things simply get faster and faster.
There are in-game adverts, which are mildly annoying, but the gameplay is strong and there's a lovely old-fashioned feel to the way you'll find yourself chasing high scores; in no other iOS game have I found myself so obsessed with the rankings on Game Center.
This is such fun.
Only One is a silly fighting game with simple, retro graphics, entirely set on top of a circular plateau. Villains continuously spawn and attack you, and it's your job to slash them to death with your sword or push them over the edge. We recommend the one-off in-app payment - Ultimate Power - that gives you a permanent power multiplier and unlocks all the abilities, but you can have a great laugh without spending anything.
A card game now, for a change of pace.
To the casual player Ascension seems not dissimilar to Magic: The Gathering (although MTG fans will harangue me for saying so, I'm sure) - you build and play from a deck of cards, each of which depicts a warrior, magician or relic of some kind, and use these to slay monsters and acquire both points and further cards. The unusual side is that all players start with an identical deck, adding to this within the game itself.
It's all weirdly addictive, once you play a few times, and while some reviewers have criticised the mostly rough-seeming art style, we find it all rather beautiful. (Update: very sadly, this app is going to be killed off and replaced in the near future, and it's uncertain whether you'll be able to transfer any IAPs you've bought in this app to the new one. This is still a great game, but at this point I would advise caution when it comes to buying extra content.)
This first-person shooter - which has more than a hint of the classic nerve-fraying endless runner about it - offers no enemies to shoot except the pleasingly destructible glass and stone obstacles in front of you, which you need to shatter before you run straight into them.
The graphics are a triumph, as is the satisfying gunplay: your bullets (more like oversized marbles) describe looping trajectories and make a lovely racket when they strike home. Simple and fun.
Middle Manager of Justice is a superhero-themed base-building game in which the heroes are preening, stereotype-spouting goons who divide their time between punching thugs, watching TV and manning call centres. You're abstractly their middle manager, working out where best to spend the squad's pitiful income while assigning your heroes to dole out fist-based justice to assorted evil-doers. Utterly shallow, but the game is aware of that - which is why it works so well. Alec Meer
The Real Racing series is deservedly idolised - Real Racing 2 is a paid-for title filed in the sports section of our roundup of the best games for iPad and iPhone. But Real Racing 3 - another beautiful and accomplished racing game - follows a different racing line, offering itself for free while touting for income via in-app purchases. The game is gorgeous, even though there is quite a lot of pressure to spend real-world money. David Price
Like the ubiquitous first game, Temple Run 2 is a simple 'auto-runner' in which you're forced to make snap reactions as your fleeing Indiana Jones-alike is propelled ever onwards at increasing speed: striving to dodge walls, fatal drops, spikey boulders and an enormous pursuing monkey-monster. Death is inevitable, as is having 'just one more go.' Alec Meer
Letterpress's approach is unique - a cunning blend of Boggle and Strategery - and alarmingly addictive. On your turn, you can use any of the letters in a five-by-five grid to build a word. After you submit your word, the tiles you used turn blue. Then it's your opponent's turn, with the tiles he or she uses turning pink. Once all the tiles have been used, the game ends, and whichever player turned more tiles to his or her colour emerges the victor.
Fans of word games won't be disappointed. Lex Friedman
In this neat, free footie sim, you're a striker aiming for the big time. On the pitch, this means scoring wonder goals: pull back to set power and direction, then tap to set the curve. Off the pitch, it means training, dressing for success and decking out your house in tacky bling.
It's a testament to the brilliant gameplay that even football haters will get something out of this. Alan Martin
Triple Town's premise is simple: you're building a town on a 6 x 6 grid filled with bushes and trees. You do this by grouping items into threes: three trees become a hut, three huts become a house and so on. Trap the game's 'enemies' - adorable bears - and they turn into grave stones, three of these make a church.
The whole thing is fresh, addictive and challenging: if you think you’ve seen everything Match 3 has to offer, you're in for a surprise.
It might not have the deepest replay value, but since going free-to-play Whale Trail's charms have been harder to resist. It's a one-button game, with a mechanic that's close to Tiny Wings in reverse: tap the screen to fly upwards, release to swoop down. You need to avoid the clouds and collect fuel of some kind.
It looks delightful, the gamplay is well-crafted and there's a wicked soundtrack too.
At the start of this article we encouraged players of free iPad games to consider the question: "How are the developers making their money?" But there is one exception. Some games are created by non-profit, publicly funded or charitable organisations, and can be given away for free without any strings attached (except well-intentioned ideological ones, probably).
Dumb Ways To Die was commissioned by Metro Trains Melbourne in order to raise awareness of railway safety, and a proportion of its macabre puzzles involve helping the characters avoid being sliced in half by trains. But the makers didn't feel the need to stick too closely to the brief, and the theme meanders off all over the place. It's brilliant.
It's fun, and funny, and fast - each puzzle lasts just a few seconds, before you're whisked off to the next. There's not enormous depth, but it's definitely worth a go.
Source: Macworld.co.uk
