Best iOS Games To Play Over The Holidays

Whether you’re flying home to see friends and family, kicking back after a big meal by the fire, or just trying to avoid another one of grandma’s yarns about what life was like back in the Lincoln era, there’s a ton of great stuff on iOS to play while you’re enjoying all the trappings of the holiday season. Here are some top picks.

Ascension

If you’ve never tried deck-building games, the iOS version of Ascension plays identical to the tabletop version of the same game. But with the iOS version, you’ll never have to keep track of any of the many pieces or scorekeeping, and you can also find people to play with at any time of the day instead of trying to round up friends to play with. This one has been around for a while on the platform, but it’s one of the best boardgame translations you can find on iOS and lends itself well to the digital format.

World of Tanks Blitz

You know, I think I actually prefer this version of the game to the PC title. Games are fast and fun and still give that progression drip after every match to work toward spiffy new tanks. With Blitz, it’s surprising how much control you’re given with the touch-tap interface and the core gameplay isn’t sacrificed. It’s free so if you’re not sure you’ll enjoy the historically accurate mayhem it’s fairly easy to find out.

Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

This one is sort of a no brainer, but Blizzard’s digital card game masterpiece is amazing on iOS – the gameplay loses absolutely nothing in translation from PC to iOS, and you’re still playing on the same Battle.net account so you can swap platforms whenever you get the urge, retaining all your cards, progress, and decks. Just in time for the holidays, you can unwrap all the new Goblins vs Gnomes cards for a chaotic, frenzied time, just the thing you’ll need after a big holiday feast.

Chain Chronicle

It’s a card battler at heart, but you’ll still be able to progress without dumping cash on gacha-style random rolls for characters. This one does some cool things with characters, each one has a story and unlockable abilities that you can hunt down for additional rewards instead of just plodding through the campaign.

Chrono Trigger

The touch-controls aren’t the best for this SNES classic, but it’s still a smooth play on iOS. Mandatory if you somehow still haven’t played one of the best RPGs of all time.

Tap Titans

If you’re a fan of Clicker Heroes or Cookie Clicker, you won’t want to miss this stylish take on the genre. Your army will continue to slaughter monsters even when you’re away, providing players with a fun, casual experience as you log in every few hours or days to pick up new characters and skills.

Clash of Clans

When you’re done tearing through the stocking stuffers and feeding your face with holiday treats, it might be time to engage in some Clan Wars, one of the cool new features that came to Clash of Clans this year.