Top iOS Games To Play Over the Holidays

The holidays are a time for spending time with family and friends, enjoying the outdoors... and catching up on the iOS games we wanted desperately to play during the year but didn’t get the time for. So here are our picks for the top iOS games to download and play these holidays.

Angry Birds Star Wars

Join Luke and Leia, Beak-3PO and Obi-Wing Kenobi (at least, that’s what I would’ve named them) and the rest of the Rebel Birds as they take on the evil Imperial Pigs – by stealing the plans to the Empire’s secret weapon: the Pig Star. Break down the Imperial Pig barriers with Luke’s lightsabre and Leia’s laser vision.

Why we like it: It’s Star Wars themed. What’s cooler than that? Rovio has mixed the world’s greatest movie franchise with one of the world’s most popular iOS games – and, you don’t need to be a Star Wars fanatic to enjoy the game. (It might make more sense if you are!)

Angry Birds

From the classic Angry Birds that took the world by storm to its various versions, like Seasons, Space and Rio, I’d still recommend the Angry Birds series. And the titles have now been ported to a host of other platforms, so you can play it on your PC or your PS3 too.

Why we like it: It’s Angry Birds. Enough said.

Are You Quick Enough? 2

It’s a very simple principle: a series of tests and games designed to be beaten in seconds. From easy math problems to throwing ninja stars at evil ninjas (and avoiding the geishas), Are You Quick Enough? 2 is challenging and completely addictive.

Why we like it: It’s absolutely challenging and completely frustrating. And for those reasons it’s completely addictive and difficult to stop playing. Loads of fun for a lazy afternoon.

Bad Piggies

The Enemy Pigs are back. And that’s not propaganda rhetoric, that’s Bad Piggies: the now infamous green pigs that made their debut in the Angry Birds series. Except now they find themselves pyrotechnically enhanced and inventors of note - or rather, of disrepute.

You need to ferry the pigs across canyons and ravines in their dodgy Da Vinci-inspired contraptions to pick up various collectables.
It’s your job to make them fly, instead of flinging rather unhappy birds at the shameless swine.

Why we like it: If you liked Angry Birds – and its various flavours – Bad Piggies is a must. A switch in perspective from enemy pigs to curious inventors and a change in gameplay strategy, Bad Piggies is fresh and fun.

Beat Sneak Bandit

Another gem by Simogo Games. Someone has stolen all the clocks in your world and its up to you – the Beat Sneak Bandit – to get them back. The game must be played with the sound on because you need to move Beat Sneak Bandit to the beat... in order to be sneaky.

Why we like it: It has lots of challenging levels with security guards, strobe lights and a frog that constantly calls you on the phone. Plus the soundtrack is awesome and perfect for a holiday game.

Bumpy Road

A Simogo Games title that’s both simple and super addictive. It’s an easy enough principle – you control two characters on a road trip. But the trick is to make the road move. You can jump, accelerate or slow yourself down, but the object is to collect as many tokens and pictures as you can... without falling in the water.

Why we like it: It’s simplicity hooks you right from the start; it has a lovely soundtrack with great graphics and it’s sure to keep you busy for hours.

Fruit Ninja

Be a fruit slashing, slicing ninja warrior in Fruit Ninja – the healthiest of today’s most popular mobile games. There is something immensely satisfying about rapidly slashing through fruit. It’s available on every smartphone as well as the iPad, Kinect and Facebook.

Why we like it: You’re a ninja... slashing through fruit. What more do you want?

Tiny Tower

Yes. Build a tower filled with Tiny Tower residents – or Bitizens – and make them work. You build businesses and residences, employ or fire bitizens, and move them in or evict them. There are missions to fulfil and challenges to accept.

If you feel you can part with some of your Christmas bonus you can buy Tower bux and build quicker. But Tiny Tower is generous enough that you can manage your tower very well without needing to buy extra bux.

Be careful... it’ll suck you in and before you know it, you’ll be building floors and moving people while sitting at the Christmas table.

Why we like it: Tiny Tower is my pick of the lot. It’s easy to grasp but filled with stuff to do. And the opportunities are endless. It’s a family friendly game too, so the little ones can play it over the holidays.