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The latest iPads are undoubtedly the best tablets available for most users. Not only do they offer a feature-rich operating system, but they also support a large library of well-optimized apps. These applications include a wide variety of solid games that run excellently on the Apple tablet. That's particularly true on M-powered iPads, which take mobile gaming to the next level. To help you make the most out of your device, we've listed some of the best iPad games currently available.

Role-playing

Stardew Valley

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For plenty of reasons, Stardew Valley is my favorite iPad game, but it's also one that fans of the pixelated RPG format and life simulators will appreciate. In this game, you have to restore, renovate, take care of, and populate a rural farm after moving away from the city and your dreadful 9-to-5 job. You can plant, raise cattle, interact with fellow townies, fish, mine, date, cast spells, and much, much more.

What further makes the game so special though is that it was created mostly by one person — Eric Barone, known as Concerned Ape. He not only designed the gameplay but also did the sound effects, original music, and graphics, creating a sense of harmony between its elements — complete coherence that you wouldn't usually find elsewhere. No matter how much you explore in this game, there's a high chance you're not even close to going through it all. But you can still play at your own pace. Even if you miss a certain goal or event, you can get it done at a later point. The game won't send you push notifications either, and time stops when you're not actually playing — so there's no pressure to play when you don't want to.

Stardew Valley costs $4.99 and includes no ads or in-app purchases. It additionally offers a local backup and restore option, so you can play the iPad version on the go, then manually copy your progress to your Mac or PC at home.

Genshin Impact

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If you're a fan of anime-style RPGs, Genshin Impact is for you. It's a title with very rich gameplay and a solid storyline, where you have to explore a wide, beautifully crafted world, harness the seven elements (Anemo, Electro, Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, Geo, and Dendro), and fight deities. The storyline is meticulously crafted if you pay attention to it, the characters have depth to them, and while there is a certain element of button-mashing, there can be equal elements of team building and strategy, too. The open-world exploration is also one of the highlights of this game, and you can spend hours trying to solve puzzles to unlock further parts of the storyline.

Genshin Impact is available as a free download and supports multiplayer gameplay. However, the game has optional in-app purchases that can get quite costly if you're not careful. It's still enjoyable without paying a cent, nonetheless.

Adventure

Don't Starve: Pocket Edition

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In Don't Starve the aim is... not starving. It's a survival game where you have to explore, collect items and food, cook, build equipment, fight monsters, and keep a bonfire burning through the night (trust me on this one). There are three main meters that you have to keep an eye on — hunger, sanity, and health — and if any of them hit zero, you're in for a bad time, especially when it comes to health. If monsters (even the cute ones) attack you, you will start losing health points, until you ultimately die and start over.

This game has basic touch controls and costs $4.99 in the App Store. It includes no in-app purchases, ads, or pay-to-win obstacles. If you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, you can avoid paying the $4.99 by playing Don't Starve: Pocket Edition+ for free. If you're a fan of the graphics, sound effects, and gameplay, you can pay another $4.99 for the Shipwrecked edition, which includes new worlds, resources, and creatures that want to kill you.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

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The Binding of Isaac is one of the sickest games out there, but in the best way. Here, you have to cry your way through endless basements until you defeat your mom — and ultimately the devil, too. If you're unfamiliar with this game, I'm assuming my brief description makes no sense to you, but that's sort of the point.

Isaac is a child who is running away from his murderous mom. Through underground basements, you have to find your way and kill monsters and bosses by shooting your tears at them. There are plenty of power-ups, secrets, and hidden gems that really make this game stand out. Just like Don't Starve, when you die, you have to start over in a uniquely generated setting.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is available for $14.99 and includes no ads. There are some optional DLCs that you can buy separately through in-app purchases, but the base game still offers a ton of content on its own. This title offers virtual joystick controls for movement and shooting, which make it easily playable on the iPad's touchscreen.

Bastion

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Why Bastion is on the list of best iPad games should be self-explanatory. It's one of the greatest computer games that's been ported to mobile. It's an action role-playing game (RPG) where you have to fight your way through different worlds and uncover how the world has been shattered. There are over 10 upgradeable weapons and six Bastion structures included, with the gameplay becoming more engaging as you progress further. Its graphics are detailed yet they're not super realistic, so they offer some artistic depth without changing the overall atmosphere of the game's setting. Once you finish the main story, you also get to play an unlockable mode to make more out of the game.

Bastion is available as a free download. However, you will need to unlock the full game as an in-app purchase after you go through its beginning. Think of it as a free demo, with the full game costing $4.99 (as a one-time purchase). The game has no ads or other IAPs — as you'd expect from a premium release.

Plants vs. Zombies 2

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The starved zombies are approaching, and they desire a taste of your human brains. You're in your house and zombies are coming through the front/backyard. You have to place all sorts of superplants to fight off the zombies and protect your delicate brains. Each plant has a certain cost, superpower, and health bar. It's all about placing them strategically to make sure no zombie gruesomely devours your head.

Plants vs. Zombies 2 makes sense on an iPad because its gameplay depends on tapping, dragging, and swiping. So the Apple tablet's touchscreen is more than enough to make the most out of it. In fact, I find it easier to play this game on an iPad rather than a Mac or PC. It's available as a free download but includes optional in-app purchases.

Divinity: Original Sin 2

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Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an excellent iPad game for those seeking an action-packed RPG. You get to create and customize your own hero and have the surrounding world react accordingly. The exciting aspect to this game is the ability to play and explore freely. You can wander wherever you want, talk to anyone, kill NPCs, and more. You also get to utilize different control methods, including touch, keyboard/mouse, and game controllers. You will put hundreds of hours into this game with everything there is to do.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 costs $12.99 and offers no in-app purchases or ads. You can play it in both single and multiplayer modes, and the save progress supports cross-platform syncing.

Resident Evil Village

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Following its initial debut on consoles and desktop, Resident Evil Village has finally made its way to M-powered iPads. In this horror survival game, you play as a father whose daughter has been kidnapped. She's being held in a snowy village with swarms of monsters guarding the place.

Just like its predecessors, you will be scavenging different locations to acquire resources you need. Though, this edition focuses more on combat, so you will be facing the aforementioned monsters more frequently. That's not to mention that your enemies may be more unpredictable. So they may attack you as a pack, wield weapons, and try to outsmart you. If you're overwhelmed or unable to defeat them, in many cases you could just, you know, run for your life.

With this release, you still get a dedicated space to store and reorganize your belongings. You also get to buy and upgrade some of them when you come across a merchant. If this sounds like your kind of game, you can download it from the App Store for free. Though, do note that to unlock the base game, you have to buy a $15.99 in-app purchase, and there are other optional DLCs that cost extra.

Simulation

This War of Mine

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This War of Mine is a dystopian game that will completely disarrange your moral compass. Which is more ethical, knocking out an old lady to steal what little she has left or leaving a starving child to die of hunger? If recent times haven't been dark enough, this is a game to check out. Can you survive the horrors of war by scavenging, building, inventing, and protecting yourself? The graphics (particularly the colors), soundtracks and effects, and storyline are almost guaranteed to shake up your mood's stability.

For $1.99 only, you can own this moving, artistic game. For an additional $1.99, you can buy The Little Ones DLC, which allows you to experience the game from a child's perspective — if you don't find the game depressing enough as it is. You can also pay $2.99 for Stories - Father's Promise, which features a father trying to save his daughter.

Among Us

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If you like the concept of Town of Salem but want something more advanced that doesn't solely revolve around texting other players, then Among Us should be a solid iPad game for you. Similar to Town of Salem, there are two teams, the good and the bad folks. The latter category includes imposters who have to quietly kill the good team members. There are also chatting and voting systems to discuss and execute players suspected to be imposters. As a good teammate, you have to work on several assigned tasks and avoid being cornered by a bloodthirsty imposter.

Among Us is available on the iPad for free, but it includes optional in-app purchases to remove ads and unlock more content, like costumes, hats, and more. Because this popular game is available across other platforms like PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, you can play with your friends wherever they are.

Fallout Shelter

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Fallout Shelter has a special place in my heart. Despite it being a freemium title (which I tend to despise), it still offers addictive gameplay that doesn't pressure you into purchasing microtransactions. In this game, you have to build a life underground in a vault from the Fallout universe. The aim is to grow the population down there and keep the people alive, safe, and healthy. The gameplay is relatively simple, but things get complicated when you send people out into the wilderness for scavenging, assign people to certain rooms based on their expertise and talents, and have babies. It's a cycle of increasing needs that you have to keep in check.

The game can get repetitive, but I love its graphics, style, sound effects, and simulation gameplay. It's still an excellent, free game, and there's no harm in giving it a shot.

Goat Simulator

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Yes, that's a goat's tongue stuck to a flying helicopter. Goat Simulator is an absurd, open-world game for when life makes too much sense. For starters, you play a goat. What you do with that information is up to your imagination. You know how in Grand Theft Auto some people ignore the missions and just go around robbing/killing people for the fun of it? Now imagine that but as a goat. You can take advantage of the open world and just walk (or fly) around harassing people and causing chaos. It's a weird way to wind down and empty some built-up stress, but it's a very valid way nonetheless.

Goat Simulator costs $6.99 and offers plenty of in-app purchases for additional content/expansions. Alternatively, you could play the plus (+) edition on Apple Arcade. If you like it, you can also check the other Goat Simulator editions on the developer's App Store page.

Puzzle

Monument Valley

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If you need to wind down after a long day of playing depressing titles like This War of Mine, there's Monument Valley. Here, the rules of physics don't make sense in a way that makes sense — does this make sense to you? The mechanisms of manipulating the landscapes are unrealistic, but once you go through a few levels and get used to the game, these unrealistic mechanisms will become familiar and sensible. Your aim is to lead a little princess through geometric worlds by twisting them. You drag, swipe, and move elements around, which is for the iPad's large touch display.

Monument Valley is available for $3.99 in the App Store. It includes no ads and only one optional IAP, which unlocks eight additional chapters for $1.99. If you like the concept of the game, you can play its sequel — Monument Valley 2 — for $4.99 (no IAPs). It's worth noting, though, that if you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, you can play both titles for free through their plus (+) editions.

Samorost 1

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If you're a fan of puzzle games, Samorost 1 is for you. This point-and-click game was released back in 2003, but it has been remastered and optimized to suit modern devices. As a PC game that won my heart as a child, Samorost obviously needed a spot on this list.

This game requires focus and patience. You just have to guide a gnome (of sorts) through different environments. To do so, you must solve brain teasers by tapping on-screen elements in a certain order. It requires few skills to learn, and the story is engaging and entertaining. Just use your logic, and you'll be done in no time.

Samorost 1 is available for free and includes no IAPs. If you like the game, Amanita Design has released two sequels — priced at $1.99 and $5.99, respectively, on the App Store. Both Samorost 2 and Samorost 3 have no in-app purchases, either. And if you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, then you can play Samorost 3+ for free.

The Room

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The Room is a puzzle game by Fireproof Studios. If you're a fan of investigating, looking for clues, and solving physics-based mysteries, this one's for you. The game features very realistic graphics with sophisticated-looking machinery that you must deduce to unravel the story. That's the concept across other games in the series, as well, so it's easy to hop between them.

You can download and play The Room for $0.99 with no ads or in-app purchases. If you enjoy this game, you can get the sequels as well. The Room 2 costs $1.99, although it's free on Apple Arcade. The Room 3 is priced at $3.99, while The Room: Old Sins costs $4.99. They all come with the same vibe and atmosphere of the original title, offering 3D graphics, an astounding soundtrack, and a well-thought storyline.

Machinarium

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If I could, I would list Machinarium twice here. Developed by the same people behind Samorost, this title is a genius work of art. Here, you're a robot trying to solve puzzles to get from one rusty, cyberpunk-inspired screen/location to another. The gameplay is very similar to that of Samorost, but it's in no way redundant.

Machinarium's controls are very intuitive and touch-friendly, so it's super easy to hop in regardless of if you've played Samorost. It is priced at $5.99, has no ads or in-app purchases, and exposes you to a surreal environment that will likely get you hooked. It truly is one of the best iPad games out there.

Battle royale

PUBG Mobile

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In PUBG Mobile, you're dropped into a world with several other real-life players, and the aim is to be the last person standing. There's a wide variety of weapons and customizations, and competing against your friends only makes the game more fun. It's arguably one of the best battle royale titles available to mobile players, especially since Fortnite got delisted from the App Store.

PUBG Mobile is free to play, but it expectedly offers in-app purchases. Despite that, you can still enjoy the title just fine without buying any digital goods. That's especially true since the game is still in active development, so it's frequently updated with new content and in-game events.

Call of Duty: Mobile

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If you like the battle royale format but PUBG Mobile doesn't quite match your taste, Call of Duty Mobile might be what you're looking for. Brought to you by Activision, this game offers pretty much what you'd expect from a mobile battle royale and more. You can fight 99 other players in a large world to remain the last person standing. Apart from that, the game offers other modes with different rules and characteristics, including Team Deathmatch, Domination, and Kill-Confirmed. This turns it into a rich, central hub for fans of mobile multiplayer FPS games. You can also connect with and play against your friends if you all are willing to put your friendships at risk.

Call of Duty Mobile is available for free. However, it includes optional in-app purchases that can get pricey. If you'd rather not spend your real money on digital consumables, you can still enjoy the gameplay without investing any cent into the game.

Card

Hearthstone

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Hearthstone is a collectible card game from Blizzard Entertainment. Like many other card games, such as Magic: The Gathering, it's about laying out cards and using them as "soldiers" against your opponent's team. Each card comes with a special power, a certain number of health points, and other statistics that distinguish it, like a character type. So you have to place and play your cards strategically depending on your opponent's deck to win.

It has simple yet engaging gameplay that is easy to master on the iPad's touchscreen. This title is free to download and play, but it includes optional in-app purchases as well. Notably, though, you can enjoy it fully without needing to pay.

Threes!

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After playing Super Hexagon, you will need a fix. Threes! is one great option for that. If you're unfamiliar with it, in this title you have to swipe numbered tiles vertically and/or horizontally. The aim is to increase the highest number available on a tile, as you merge tiles with similar digits to double their values. It doesn't take long to learn how to play this game, but mastering it can be challenging. You will slowly find yourself understanding the logic behind it to avoid running out of empty spaces and losing.

Threes! is available for $5.99 on the App Store and includes no advertisements or in-app purchases. If you'd rather not spend money on the game or like to try it for free before buying it, there are two other options to play it. The first is downloading Threes! Freeplay, which is a free, ad-supported version of the premium game. The other choice works if you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, as the company has released a plus (+) edition on that platform.

Casual

Alto's Adventure

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Alto's Adventure is easily one of the best iPad games thanks to its breathtaking graphics that are almost guaranteed to help you wind down after a stressful day — particularly when paired with its original soundtrack. It's both a snowboarding game and an artistic masterpiece that is worthy of the iPad's large display. Additionally, it has a one-button control system, making it exceptionally easy to play on the iPad's touchscreen.

If you enjoy this game, you can also check Alto's Odyssey, which was released later and features sand-boarding. The two games are not related when it comes to the story, so you can play either or both in any order. Each costs $4.99 on the App Store, and they include no ads or in-app purchases. If you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, you can play the Remastered editions of both titles for free.

Super Hexagon

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Super Hexagon was released a decade ago, but it still rightfully earns a spot on this list of the best iPad games. This title works best with touch controls, and the big screen makes the experience more immersive. As a result, playing it on an iPad would make sense the most.

The aim of this game — just like many other games — is to survive. Do you see that little triangle over there, towards the middle? That lil fella is you, and you must stay alive. You can do this by bumping into the approaching barriers. In this game, you press either on the left or right side to shift the triangle's direction/motion. So you basically have to slip through the tiny cracks between the invasive barriers to stay in the clear. Does this sound easy or simple to you? I won't subjectively comment on the matter. Instead, I'm going to share the difficulty levels included in this game — hard, harder, hardest, hardester, hardestest, and hardestestest.

This gem costs a mere $2.99 on the App Store, has no ads or in-app purchases, and doesn't get boring — assuming it's your type. It's ideal for when you want simple gaming mechanisms/controls, but also have an urge for some grind and stress.

Strategy

Town of Salem - The Coven

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Lying in real life — especially about murder — is frowned upon. In Town of Salem, however, you're encouraged to lie because otherwise, you'll lose (your head). This game is based on chatting with other players from all over the world. The servers automatically assign roles to each player, and each role is divided into two main categories: Townies and Mafia. Members belonging to the latter category can identify each other and secretly chat during the night. Townies, on the other hand, remain in the dark.

Every night, members of the Mafia could attempt to kill a Townie. The next morning — through the group chat that connects all players — Townies must defend themselves and try to identify each other. Once there's a Mafia suspect, everyone gets to vote on whether to hang them or not. After the player dies, the server reveals whether that was in fact a Mafia member or an innocent, misjudged Townie.

The game has several playing modes with plenty of additions, cosmetics, DLCs, and more. It's available for free, but it has ads and plenty of IAPs for additional content and privileges. It's worth noting, though, that even without paying for the in-app purchases, the game is fully enjoyable in its free form.

Really Bad Chess

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Do you know those dreams that make no sense at all? In a way, that's what Really Bad Chess is. As its name suggests, it's a chess game that is... really bad. You and your opponent receive a random assortment of chess pieces, rather than the standard, classic arrangement. This adds more to the fun as recycled strategies simply don't work in this game. You will have to think hard and come up with a new approach every single match.

The game is available for free but restricts certain features to paid players. For a one-time, $3.99 in-app purchase, users can remove ads, unlock local multiplayer mode, customize the palette, and take advantage of other features. The game remains totally playable even without paying, thanks to AI-ranked challenges. If you're subscribed to Apple Arcade, you can alternatively enjoy the full game experience for free through its plus (+) edition.

Sid Meier's Civilization VI

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Civilization VI is also one of the notable PC titles that have made it to mobile. The aim of this turn-based game is to build a civilization that lasts through different time eras. You will start at the Stone Age and slowly progress and advance your technologies. It's a great pick for those who like strategy games.

Civilization VI is available as a free download. However, after playing 60 turns, you will need to purchase the full game for $9.99. Apart from this in-app purchase, there are several additional DLCs that you can buy to expand the content available in this game. If you already own this title on a different platform, you can seamlessly keep your progress in sync on all of your devices.

The iPad blends portability with the big screen, allowing you to easily play games on the go, without limiting yourself to the small smartphone screen. While they don't support Mac games in general, they do have a rich library of premium titles that belong to different genres, as our comprehensive list reflects.

Nowadays, we can easily enjoy high-end titles on a mobile operating system, such as iPadOS 17. And some developers continue to work on bringing their desktop titles to mobile platforms. The mobile gaming future truly looks promising.

iPad Air
Apple iPad Air (2022)

The 2022 5th-generation iPad Air is powered by the Apple M1 processor, it supports 5G for the first time, and it comes in an array of beautiful colors.