Got a new Apple Watch Series 6? Load it up with some fun games!
- sep
- 24
Can't or don't want to pull out your phone? Play on your wrist!
Apple Watch Series 6 is cool — just plain cool. There are myriad things that we can now do by tapping the gorgeous little device on our wrists, and while productivity is the name of the game, a little fun once in a while never hurt anyone! Let's be real, though — you're not going to find a fully immersive gaming experience for Apple Watch, but you will discover some excellent time wasters. Here are the best Apple Watch games you can play right now!
Note: You'll have to download all of these on your iPhone first, and in many cases, you'll have to play a bit or sign in/open them on your iPhone before you can play on your Apple Watch.
Lifeline
If you're looking for something to pass the time and want something kinda creepy cool, then check out Lifeline, which is definitely one of the best Apple Watch games around. You'll speak with a stranded astronaut and try to unravel his predicament and secrets by choosing your responses to everything he says.
You'll have to connect to the app on your iPhone first, but once you do, you'll start to receive the messages on your Apple Watch, tapping each of your responses as you delve deeper into the mystery and try to help Taylor survive by giving him instructions to explore marooned ships and tell him which way to travel.
This is the first in a series of great text adventures from developer 3 Minute Games. Check 'em out!
Lifeline
Speak with a stranded astronaut and discover secrets as you try to help him.
Trivia Crack
Like trivia? Like competitive trivia even better? Good. Trivia Crack is just that.
In a sort of Trivial Pursuit-style game, you play random people around the world to collect all the game characters, each representing a different category. Each turn, you'll spin the wheel, which will land on a character, forcing you to answer a question based on that category. It could be history, geography, entertainment, sports, art, or science.
You'll answer questions until you get one wrong, so you could very well running the board and increasing your points total. You can also challenge your opponents in head-to-head battles of wits or chat with your friends and challenge them to games of mental fortitude.
If you're a trivia buff, then definitely check this one out. Just don't expect a game for PhDs — most of the questions are fairly simple, with the odd curveball tossed in for good measure. And if the first game isn't enough, make sure to check out the sequel, Trivia Crack 2!
Trivia Crack
Free with in-app purchases on App Store
If you're a trivia buff, then this little Apple Watch game is the perfect way to pass the time.
Snappy Word
Snappy Word has a simple interface and only features four letters at a time. Play to make as many words as you can in 30 seconds or pick up your phone and play the same way or play until you make a mistake, with no time limit. There's also an iMessage app that lets you challenge friends to unscramble words.
Every time a game ends, you'll get kicked out of the app on your Apple Watch so that it can refresh (I guess?). If you're looking for another fun, wordy time-waster, Snappy Word is great, and it's free.
Snappy Word
Free with in-app purchases at App Store
How many four-letter words can you spell out in 30 seconds?
Tiny Armies
Wrist-based conquest has never been so fun. Tiny Armies is a fast-paced game that makes you swipe to move your units and take over your enemy's territory. You'll encounter lakes, mountains, and forests as obstacles, and gameplay is in quick bouts, perfect for the Apple Watch. You can play alone, head-to-head with your friends, or with anyone in the world via iMessage.
Tiny Armies
Control of your own army units and take over enemy territory, right on your wrist.
KOMRAD
Komrad is an interactive fiction game in which you chat with a Soviet A.I. from 1985. The A.I. has been training in secret for 30 years and still thinks the Cold War is raging. If you're at all interested in casually playing through a cryptic tale of mystery and potential nuclear disaster, then Komrad should keep you occupied as you carefully choose your responses so as not to destroy the entire world.
KOMRAD
Try not to destroy the world as you engage in conversation with a Soviet A.I. from 1985.
Elevate: Brain Training
This may not be a game, per se, but Elevate: Brain Training will still entertain you while also making use of your epic brainpower. With the Apple Watch app, you can enjoy over 35 mini-game activities that help you improve your critical cognitive skills, like focus, memory, processing, math, precision, and comprehension. It also gives you detailed performance tracking so you can see how good you're doing, and it adapts to you to provide you with a level of challenge that is geared for you and no one else.
Elevate: Brain Training
Free with in-app purchases at App Store
Make the most of your time by training your brain with these fun exercises.
Bubblegum Hero
Need something to keep you busy for a few minutes? Then Bubblegum Hero is the entertainment you're looking for. The concept is simple: hold a finger on the screen to blow a bubble, and make sure that your bubble is big enough to fit within the two circles on the screen. Sounds simple, right? But make sure you don't fill it up too much, because then it'll pop and you'll end up with gum everywhere! The circles are constantly expanding and contracting, so the target sizes change, making it harder to keep up with over time. Think you can handle it?
Bubblegum Hero
Free with in-app purchases at App Store
Have your character blow bubbles on the screen, making sure that it's big enough to fill the circle. But don't blow them too big, or they'll pop!
Lifeline 2
Did you not get enough of the first Lifeline, which is arguably one of the best Apple Watch games out there? Then Lifeline 2 will satisfy your Apple Watch text adventures. In Lifeline 2, you get a text adventure almost twice as long as the original, and it has even more choices and paths to explore. It also has a 28-minute original soundtrack.
The story of Lifeline 2 involves Arika, a young woman who must set out on a deadly adventure to avenge her parents and rescue a long lost brother. Your choices are what keeps her alive or kills her.
Lifeline 2
Help Arika on her quest to avenge her parents and rescue a long lost brother. Your choices determine whether she lives or dies.
Lifeline: Whiteout
For those who beat the other two Lifeline games, then Whiteout should keep you busy once again. This is the third installment of the Lifeline games, and it's another immersive text-based game that is all about the choices you make. In Whiteout, an adventurer is alone in a frozen wasteland with no memory of he got there, and you're his last line of communication. Your role is to help guide this adventurer to safety, as well as helping him discover his identity as he tries to survive in the extreme cold. It's up to you and your choices whether he makes it out alive or not.
Lifeline: Whiteout
Lifeline: Whiteout features a frozen tundra, and your choices affect whether or not the adventurer lives or dies as a popsicle.
Lifeline: Flatline
Need a little horror to go with your text-based adventure? Then Lifeline: Flatline will fit the bill nicely. This is another installment of the Lifeline series of games, and it adds some Resident Evil-level horror right on your wrist. In Flatline, you'll get in contact with Wynn, who is in a mysterious scientific facility and strapped into a hospital bed. She has no memory of how she got there or what has happened to her, but she knows that she has to get out of there. You're her only line of communication with the outside world, so your job is to help her navigate through the dark hallways and reach the outside. But the shriek of something inhuman seems to be following Wynn everywhere she goes...
Lifeline: Flatline
Help Wynn escape a creepy scientific building before the monster reaches her.
Retro Twist: Old School Mashup
Do you love the old-school games of yesteryear? Then Retro Twist is one that you shouldn't miss because it brings back some arcade classics right on your wrist! With Retro Twist, you get bite-size versions of your favorite arcade games, like Space Invaders, Contra, Brick Breaker, and so much more. You can play these games on your iPhone or right from your Apple Watch, and it uses the Digital Crown as the controller. To complete the experience, Retro Twist even shakes the screen with vibrations, you get music and sound effects, and there is full leaderboard support. It's time to game on, right on your Apple Watch!
Retro Twist: Old School Mashup
Retro Twist brings bite-size versions of classic arcade games right to your wrist.
Gettin' wristy with it
What do you think of the best Apple Watch games? What are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below! And don't forget to pick up an extra Apple Watch charger to keep on hand if you're going to do some gaming on it — the games are sure to drain the battery a little bit.
Updated September 2020: Removed titles that are no longer available. Added Lifeline: Whiteout, Lifeline: Flatline, and Retro Twist to the list.
