You probably don't really think of the Apple Watch as a gaming device. That's not its primary or even secondary function. But you've got it on your wrist anyway, so why not download a few fun games for those moments throughout your day when you find yourself with a little extra time? Here are some of the best Apple Watch games you can have on hand to play anytime, anywhere.
The best games to play on your Apple Watch
Note that you'll need to download all of these games on your iPhone. In many cases, you will also need to open up the game and sign in on your iPhone before you can play it 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!
Pocket Plants: Love plant game
Working out with your Apple Watch is what you're probably already doing, but why not gamify it and have some fun? Grow hundreds of cute plants, and even mix and match different species to evolve new ones. Harvest your plants for NPCs and complete their orders in order to earn rewards. Pocket Plants connects to your Health app and converts your exercise into free energy in-game.
Solitaire The Game
I doubt this game needs much introduction; I grew up playing this with actual cards. Solitaire's popularity exploded with the rise of the PC. Now you can play it right on your wrist. This fast-loading Solitaire game is intuitive, fun to play, and surprisingly clean for such a small screen. It's an easy game to play but tough to master, and it's perfect for when you have a few minutes on your hands.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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: 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: 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...
Gettin' wristy with the best Apple Watch games
Whether you have the Apple Watch Ultra, the Apple Watch Series 8, or any older model, adding some games brings the fun to your wrist. You'd be surprised how much entertainment can be had on a one-inch screen. If you're going to be playing a lot, you might want to pick up an extra portable Apple Watch charger to offset any battery drain you might incur.
