An elegant, fun little platform game that I love the structure of. Still find myself replaying it occasionally, long after finishing it with a perfect score.

Probably the most recent game on my list – it’s a great boardgamey interactive fiction take on Around the World in 80 Days. It nails this feel of being on a long trip and getting a fleeting sense of this world you’re passing through.

A brilliantly designed roguelike-like with a smart take on character progression. I’ve probably played more of this than anything else on my iPad.

One of the best endless runners I’ve come across – moreso than usual, I got really competitive with this one!

A drod-like of sorts, with a wonderful roguelike mode. Have played this pretty compulsively since it came out.

It’s by my flatmate, so, you know, nepotism – but I’m far from the only person to love this one. There’s an astonishing, mindblowing idea in the middle of the game that not enough people have seen.

GAMEDOG! I love Gamedog! It’s this weird broken fake-LCD bootleg game emulator for a machine that doesn’t exist, with lots of weird bootleg takes on pacman and things like that. Charming and really funny.

Another roguelike-like! I love games that challenge you to purposefully make things harder for yourself as a show of swagger, something this game does very well with its achievement system.

Like somebody looked at an iPad and said “RIGHT, how can I make a Spectrum platformer work on this?”. The solution they came up with is unlikely and really clever. Hits right at the things I get nostalgic about. Plus the ending’s pretty funny.

A mystlike – walk around giant environments and interact with mysterious machines. I originally played this with two friends, passing the controller around and taking turns at the puzzles, which worked great because it’s beautiful both to watch and explore.

Pixel’s low key follow up to Cave Story, a humble little platform shooter bursting with character and charm. I get a bit fanboyish about Pixel’s work!

A fantastic take on point-and-click adventure games, and a GREAT fit for touchscreens.

A really great board-game-like zombie survival game about rebuilding society. When it came out I played all the way through in one sitting.

My favourite multiplayer game on iPad – hilarious and really fun. Watch the trailer!

Does tilt controls *really really* well. You play as a skeleton on a pogo stick, hence, Skullpogo. I like Skeletons.

Aaaa I love Super Spike Dislike. It’s a really simple one-jump action game. Like Hoplite, has that wonderful quality of being hard mostly because you’re making it hard on yourself. One of the first games I recommend to people who get an iOS device.

Thicket’s a music toy that’s so spongy and great, you touch it and it makes sounds and you can mess with it with all your fingers at once. Ah it’s so lovely.

Beautiful and cute and charming and such a perfect fit for a touchscreen device. A thing I often show to people who aren’t sure if they really like games.