iTuesday Presents: Best free games for iPhone!

There was a time when all of the apps on my phone were free apps. This actually lasted years. I think the only game I bought when I had my iPhone 3G was the Simpsons arcade game. There are a lot of free games available for the iPhone, and I took full advantage of them. Today for a special edition of iTuesday, I’ll go over the best of the best. Ok, well at least the best I’ve come across, the App store is a pretty big place.

Papi Jump: Papi jump uses the iPhone’s accelerometer. You play as a bouncing ball, named Mr. Papi. You tilt the iPhone to jump onto different platforms. The higher you get, the more points you are awarded. This is the type of game that really is most fun when challenging friends. For a while it seemed like all my friends had this one. It’s a shame the app hasn’t been updated with Game Center integration, it is still lots of fun though.

Papi Missile: Another of the Papi series, and another that’s the most fun when competing against friends (once again – no Game Center integration). This time you shoot Mr. Papi at missiles coming toward you. If you hit more than one missile per Papi you get extra points. There are also gold missiles worth extra points. You have three Papi stations, and once all three are hit you lose. This one is probably the most addicting app on this list.

Topple: In Topple you stack falling blocks on top of each other. The object is to get to a certain height. It’s a challenging game and a good time killer. Plus even if you beat all the rounds, you can still try to top your high score by building an even higher tower. If you can get friends to play it, it’s a lot of fun to try to score the highest of your friends.

Catcha Mouse: Great strategy game where you place mousetraps. After each trap is placed the mouse jumps one position. If you stop the mouse from escaping away into a hole in a given amount of turns you advance to the next round. The game is free, but if you really dig it you can buy extra levels as an in-app purchase for  $.99. There are also two sequels available for $.99 each.

Honorable mention:

Some apps start out free, but then become paid apps later on. If you buy them when they are free you get to keep them for free. Here are my favorite pay apps that started out free. These games are proof that it pays off to download any games that look interesting.

Hedgehog Launch: This was originally a flash game I stumbled upon on the internet one sleepless night. You slingshot a hedgehog into the air. The animal goes flying hitting springs along the way and giving you cash. You can use the cash to buy upgrades such as a better slingshot or rocket packs. You win the game when you send the hedgehog into space. The only downside: this game is really only fun once. Once you’ve beat it you’re not going to want to play again, at least not for a while. This app now goes for $.99 and is the only one on the list that I don’t think is worth the price.

Anaconda: The first cell phone game I can remember is snake. I remember thinking how cool it was that my Nokia phone, which was a brick by today’s standards, had this game on it. Anaconda is basically an updated version of the game. You’re a snake, you eat pellets, get points and grow. In Anaconda there are three different colored pellets. Red ones are worth 10 points, yellow ones are worth 15 and make you change direction, and green ones appear spiritually and quickly disappear and are worth 20. It’s still a good game for  $.99, but was great for free.

Cash Cab – This is probably the best trivia game I’ve seen for the iPhone. At the beginning of the game you pick your friend for your shout out, and pick a destination. Just like the show if you make it to your destination without getting three questions wrong – you win! Its pretty straight forward and fun to play either with friends or alone. Cash Cab will now set you back $2.99, and it’s worth it if your looking for a good trivia game. There is also a Las Vegas version for the same price, as well as a “lite” version for free.

I would love to hear input from readers as well. Anything you thought should have been included? Tell me in the comments!