The 9 Best One-Handed iPhone Games to Play in 2026
Sometimes you want a deep, two-handed gaming session on your iPhone, and sometimes you’re standing in line with a coffee in one hand and only a thumb to spare. The good news is that the App Store has plenty of options ideally designed for that second category.
We've rounded up some of the best games you can play one-handed. All of these offer friendly one-thumb controls and can often be played in portrait orientation, making them perfect for short sessions on the train, in a waiting room, or on the couch when you don't have the energy for anything more intense. Read on for 9 of the best casual one-handed games on the App Store.
Alto’s Odyssey
Alto’s Odyssey is one of those games that feels like it was made for one-handed iPhone gaming. Even the Apple TV version is played with nothing more than the Siri Remote. The only catch is that it runs in landscape mode, which could make it an exception to the "one-handed" rule for those with larger iPhones and smaller hands.
Still, even if you find one-handed play tricky, Alto's Odyssey is a delightful and relaxing game that's worth checking out. In it, you guide Alto and friends across endless desert dunes, bouncing off rocks, grinding along vines, and flipping over chasms, all with a simple tap-and-hold system. The controls are so straightforward that your other hand can stay firmly wrapped around a coffee or a book.
What makes this game special isn’t just the controls, though. The game is ridiculously pretty, with changing scenery, a fantastic soundtrack, and day–night cycles that make a quick run feel like a relaxing moment with yourself. There’s also a Zen Mode that strips out the objectives and lets you glide along — perfect when you want something more soothing.
Crossy Road
Crossy Road is as simple as it gets: you tap to hop forward and swipe sideways to dodge cars, trains, and even fish. All while trying not to become a feathery roadkill. All its controls work perfectly with one thumb, and the runs are short enough to squeeze in a game or two during your daily commute.
The game's goofy characters and endless unlocks are part of Crossy Road's charm. You may tire of it quickly if you want something more complicated, but there are hundreds of animals and strange creatures to collect, each with little visual quirks that will keep the game interesting for a long time.
With all of that said, the game can be pretty addictive. It’s dangerously easy to keep chasing a new high score while you tell yourself you’re absolutely going to stop after this attempt.
Monument Valley
Monument Valley is one of the most beautiful and thoughtful puzzle games you'll find on the App Store. In it, you'll guide a princess through a series of architectural puzzles that look like paintings brought to life, moving platforms and rotating pieces of the environment to create a path, and then tapping to move the character forward.
The pace is slow, and the environment is soothing and peaceful, so there’s zero pressure to rush. That makes it great for gaming sessions where you want something relaxing but slightly brainy. Each level feels like a tiny, interactive piece of artwork, which is why the game has picked up so many awards and even two equally beautiful sequels that are worth checking out once you've played through the original.
Candy Crush Saga
You probably don’t need an introduction to Candy Crush Saga at this point, but it absolutely earns a place on this list. It’s a match-three puzzler where you drag your thumb to swap candies and create chains, then watch the board explode in colorful combos.
King, the developer behind the game, continues to release new levels every week, and as we head into 2026, there are now well over 16,000 stages on mobile, meaning you’ll never “finish” this game. That's either terrifying or comforting, depending on how you feel about infinite to-do lists.
Stack
Stack is for those who like games that require as little mental energy as possible. It focuses on a single idea: dropping moving blocks onto a tower as cleanly as possible. Tap with your thumb to stop each block; if your timing is off, the next block gets smaller, making it trickier to land.
The design is minimal, with soft colors and simple shapes, but that’s part of the appeal. There’s no story and no characters; just simple gameplay that takes a few seconds to learn. The only goal is to beat your own high score. It’s perfect for those moments when you don’t want sound on, and you don’t want to think too hard.
The sessions are also incredibly short, which makes Stack a great game for anytime that you have a few minutes to kill.
Mini Metro
Mini Metro takes a genre that usually demands a mouse and keyboard and turns it into a one-handed mobile experience. You’re designing subway lines on a minimalist map, dragging routes between stations to keep passengers flowing while the city grows around you.
Everything is handled by tapping and dragging with a single finger, and you can pause time to adjust your lines, which makes it surprisingly relaxing for a strategy game. The visual style is inspired by iconic real-world transit maps, and every playthrough is different thanks to random growth around the city.
You can grab the standard paid version from the App Store or Mini Metro+ on Apple Arcade, which includes the full set of maps and modes at no extra in-app cost. Either way, it’s a fantastic puzzle game that still works great when you want to pass a few minutes of your day.
Flipflop Solitaire
Traditional solitaire was designed for a big table, not a phone. Flipflop Solitaire flips that idea (pun fully intended) by letting you build card stacks both up and down, leaning into a tall, phone-friendly layout.
You tap and drag piles with one thumb, slowly chipping away at the board. Early on, you can stick to just one suit for a relaxed experience, then add more suits once you’re hooked.
If you've played solitaire before, you know the frustration of getting stuck with no moves left; luckily, the developer built Flipflop around the premise that every deal is solvable, making it dangerously easy to become addicted.
Reigns
Reigns is arguably the most one-handed-friendly game on our list. It uses the "Tinder swipe" mechanic that many people are already familiar with and lets you use it to run an entire kingdom. Each card represents a scenario. For instance, you get a bishop asking for money, a general suggesting war, and a peasant complaining about taxes. You analyze each situation, and you approve or deny it with a thumb swipe.
Every decision nudges four hidden meters representing the church, the people, the army, and the treasury. Let any of them max out or bottom out, and your reign often ends in a ridiculous way. Then you pop back in as the next monarch and keep going. Rounds are short, snappy, and perfect for quick one-handed sessions where you might get interrupted at any moment.
Threes!
Threes! is one of those rare mobile games with proven staying power. It's been on the App Store for over a decade, yet even many gamers who first played it in 2014 still love it.
The objective is to get the highest possible score by sliding numbered tiles on a 4×4 grid, combining 1s and 2s to make 3s, then merging matching multiples of three to build bigger and bigger numbers. The rules click in seconds, but the strategy goes surprisingly deep, which is why it’s still widely praised — and endlessly copied — eleven years after its launch.
Unlike many modern puzzles, Threes! is a buy-once, play-forever game. You won't have to deal with any ads or constant prompts to buy boosters. You can easily play with one thumb, swiping in any direction to move the entire board, and games typically last just a few minutes.
Make Your iPhone a One-Handed Game Console
You don’t always have both hands free, and you definitely don’t always have 45 minutes to sink into a complicated RPG or shooter. That’s where one-handed games shine.
Endless runners are great when you just want quick, satisfying runs. Puzzlers like these are perfect if you prefer to think instead of react. It doesn't matter what kind of game you want to play; there's something for you on the App Store.
The best part is that many of these games are free to play. So you can get started with one, see if you like it, and move on to the next title until you find something that actually sticks.