5 Addictive iPhone Games You Can Play With One Hand

POINPY

POINPY is a colorful platforming game that will probably remind you of Doodle Jump if you’re old enough. Your objective is to climb as high as possible while avoiding obstacles and collecting fruit. Pretty simple, but highly addictive. 

You control a small creature being chased by an enormous blue beast. To keep the monster satisfied, you’ll need to collect fruit and crush it into juice while making your way up.

You bounce upward using simple drag-and-release controls, grabbing power-ups along the way to make things more exciting. You’ll also need to collect the right fruit combinations while dodging enemies that can end your run instantly.

As you progress, you’ll unlock abilities that give you additional ways to survive. The game gradually introduces more challenging environments, so just knowing the controls won’t be enough.

Threes!

Threes! is an App Store classic at this point, and for a good reason. It’s just one of those games that looks incredibly simple until you realize how much strategy goes into every move. 

Threes! is a number puzzle game where you slide tiles around a small grid, combining them to create increasingly valuable numbers.

The rules are easy to understand. Ones combine with twos to create threes, while matching numbers above three can combine to create bigger numbers. Your objective is to keep combining tiles and earn as many points as possible before the board fills up.

Of course, you can’t move every tile individually. Swiping moves the board in a particular direction, so you’ll need to think about how each decision affects the rest of your tiles.

The game is great if you just want to mindlessly fidget with something on your screen. But eventually, you’ll reach a point where a careless move can ruin several minutes of planning. So you need to be careful if you actually want to make progress.

Fortunately, there’s no timer forcing you to make quick decisions, so you can take as much time as you need.

Really Bad Chess

Do you suck at chess? Don’t worry; you don’t need to be good to play this game. You only need to be creative.

Really Bad Chess takes a game that’s been around for centuries and changes one of its most recognizable features: the starting pieces.

Instead of beginning every match with the traditional position, you’ll receive a randomized collection of chess pieces. You might start with several queens or an unusual combination of bishops and knights.

The basic rules are still the same, and your objective is still to checkmate your opponent. However, those unusual starting positions completely change how you approach each game.

You can’t rely on memorizing traditional openings because the pieces you need for those strategies might not even exist on your side of the board. You’ll need to examine the position carefully and figure out how to use whatever pieces you’ve been given.

That will force you to think more carefully and creatively, and who knows, it might even help you improve your chess in the long run.

Coffee Golf

If chess isn’t your cup of tea, how about golf and coffee instead? Coffee Golf is a surprisingly entertaining golf game built around quick daily challenges. You don’t need to know much about golf to enjoy it, either.

Every day, you’re presented with a small course containing five holes. Your objective is to complete all five using as few strokes as possible.

You can choose the order in which you tackle the holes, giving you some freedom to plan your route around the course. Sometimes, a different order can make the challenge much easier.

The controls are straightforward as well. You’ll aim your shot and adjust its power using touchscreen gestures, then watch your ball travel across the course.

Of course, obstacles and the whole terrain can make things a bit harder than you probably thought. You might need several attempts to figure out the most efficient route through a particular course.

Still, it’s a really fun and quick game that will give you something new every day. Even if you can’t complete one challenge, you’ll get something different tomorrow that might be easier or just more fun.

MARVEL SNAP

If you’re a Marvel fan who likes strategy games, MARVEL SNAP is definitely worth trying. It’s a collectible card game featuring familiar superheroes and villains, each with abilities that can influence the outcome of a match.

Your objective is to control at least two of three locations by playing cards from your deck. Each location can have its own rules, so you’ll need to adjust your strategy depending on what appears during the match.

For example, one location might increase the power of certain cards, while another could prevent you from playing particular types of cards. Matches normally last six turns, making them considerably shorter than many traditional card games.

The Snap mechanic also lets you raise the stakes when you’re confident you'll win. That creates some interesting situations where you might decide to retreat rather than risk losing.