The Apple Watch claims to be many things: stylish timepiece, wrist-based communicator, mobile payment solution, fitness instructor, and, if you cough up for an Edition, embarrassing luxury item. But is it also a gaming platform?
The jury is still out on whether you’ll want to game on a tiny screen with limited controls and battery life, but this isn’t stopping the gaming app gold rush. Plenty of Apple Watch games are available on launch day. Which should you try? Start with these five.
What’s the most downloaded game of the year so far? That’s an easy one: It’s Trivia Crack. Challenging players to answer crowd-sourced trivia questions from across the globe, Trivia Crack is an unmitigated hit on both mobile and social platforms.
The new wearable version can be played entirely on the Apple Watch — no need to look at your phone — through simple taps to answer questions. You can post or accept challenges from other players, and you’ll receive a notification on your wrist when it’s your turn. The game also includes animated colorful characters and millions of user-submitted questions. Should you get it? It’s free, so we’ll answer that with another question: Why not?
Gamers looking for something a little deeper should consider Runeblade, a fantasy role-playing game from Everywear Games.
The single-player campaign puts you in the formidable boots of a War Mage challenged with stopping an ancient, evil menace from overtaking the realm. OK, so the backstory is trite, but the game promises tons of locations to explore, mythological beasts (and bosses) to destroy, and unlockable spells and abilities to earn as you level up over time.
It’s also designed to be played in short, 30-second sessions, though the game increases in depth and complexity over days, weeks, and months of game play, says the developer. We’ll see if that holds up.
One of the more intriguing offerings sneaking onto the Apple Watch is from U.K.-based indie developer Bossa Studios, best known forridiculous games like Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread.
In Spy_Watch, you’re the head of a spy agency that has seen better days. To turn the agency around, you must train spies, send them on secret missions, and use earned cash to improve their abilities.
This ambitious Apple Watch game is played via short bursts of real-time notifications between you and your agent in the field, which take place in two- to five-second rounds. You’ll need to make strategic decisions on the fly that will ultimately affect the success of the missions, be they related to time, resources, or locations. Think a spy-flavored choose-your-own-adventure game and you get the gist, though no guarantees you’ll look as suave as James Bond while tapping at your wrist on the bus.
With the iOS version taking home multiple award nods — including an Apple “Best of 2014” pick — Rules! was one of the first games announced for Apple Watch.
It’s a good match. Rules! is something of a cross between Simon and Memory. You’re tasked with tapping tiles based on an increasing number of rules for each level, such as “Tap numbers in descending order,” “Tap green,” and “Tap animals.” You have to remember each rule in order to progress, and a countdown timer keeps the stress level pretty high.
The Apple Watch version includes a daily mini-game challenge playable on the wearable, but with only 4 tiles instead of 16 due to the limited screen real estate.
That’s a bit of a bummer, but this isn’t: Rules! is free right now, if you know where to look.
Instead of paying $2.99 at the regular App Store, first download the freeApple Store app, which is primarily used to help you shop for Apple products or make appointments at the retail stores. Confusing terminology, I know, but bear with me. Open it up, and scroll down until you see a banner that says “Download Rules! Free.” Tap this, and you just saved three bucks.
What four-letter word comes to mind after spending $17,000 on an Apple Watch?
From Australian developer Right Pedal, Snappy Word places four random letter tiles on the Apple Watch face. Your goal is to see how many words you can create in 30 seconds. It’s accessible and smartly tailored for the Watch, plus it includes a real-time player-versus-player mode, or you can compete against others through a Game Center leaderboard.
Snappy Word’s dictionary is made up of nearly 4,000 words, says its developer, but my favorite is its price: F-R-E-E.
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