We all know listening to music and playing game is probably the best stress buster. But sometimes we get stuck by a limited data plan or travelling takes us offline. This doesn’t mean you have to be bored.
iPhone is a powerful gaming device and every time you don’t have the internet to enjoy them. Whether you are stuck at the airport or waiting in a queue, games can pull off the boredom. We have curated the best offline games for iPhone to ensure your gaming doesn’t come to a halt.
Best offline games for iPhone
Here are the best offline games for iOS.
1. Alto’s Adventure
Alto’s Adventure is the infinite runner that’ll help you get your skiing fix. Take control of Alto and ski down the slopes of the Andes, picking up coins and avoiding obstacles in the process.
Use touch controls to make Alto jump or grind and rack up points by performing tricks. The entire game plays offline, so enjoy your Andean adventure from your subway car. The game never finishes, so whenever you’re waiting without Wi-Fi, this game can keep you entertained.
I’ve been playing Alto’s Adventure for the past couple of months and I haven’t grown tired of it. Maybe I’m too much of a fan of endless runners – they lend themselves so well to quick sessions as well as “just one more” hour-long playthroughs – but I still discover something new every time and I’m having fun trying to beat my high scores and looking at the scenery. In most endless runners I’ve played over the years, I never considered looking at stages as an active part of the experience; in Alto’s Adventure, occassionally to my own detriment, my attention wanders off to animations and colors, llamas who stumble and lantern formations taking off to the sky.
Download: Alto’s Adventure ($4.99)
2. Alto’s Odyssey
The sequel to Alto’s Adventure, Alto’s Odyssey, keeps everything you liked about the original and adds a little more. New characters, new locations, new music, and a few new mechanics make this game feel more like an expansion than a true sequel.
On the surface, Alto’s Odyssey doesn’t shy away from its predecessor: you traverse dunes and temple ruins instead of hitting the slopes and descending through mountain villages, but you still control Alto and a roster of unlockable characters in what is, effectively, an endless runner with a penchant for skateboard-inspired tricks. You still collect coins to unlock permanent or consumable power-ups, and you still need to pay attention to a variety of obstacles that want to put an inglorious end to your run. The backflips and high jumps are as fun as they’ve ever been. The core of the experience hasn’t changed. However, both in terms of mechanics and overall aesthetic, Alto’s Odyssey is a more mature product, tangible proof of a team who knows they’re building on top of an established success.
Download: Alto’s Odyssey ($4.99)
3. Monument Valley
Monument Valley is one of the best offline games for iPhone and iPad ever published on the App Store. You play as Ro, a little girl wandering through colorful buildings and solving intricate puzzles. Your primary tool is your ability to change the perspective of the screen, which unlocks new paths.
The beautiful visuals and mysterious setting make this game one of the most thrilling and immersive experiences you can have on your phone, and you can play it entirely offline. You might never need to use the internet again.
Download: Monument Valley ($3.99, in-app purchases available)
4. Monument Valley 2
In the sequel to Monument Valley, you play as Ro’s daughter, navigating the world on a quest to find her. The concept is essentially the same, but the visuals are much more striking, the puzzle-solving much more subtle and nuanced. The beauty of the graphics really shines on a bigger screen, which makes these installments two of the best offline iPad games.
This game has four more chapters than its predecessor and builds upon the first game’s features. In some worlds, the game replaces the isometric geometry art style from the first game with more 2D scenes.
Download: Monument Valley 2 ($3.99)
5. BADLAND
You’re a gooey black ball that just wants to not die. BADLAND is a challenging puzzle game that sends your character through a world of dangerous traps and hazards. Use touch controls to keep your ball afloat, while you watch out for the spinning blades, pointy spikes, and other dangers that will shred it to bits. Various pickups in the world can turn you bigger, smaller, multiply you, and more.
The challenging gameplay will suck you in. The creepy music and beautiful gothic visuals will keep you coming back. There is a local multiplayer component, but all gameplay can be experienced offline.
Download: BADLAND ($0.99)
6. BADLAND 2
BADLAND 2 adds some new mechanics, in particular the ability to move your character both left and right, which takes off some of the pressure. The essence of the game remains, however.
There is a light online multiplayer mode, but like its predecessor, this game really shines offline, on your iPhone, alone with headphones, and immersed in the experience.
Download: BADLAND 2 ($0.99)
7. SevenBloks

This inventive puzzle game is like a mix of Tetris and Sudoku. The rules are simple. You have a 7×6 grid, filled with blocks that have numbers on them, one through seven. Whenever a numbered block is in a column or a row with the same number of block as it features, it clears. If it clears next to a white block, the white block cracks, then breaks to reveal a numbered block.
The goal, like Tetris, is to not lose by having the blocks go over the top and to rack up points while doing it. It’s simple, but endlessly challenging fun. You can experience everything but the leaderboards offline, making it a great game to play while waiting for an appointment, or riding a train through an area with no Wi-Fi.
Download: SevenBloks (Free, in-app purchases available)
8. Mini Metro
Another puzzle game with a beautiful interface, Mini Metro lets you build your own mass transit system. Using maps of real-world cities, you can draw your own lines connecting different stations. You have a limited amount of lines and trains and an ever-increasing number of stations, so you have to place things wisely. If people end up waiting too long at any one station, you lose.
The maps and the layout are simple and beautiful, with an aesthetic that is similar to the minimalist transit maps found in major cities.
Download: Mini Metro ($3.99)
9. Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the latest installment of the longtime franchise where you, as the leader of your people, try to rule the world throughout history. Using real-world leaders, place names, and historical monuments, Civ is a turn-based game that takes hours but is easy to play in quick chunks of time. This makes it perfect for iOS.
Although you can engage in local and online multiplayer, an offline AI campaign is more than enough fun for a long subway or plane ride.
Download: Civilization VI (Free, in-app purchases available)
10. Stardew Valley
Another port from PC to iOS, Stardew Valley lets you get away from it all and run your own farm in a small town. You can use iPhone and iPad gaming options like Steam Link and Apple Arcade to make the experience easier by using a controller.
Beautiful 8-bit graphics, simple, non-competitive gameplay, and strangely compelling dungeon-crawling make this game one of the best ways to spend a long subway ride. When city life is getting you down, escape to Pelican Town, where all you have to do is harvest the pumpkins on time.
Download: Stardew Valley ($4.99)
11. New York Times Crossword
The New York Times Crossword, edited by Will Shortz, is the gold standard of daily puzzles. Get access to the latest one every day, as well as the entire archive of past crosswords with the New York Times Crossword app. In addition to the puzzles themselves, the app has a number of other features. Keep track of your streaks on the Stats page, go through the Archive to do puzzles from the past, or buy packs of special crosswords.
You can either subscribe to the New York Times Digital Subscription or get a Crossword subscription separately. If you don’t subscribe, you’ll only have access to the daily Minicrossword, which is a treat in and of itself but nowhere near as fun as a full puzzle.
While you need internet access to download new crosswords, you can keep an unlimited number of them offline for playing later.
Download: New York Times Crossword (Free, in-app purchases available)
12. Ticket to Ride
The award-winning board game now fits in your pocket. Ticket to Ride makes you and your friends railroad barons, competing to be the first ones to link up the country by train. The graphics stay true to the original board game, down to the virtual train cards you draw and put in your hand.
You can play in Pass-And-Play mode, which lets you take your turn and pass it to your friends in front of you, but it is also the perfect game to play in solo mode. Each game takes 15 to 20 minutes, perfect for passing the time on a real-life train trip.
Download: Ticket to Ride ($8.99, in-app purchases available)
13. Minecraft
The global phenomenon that is Minecraft is available on all platforms, including your iPhone or iPad. A building and exploration sandbox that makes the jump to iOS controls smoothly is perfect if you want something online or offline.
While you can play with other friends and work on the same worlds together, you can play it without any data or Wi-Fi necessary after purchasing it. Whether it’s your first time playing or you’re returning after years of absence, you’re bound to kill hours of time creating a world right from your phone.
Download: Minecraft ($6.99)
14. Plague Inc.
Ever wanted to relieve the pandemic from the pandemic’s point of view? No? Well Plague Inc. is available anyway, an iOS and iPad game where you attempt to infect the world as various types of diseases. A perfect game to play while sitting around waiting, and runs like a dream no matter your phone specs.
There is a steep learning curve to Plague Inc., depending on the difficulty you play on, giving you a challenging experience that you can return to again and again to try different strategies.
Download: Plague Inc ($0.99)
15. Jetpack Joyride
Jetpack Joyride is a new distance game from the makers of Monster Dash and Fruit Ninja, but in this game you use a machine-gun jet pack to maneuver past obstacles and use discovered vehicles to try to survive as long as possible. The control system is incredibly simple: touch the screen to propel your jet pack.
As in Monster Dash, you play hero Barry Steakfries, but in this game you’ll break into a secret laboratory to steal and use experimental jet packs. As you propel yourself through this side-scroller, you’ll need to gather coins you can use between runs to buy new jet packs, different outfits, upgrades for vehicles, and extra utilities that help you last longer. Some of the upgrades can be fairly expensive, but you can take your chances with a slot machine at the end of a game (if you gather Spin tokens floating through the level) that will add to your cash or give you bonuses usually found in the store.
Part of what makes Jetpack Joyride fun are the strange vehicles you’ll discover and use along the way. Along with the already interesting machine-gun jet pack that fires downward, you’ll also find a Profit Bird that eats coins and requires that you flap its wings; ride a motorcycle that speeds along the ground but can jump up to grab bonuses; or use a strange machine that lets you teleport out of the way of obstacles. There are several vehicles to discover and each adds to your frantic run as you try to survive as long as possible.
To keep the game interesting, you also can gain achievements by doing various things in the game. Once you earn enough, you’ll level up, which gives you even more coins to use toward new jet packs and items.
Overall, Jetpack Joyride is a fun and addictive distance/running game that offers plenty of replay value with the countless upgrades and strange vehicles you find in each game. If you like distance games, this is a must-have.
Download: Jetpack Joyride (Free, in-app purchases available)
What Are Your Favorite Offline iPhone Games?
We’ve covered some of the best games you can enjoy offline on iOS, so that you’re not relying on having data when looking for a way to pass the time.
If you want to game offline on your iPhone but still have fun with your friends, iPhone party games suited for groups meeting in person are the best thing you can use.