If you're an iPhone and/or iPad-owning gamer in 2014, you truly are spoiled for choice when it comes to new titles.
This year has seen a steady flow of innovative, creative and above all super-playable games for Apple devices in pretty much every genre, from hardcore RPGs and twitch-action games to casual puzzlers and even ballet. Yup: ballet.
Every week, The Guardian's Best iOS Apps column tracks new releases on the App Store, including games. With July already underway, it's time for a recap of some of the best iOS games to have been released in the first half of the year.
Prices are correct at the time of writing (9 July) but bear in mind they may have changed if you're reading it even a few days later. IAP means a game includes in-app purchases of some kind: from virtual items and currency being sold through to single-purchase unlocks for full games.
This is just my take, though. Do contribute your own recommendations for games that should have been included (or left out) in the comments section. Although please, before posting "Why have you left Game X out?" check that Game X didn't come out before 2014.
One final note: if Android's more your bag, read the separate 40 best Android games of 2014 (so far) feature.
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft (Free + IAP)
This official spin-off from World of Warcraft started on desktop and crossed to iPad, where it appears to have found its perfect medium. It's a card-battling game where you build a deck of characters and spells, then lay waste (in theory) to other players around the world. It's accessible, but a very deep rabbit-hole to go down once you get into its intricacies. Spellbinding.
iPad
Monument Valley (£1.49)
The word “beautiful” is hugely overused in connection with apps: usually it means “has nice menus”. Monument Valley really is beautiful though, almost as much an artwork as it is a game. Inspired by the art of M.C. Escher, it’s a collection of impossible-architecture puzzles, which you twist to explore.
iPhone / iPad
Supernauts (Free + IAP)
Supernauts was the first game from hotly-tipped Finnish publisher Grand Cru. It's a little bit Minecraft, in the way you craft buildings from raw materials, with elements of city-building and resource management games added on as you build a space-base, complete Earthling-rescuing missions and play and chat with friends online.
iPhone / iPad
Boom Beach (Free + IAP)
Boom Beach is the third game from Supercell, the developer that has enjoyed huge success with its Clash of Clans and Hay Day games. Like those, this is a freemium game: you have to build an island base and invade those of other players, with a military theme and plenty of potential for strategic planning.
iPhone / iPad
Thomas Was Alone (£3.99)
Thomas Was Alone is one of the most buzzed-about indie games this year – and before that, in its browser, PC and PS3 / PS Vita incarnations. You bounce your way through a platform game as a rectangle named Thomas, but with a proper story behind the action. It's excellent.
iPad
Threes! (£0.69)
Flappy Bird isn't available any more, so I've left it out of this roundup. However, only Threes! could rival it this year for just-one-more-go addiction. It sounds simple: swipe number tiles to make matches, adding 1s and 2s together to make 3s, then adding those. But once you're sucked in, it's nearly impossible to put down.
iPhone / iPad
Leo's Fortune (£2.99)
This is lovely: a platform game with puzzles that's one of the most well-crafted iOS games released this year. Spread across 24 varied levels, it doesn't outstay its welcome as you navigate fuzzy ball Leo through the game to recover his lost gold. The extra "Hard-core" mode once you finish the game is worth persisting for too.
iPhone / iPad
Kiwanuka (£0.69)
Kiwanuka sat alongside Monument Valley as a lovely puzzler for iOS this year, although the gameplay takes its cues from different sources: Lemmings, for example. It gets you to guide a colourful collection of characters to freedom using a glowing staff: a neon-infused delight.
iPhone / iPad
FTL: Faster Than Light (£6.99)
Space-strategy game FTL is one of the deeper iOS gaming experience to be released in 2014. It’s a super-addictive yet deeply challenging game of resource management, based on a popular PC game – complete with its expansion edition. You have to save your spaceship from disaster, repeatedly.
iPad
PlunderNauts (Free + IAP)
Pirates in space is a theme that's been tapped by numerous games and TV shows in the past, with PlunderNauts an impressive update of the idea. Your job is to loot galactic booty (so to speak) in your spaceship, crafting weapons and upgrades to keep your fleet in shape, and plotting your space-battle strategy.
iPhone / iPad
TwoDots (Free + IAP)
Betaworks' original Dots game remains one of the most simple-yet-addictive mobile puzzle games of recent times. Its follow-up, TwoDots, sees you tracing more lines of same-coloured dots. This time, though, it's more structured: you work through 85 levels with different challenges to complete, comparing scores with Facebook friends. A mighty time-killer.
iPhone / iPad
Baldur’s Gate II (£10.49 + IAP)
Baldur's Gate is a classic RPG from the PC world ported to iOS devices: a careful conversion of the 1998 game plus expansion kits that see you exploring a sprawling world of monsters, loot and storytelling. In-app purchases are used to unlock extra characters, but the core gameplay is all included.
iPad
Third Eye Crime: Act 1 (£1.99 + IAP)
Third Eye Crime's developers spent time at Bungie working on the Halo games, but that doesn't mean they've churned out another first-person shooter in their new company. This is a fab stealth-puzzler with jazzy music and a film noir atmosphere, as you creep around enemies over 120 levels.
iPhone / iPad
Broken Age (£6.99)
Known to many gamers as “that Kickstarter project that raised $3.3m” when it was known as just Double Fine Adventure, it’s since been renamed as Broken Age for its release on PC and iPad. It’s a spiffing-looking traditional adventure game, with humour and puzzles.
iPad
Wartune: Hall of Heroes (Free + IAP)
Massively multiplayer fantasy game Wartune may be intimidating for casual gamers, but if you relish the challenge, there's plenty to get stuck into: city-building, battles and careful levelling up. With a dedicated community of players, there's months of gameplay in store if you get into it.
iPhone / iPad
Angry Birds Epic (Free + IAP)
There are plenty of doubters wondering if the Angry Birds bubble is about to burst, but Angry Birds Epic was an intriguing move into a new genre: RPGs. You have to build up a team of birds, craft and upgrade weapons for them, and then see off pigs through turn-based battles, rather than physics-flinging.
iPhone / iPad
Eliss Infinity (£1.76)
Eliss is a puzzle game that's perfect for modern multi-touch devices, as you fuse and split planets to match them. Eliss Infinity is its latest version for iOS, complete with a new "endless" mode, a revamped version of the original game, and more polish. An excellent introduction to one of the best ways to spend your mobile downtime.
iPhone / iPad
Card City Nights (£1.49)
This was unusual: a game in a genre (card battling) that’s almost always freemium, but which uses no in-app purchases at all. More importantly, it’s really good: a mix of adventure-style storytelling and card battles, with 180 cards to collect as you play. The combo system, where you connect cards up, is a nice twist too.
iPhone / iPad
Godfire (£2.99 + IAP)
Godfire is a visually-spiffing action adventure inspired by console series God of War: expect plenty of monsters, boss battles and mythical storytelling. The animation and scenery looks impressive, and although you may need a bit of practice to get used to the controls, perseverance is rewarded.
iPhone / iPad
Bubble Witch Saga 2 (Free + IAP)
Candy Crush Saga remains the biggest mobile gaming hit of the modern app store era, but publisher King is trying to follow up its success with other Saga games. This takes the template of (ace) console franchise Puzzle Bobble and adds social features and in-app purchases. There are lots of critics of King's approach, but mainstream mobile gamers continue to love games like this.
iPhone / iPad
Final Fantasy VI (£10.99)
Square Enix has been steadily working through its back catalogue of Final Fantasy games to bring its famed RPG series to iOS. This was a pixel-perfect port of the 1994 game in the series, adding in some of the features from its 2006 remake. A great blast of nostalgia if you loved the original.
iPhone / iPad
Table Tennis Touch (£2.49 + IAP)
It doesn't sound like it should work: table tennis played with a touchscreen. But in this game, it works beautifully: fast, idiot-proof controls, a long-lasting career mode and some very fun mini-games. One of those games you think you'll just dip into every so often, but find yourself playing compulsively on the sofa.
iPhone / iPad
Battleheart Legacy (£2.99)
If you love a good RPG, you'll absolutely love Battleheart Legacy: it's one of the most charming, playable examples of the genre yet on iOS. Released as a follow-up to the (also impressive) Battleheart, it sees you questing through a colourful world battling, looting and levelling up. Looks good, and plays even better.
iPhone / iPad
Botanicula (£2.99)
This is an adventure game from developer Amanita Design, who made the equally-excellent Machinarium. Converted from a critically-acclaimed PC title, it sees you controlling five "little tree creatures" as they explore a beautifully-realised world of seeds and parasites. A joy to explore at your leisure.
iPad
Word Monsters (Free + IAP)
This was the latest game released through Angry Birds maker Rovio's publishing arm, Rovio Stars. It's a fun and accessible word game that involves swiping words off the screen, competing against friends from social networks. The monster aspect may appeal to younger players, if their parents don't mind the in-app purchases.
iPhone / iPad
Ninja Village (£2.99)
Japanese developer Kairosoft’s Ninja Village sees you building a ninja clan and sending them into battle, while also building their village into a prosperous settlement. If you’ve loved other Kairosoft games, you’ll love this – they're famously moreish. For new players, it may be the perfect introduction.
iPhone / iPad
World of Tanks Blitz (Free + IAP)
This is a polished wargame from Wargaming.net, based on its existing massively multiplayer online PC game, but created for iOS as a standalone spin-off. It sees you choosing tanks (from the US, Germany and USSR in times gone by) battling other humans across a varied set of environments, upgrading your army as you go.
iPhone / iPad
King of the Course (Free + IAP)
Tiger Woods may not be the cover star he once was for EA's golf games, but the publisher isn't giving up on the genre. King of the Course was its attempt to reinvent the golf game for free-to-play, blending famous courses, neat touchscreen controls and purchasable boosts.
iPhone / iPad
Trials Frontier (Free + IAP)
Finnish developer RedLynx's Trials racing game series has many fans on Xbox and PC. Now there's a brand new one for iOS. Whether you're new to Trials or a hardened fan, it's great fun, as you race motorcycles across a range of courses and missions. Just-so physics and well-implemented social networking add to the appeal.
iPhone / iPad
Bounden (£1.99)
This is a wonderful idea: a game designed to be played by two people that gets you dancing ballet moves. You both hold the iPhone, follow its instructions, and quickly you'll find yourselves dancing to its classical pieces. Or falling over amid recriminations over who sat on the iPhone. But hopefully the former.
iPhone
Wayward Souls (£3.99)
Expect dungeons, monsters, lots of loot and infinite (thanks to its procedurally-generated levels) exploration in this roleplaying game, with six different characters to master as you progress. Developer Rocketcat is releasing regular updates, and raising the price by a dollar each time, so it's worth getting in now if you haven't already.
iPhone / iPad
VVVVVV (£1.99)
Terry Cavanagh is a games developer with a growing following, both among gamers and his peers. Known best on mobile for Super Hexagon, he released VVVVVV this year: a mobile version of a retro platform game available since 2010 on other devices. It's hard – this won't come as a surprise if you know his work – but rewarding.
iPhone / iPad
Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff (Free + IAP)
The Simpsons' freemium mobile game was a big hit in 2013, so it wasn't a surprise to see Family Guy following suit this year. It starts with Peter Griffin having accidentally destroyed his hometown, leaving you with the task of rebuilding it, meeting characters, completing quests and unlocking animations as you go.
iPhone / iPad
Hitman Go (£2.99 + IAP)
Square Enix's Hitman has traditionally been a third-person shooter on console, but its iOS game this year opted for a different style of gameplay: grid-based puzzling. Assassination remains your main goal, with neat "scale-model style" graphics and well-crafted puzzles making it a surprise joy to play.
iPhone / iPad
Rival Knights (Free + IAP)
Jousting: pretty hard, whether in real life or in games – I was frequently brought to tears by the jousting section in Defender of the Crown as a child. Rival Knights manages to make the medieval sport fun though: console-style graphics and gameplay involving unlocking and upgrading horses, weapons and armour before galloping into (mock) battle.
iPhone / iPad
Panzer Tactics HD (£2.99 + IAP)
More war, although this time, the emphasis is very much on tanks, along with other second world war units. This sees you playing as the Soviet, German or Allied forces in 1939, with bags of depth across its 33 missions – some of which are bought using in-app purchases.
iPad
Great Little War Game 2 (£1.99)
Developer Rubicon Development has won a wide following with its little and big war games. This sequel continued the company's fine run: turn-based strategy with more than 60 missions to strategise your way through. Or not: "Just jump in and start shooting," suggested the developer.
iPhone / iPad
Pixel Press Floors (Free + IAP)
Pixel Press Floors isn’t the first app to let you create your own games by drawing them on paper, but it’s the most fully realised. It helps you draw levels for platform games using symbols (“glyphs”) for common elements: ladders, moving blocks, coins and so on. There are two themes to start with, plus more on the way, and everything can be shared with the community.
iPad
SXPD (£1.49)
This shooty-racing game is presented in the style of a graphic novel, all monochrome save for prominent red flashes. The idea is that you play and read your way through the gripping tale of the "privately owned 52nd state of America called New Royale". One of the most inventive iOS games of 2014 so far.
iPad
HonorBound (Free + IAP)
Finally, another RPG, but this one built for the free-to-play model that's so big on mobile devices in 2014. You build a party of heroes, explore levels, capture monsters and level everyone up to repeat the above. The Pokemon-style collecting complements the main RPG gameplay well.
iPhone / iPad
That's the list of 40, but what iOS games have you loved this year? Make your recommendations in the comments section.
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