Best Offline Games for iPhone: 7 Picks With No Ads

The best offline games for iPhone are ones you pay for once, so there are no ads and no paywalls in the middle of a game. Stardew Valley is the pick for a long flight, Balatro and Mini Metro fit a commute, and Alto's Odyssey and Townscaper are easy for kids in the car. All of them play without Wi-Fi, though Ticket to Ride needs a connection for online games.

Why pay once for offline games for iPhone

A lot of free games stop working the moment you lose signal. Others keep working but fill every break with an ad, or stop you halfway through a level to sell you more lives. That's annoying on the couch. On a plane with no Wi-Fi, it can make a game unplayable.

The games below take a different deal. You pay once on the App Store, and that's it. There are no ads, and nothing pops up mid-game asking for money. Most of them don't need an account either, so you can open them and play.

What to check before you buy any game for a trip:

• Does it work without a connection? We note it for every pick, and we say when a mode needs the internet.
• Does it have ads? None of these do.
• How long is a session? A 10-minute subway ride and a 10-hour flight need different games.

Stardew Valley: the one for a long flight

Stardew Valley · $4.99 onceView app ›

Stardew Valley is the biggest game here, and the best one to have on your phone when you're facing hours with no Wi-Fi. You take over an overgrown farm and slowly make it yours. You plant and harvest, raise animals, fish, explore caves and get to know the people in town. There's no rush and no way to lose.

It plays fully offline, and there are no ads or in-app purchases. Each in-game day is a natural stopping point, which is handy when the seatbelt sign comes on. The catch is the opposite of most games: it's hard to stop. One more day turns into ten. Multiplayer isn't available on iPhone, so this is a solo game on your phone.

Who it suits: anyone who wants one game to fill a long trip, or the next few months. It costs $4.99 to buy.

Balatro: a card game you'll replay all trip

Balatro · $9.99 onceView app ›

Balatro starts with poker hands and then bends the rules. You play hands to beat a series of bosses, and Joker cards you collect along the way change how scoring works. Every run plays out differently, so it stays fresh across a whole vacation.

It works offline and has no ads. A run can be short or long, so it fits both a train ride and a long layover. Two things to know: the "one more run" pull is strong, and it has mild gambling themes, which is why it's rated 12+. There's no real money involved, but if card-table themes bother you, skip it.

Who it suits: card and strategy fans who want something deep to chew on. It costs $9.99 to buy, the most on this list.

Mini Metro: a smart puzzle for the subway

Mini Metro · $3.99 onceView app ›

There's something fitting about playing Mini Metro underground. You draw train lines between stations as a city grows, and you decide where to spend a limited number of trains and tunnels. A round ends when a station gets too crowded. Maps are based on more than 20 real cities.

The main modes play offline with no ads. There's also a daily challenge that compares your score with other players, so for a flight, plan on the normal, endless or extreme modes. Normal rounds can get tense near the end. If that's not what you want on a commute, endless mode is the calm way to play.

Who it suits: puzzle fans with 5 to 15 minutes to spare. It costs $3.99 to buy.

Threes!: the quickest pick for short waits

Threes! · $5.99 onceView app ›

Threes! is a small number puzzle. You swipe tiles around a grid, joining 1s with 2s and matching numbers to make bigger ones. You'll learn it in under a minute. Getting good at it takes much longer. It's the game that inspired 2048.

It works offline, has no ads and no in-app purchases. A round fits in a line at the airport or a few subway stops, and it's easy to put down mid-game. The loop is simple, so some people find it repetitive over a long trip. Pair it with a bigger game.

Who it suits: anyone who wants something to open for two minutes at a time. It costs $5.99 to buy.

Alto's Odyssey: an easy one-tap game for the car

Alto’s Odyssey · $4.99 onceView app ›

Alto's Odyssey is a calm, endless sandboarding game. You glide down dunes and canyons, flip and grind with a single tap, and the light and weather keep changing as you go. There's also a zen mode with no score at all.

Because it uses one-touch controls, it's one of the easiest picks to hand to a kid in the back seat. It works offline, and the App Store listing says there are no ads and no in-app purchases. There's no story to finish, so it's more of something to play than something to beat.

Who it suits: kids and adults who want to relax, in short or long sessions. It costs $4.99 to buy.

Townscaper: no rules, no way to fail

Townscaper · $4.99 onceView app ›

Townscaper is closer to a toy than a game. You tap on the water to drop colored blocks, and the app shapes them into houses, stairs, arches and gardens on its own. There are no goals, no score and no levels.

It plays offline with no ads, and there's nothing to read or learn, which makes it a good fit for younger kids or a tired adult at the end of a trip. Some people love it for hours. Others run out of ideas after a few towns, so it's best as a calm extra rather than your only game.

Who it suits: creative people of all ages who want to build with no pressure. It costs $4.99 to buy.

Ticket to Ride: board game night, with one caveat

Ticket to Ride · $4.99 onceView app ›

Ticket to Ride is the classic train board game. You collect colored train cards and claim routes to connect cities across a map. On iPhone you can play against computer opponents, against real players online, or with friends by passing the phone around.

This is the one pick that's only partly offline. Solo games against the computer work without a connection, but online play needs the internet. So on a flight, plan on playing against the computer. There are no ads, and an account is optional. New maps come as paid expansions, so the base price isn't the only thing you might spend.

Who it suits: board game fans and families who already know the game. It costs $4.99 to buy.

The best offline games for iPhone, compared

Here's each pick side by side, with what it costs on the App Store:

How to pick iPhone games for flights and road trips

Think about the trip first, then the game.

For a long flight

Pick Stardew Valley. It can fill an entire flight and still have more to give when you land. Add Balatro if you want a second game that plays very differently.

For a daily commute

Pick Mini Metro or Threes!. Both fit a few stops, and both are easy to pause when it's time to get off.

For kids in the car

Pick Alto's Odyssey or Townscaper. One tap is all it takes to play, and there are no ads that could lead somewhere you don't want a child to go.

For family time without Wi-Fi

Pick Ticket to Ride and play against the computer, or take turns on one phone.

Before you leave

Download your games and open each one once while you still have Wi-Fi, so everything is set up before you lose signal. If you liked the calmer games here, we also wrote about games like Monument Valley. Or search for more games without Wi-Fi and browse all the games we cover.

Keep deciding: Find more games without Wi-Fi, Stardew Valley on Squapp, Find a calm game for tonight.