In this round-up, we’ve scoured the best in one-thumb games for iPhone. But games creators have shown they can revel in such limitations. You still might think reducing controls to using a single digit may feel reductive. With mobile gaming often being about short-burst entertainment, Canabalt proved intuitive – yet its speed ensured it was also exciting and kept dragging you back for more. That game is controlled with a single thumb, tapping the screen to make the protagonist jump across gaps between rooftops.

The result was a slew of imaginative, unique, exciting multi-touch experiences.Īn alternative approach, pioneered by Canabalt, was to strip everything back. It lacked traditional controls, so how could it compete with Nintendo or Sony portable hardware? But developers circumvented perceived limitations, taking advantage of the touchscreen and accelerometer. The iPhone’s potential as a games machine was initially dismissed. It turns out you only need a single digit to play games, whether you’re into racers, puzzles, blasters, or blissed-out golfing weirdness

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