iPad: The Missing Manual

Chapter 9. Play Games

With digital music and videos tucked inside its slim glass-and-metal form, the iPad offers plenty of entertainment choices. But if you want to play (instead of just sitting back and pushing Play), the tablet makes for a nice high-def game console as well. After a visit to the App Store, you can zap zombies or run across the tops of buildings. You can also relive those glory days at the mall, feeding quarters into a machine the size of a phone booth in your quest to chomp pesky ghosts.

You’re not stuck with fuzzy little iPhone games blown up to fit the iPad, either. Many game-makers have taken popular titles back into the shop to super-size them for the iPad’s big 9.7-inch screen. As a result, you get richer graphics and more precise gameplay, with plenty of room to move around. And that bigger screen makes it easier for two people to play against each other, just like the golden days of chess and checkers.

The iPad can handle everything from basic low-speed card games like euchre, all the way up to high-speed shooters with detailed 3D avatars and a pulsating soundtrack. This chapter shows you how to find the games that appeal to you and get them on your iPad. It doesn’t tell you how to win, though—you have to figure that out for yourself.

Find iPad Games

To start your big-game hunt, hit the App Store. Tap any game icon to see its Store page, which shows you system ...