Just about everyone has at least one game app on their iPhone. There are just so many on the App Store that look like good fun and, perhaps more alluringly, most are free to start. While the margin isn’t huge, iOS remains the dominant operating system in Australia, at around a 60-39 split with Android. Basically, you’re more likely to find an Aussie pulling out the latest upgrade from Apple than from Google, Samsung, or Huawei.
So, this is why we’re looking specifically at the top games on Apple’s App Store rather than those on Google Play. That said, they’re not too dissimilar in their rankings. Right now, in May 2024, these are the free game apps available for the iPhone as determined by the Australian screen-tapping public.
1. Block Blast!
On the 40th anniversary of the puzzle game classic, it only makes sense that a free app game with a similar premise rises to the top of the Australian charts. Tetris, of course, was a game-changer when it came out in 1984, essentially helping Nintendo to become an even greater hardware-shifting powerhouse. In what remains one of the most beloved games in the world, blocks of different shapes fall at increasing speeds and you need to turn them to fit into rows. Complete a row or column to pop the blocks and give yourself some more breathing room.
This is where Block Blast! separates itself from its obvious inspiration. The Hungry Studio creation begins with a layout and you get given a selection of tiles. You then need to fit the blocks onto the square to create the best row or column breaks to collect points. Gravity isn’t a player in this one, and neither is the clock. Still, you will get that sensation of increasingly tense gameplay as you stick more and more blocks down without a pop or two! If you love Tetris, see if you can beat this spin on the retro formula.
2. Last War: Survival
Coming in at second, having surged from fifth in recent weeks, is Last War: Survival. The premise is that you are one of the survivors of a global zombie infestation needing to be faster, more creative, and stronger than the hordes of zombies set to come your way. It’s a survival challenge game that focuses on making you use quick reflexes and strategies to get the better of the lanes. Naturally, most of the gameplay is mowing down zombies with your weapon of choice, but there’s much more to the experience than that.
As the lanes encroach, dodging becomes a key attribute to not only surviving, but hitting valuable items and enhancing your defenses. You’ll be able to recruit heroes, expand to different military branches, and combine heroes for your best shot at survival. In between these waves of zombies, you’ll get to build your base, guide people to survive there, and shape the future of all other survivors in this apocalyptic hellscape. The game helped to fire its publisher, FirstFun, to fifth position in the Chinese mobile gaming revenue market, proving its strong gameplay.
3. Business Empire: RichMan
Becoming a millionaire is a goal in a great many games, with Grand Theft Auto being the prime example. It’s a strong hook, and one that many other lines of gaming entertainment deploy as well. You can just look at the top-ranking online casinos on a comparison platform. Looking at the best site for progressive slots, players will find Mega Vault Millionaire front and center. Being a progressive jackpot, naturally, helps its appeal, but so too does the theme of being a millionaire. It’s this selling point that’s helped to make Business Empire: RichMan the third-most popular free app in Australia.
There is some fun to be had in this game offering you the chance to become a millionaire for free, but clearly the gameplay has resonated with mobile gamers Down Under. While it is, generally speaking, a passive business simulation, you get many more options and more interactivity in Business Empire than in many of its peers. There’s a strategic element to making your choices in the game while also offering you the chance to flex your returns on luxury items to enhance your prestige. There’s a lot to like in this evolution of business simulation app games.
If you want a game tested and enjoyed by Australians right now, download Block Blast!, Last War: Survival, or Business Empire: RichMan.
