Alphaputt, $3.99 – [Out Now] – [Forum Thread] – Alphaputt is yet another awesome mini golf game on the App Store, with the unique twist that each hole is actually a letter and your overall course is a word. So, for instance, if you played the course “RAD," you’d play a hole on “R," “A," then “D." Each individual hole is filled with all kinds of obstacles, and utilizing those obstacles is vital to low scores. Some folks found how interactive the environments are to be a little annoying, so how much you enjoy Alphaputt likely depends on whether you prefer wacky golf over a more “realistic" setting. -EH

Golfing Around, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – Colin Lane is well known for making wacky physics versions of sports games, but what’s so interesting about Golfing Around is that it’s not very wacky at all. In fact it’s a really solid, if simplified, simulation of actual golf. Sometimes the wackiest thing is NOT being wacky! If “golfing simulation" sounds like a snorefest to you, well don’t worry. Golfing Around keeps things light and fun, and has a control scheme that works perfectly on the touchscreen and in portrait orientation. It also utilizes some classic arcade-style mechanics, so you most certainly won’t be falling asleep during this one. Best of all is its easy to use course creator which lets you create and share golf courses with the world, meaning nearly endless replay value. – JN

NBA 2K19, $7.99 – [NBA 2K19] – [Forum Thread] – Originally shown off at the iPad Pro reveal keynote as the absolute pinnacle of iOS gaming, NBA 2K19 is an actual premium basketball game on the App Store. It launched with all kinds of weird little issues which have slowly been update over time, making it a much better game then when it first was released. If you’ve got a brand new device and are looking something that pushes its limit, NBA 2K19 checks off those boxes. It’s also pretty nice that it’s not a freemium grind-fest like most mobile sports games these days. -EH

Pocket Run Pool, Free – [Review] – [Forum Thread] – The latest release from Zach “Cannot Make a Bad Game" Gage is yet another clever twist on a basic game concept that becomes impossible to put down. In this case, Pocket Run Pool is a pool game with a scoring mechanic that has you sinking numbered balls into constantly rotating score multipliers on each of the pockets. This score mechanic seems weirdly basic, but when you get involved in trying to maximize your score it almost turns the game of pool into a game of chess as you’re planning ahead on which ball is going to go where. It’s free to check out too, so, be sure to do that. -EH

Touchgrind BMX 2, Free – [Announcement] – [Forum Thread] – The original Touchgrind BMX is about as O.G. as it gets when it comes to classic iOS games, and the sequel takes everything that was good about using touch gestures to do stunts on a BMX bike and cranks it up to 11. Everything from better parks to play in to more bike customization, it’s pretty wild just how much content is actually in this game. -EH

True Surf, Free – [Announcement] – [Forum Thread] – From the makers of True Skate is what apparently is the world’s most authentic surfing game. I’ve never been surfing, so I can’t vouch for the authenticity but what I can say is that it’s a lot of fun using clever touch-based controls to pull off all sorts of ridiculous surf moves I’m fairly certain I’d never be able to pull off in a million years in real life. All sorts of classic surf spots are included, as well as tons of board options. -EH

Unicycle Hero, Free – [Announcement] – [Forum Thread] – If we had an award for the most ridiculous game of the year, Unicycle Hero would likely take the cake. This game blends all sorts of different track and field games with unicycles, which sounds dumb, but as far as games with weirdly janky physics models that somehow all come together to work incredibly well… This is it, chief. Just beware, this game is super difficult to put down. -EH