SlatesArcade vs Gyre

Forty-two games for Apple Watch. Cards, board games, puzzles, arcade action and a few things that just look good on your wrist — all of them built for a small screen and a spare minute. Nothing here needs the internet. No accounts, no ads, no purchases, and nothing leaves your watch. Open a game and play. THE GAMES Cards — Aces Up, Crazy Eights, Cribbage, Go Fish, Pyramid Board — Backgammon, Checkers, Dominoes, Dots & Boxes, Four in a Row, Reversi, Salvo, Yacht Puzzle — 2048, Blackout, Bulls & Cows, Crates, Mines, Peg Solitaire, Sliding, Sudoku Action — Blocks, Bricks, Chomp, Glide, Hopper, Pinball, Runner, Snake Aim — 9-Ball, Bowling, Darts, Dogfight, Drift, Flick, Golf, Tilt Maze Eye Candy — Automata, Fractal, Langton's Ant, Life, Pendulum BUILT FOR THE WATCH, NOT SHRUNK TO FIT Tap and drag do most of it. Eleven games take the Digital Crown, where it is the better control — aiming a cue, putting spin on a bowling ball, changing the speed of a simulation — and two are steered by leaning your wrist. EVERY GAME EXPLAINS ITSELF How to Play sits in every game's menu: what winning means, and which control the game is actually listening for. No game leaves you guessing. IT REMEMBERS WHERE YOU WERE A dropped wrist or a notification does not cost you a game. The long ones keep their position — the sudoku grid, the cribbage hand, the crate you were pushing — and hand it back when you return. IT KEEPS SCORE Best scores where a score makes sense, fewest moves where that is the better measure, and a win-loss record against Otto, the opponent in ten of the games.

Six coloured rings stand between your marker and the compass in the middle. Turn the rings until the gaps line up, roll the marker through, and find the shortest way out. 99 mazes, on iPhone and Apple Watch. HOW TO PLAY Swipe anywhere on the maze to turn the selected ring. Tap a coloured thumb under the board to pick another ring. Swipe the marker up or down and it rolls along the top lane, as far as the open gaps let it. READ THE DOTS Several rings can cover the same wall. The dots on the centre line show which rings still block the way. When a ring turns green, the path is open. Line up the gaps first, then move. EVERY MAZE IS FAIR No luck, no dead ends. A solver checks every maze before it ships, so there is always a way through, and par is the fewest moves possible. Replay a level and you get the same maze, so you can learn it and beat your own best. THREE STARS PER LEVEL Finish at or under par for three stars. One star unlocks the next maze, so you can keep going now and come back for a better route later. 99 mazes that get harder step by step, up to traps that run two rings deep. ON YOUR WRIST Gyre also runs on Apple Watch, no iPhone needed. Turn the rings with the Digital Crown and swipe to move the marker. Your stars sync both ways, so a maze you beat on the watch counts on the phone too. Levels 1-8 are free on the watch; one purchase unlocks the rest. MADE FOR QUIET MOMENTS - Works offline - No account, no sign-up - Light theme by day, dark theme at night - Pick your marker style and size, and how big the wall dots are - Sound, haptics and motion cues can all be turned off - No energy, no timers, no move limits FREE TO PLAY On iPhone, Gyre is free with a small banner ad. One purchase removes the ad for good. The only other purchase is the watch level pack. Level 1 is waiting. Start turning.