Lots of iPhone games work offline, but not all of them, and it is not always obvious which. The quickest check is to turn on Airplane Mode, make sure Wi-Fi is off and open the game. Below are five free iPhone games that work offline, plus practical tips for flights, road trips and dead zones.
A quick disclosure: all five games are made by the solo developer behind Honest Little Apps. We only listed games whose details confirm offline play, and we say plainly which ones show ads and which have in-app purchases.
Don't wait until you're at the gate to find out. Test each game at home first:
Open the game once on Wi-Fi. Play a round and install any updates, so the game has finished any first-time setup before you leave.
Turn on Airplane Mode. Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center, then tap the Airplane Mode button.
Check that Wi-Fi is off too. Apple notes you can still use Wi-Fi in Airplane Mode, so if Wi-Fi is on, turn it off for the test.
Play the modes you care about. If the game loads and plays normally, it works offline. If it shows an error, spins forever or asks you to connect, it needs the internet for that part.
Turn Airplane Mode off when you're done, so calls and messages come through again.
There is a second way to check from Settings. Open Settings, then Cellular, and scroll down to see which apps are using cellular data. You can switch cellular data off for any app there, and Apple says the app will then use only Wi-Fi. Turn it off for a game, turn Wi-Fi off, and see whether the game still plays.
Tap once to flip gravity and run on the floor or the ceiling, dodging obstacles as every 8 points brings a new sector with its own rule. It needs no account, no login and no internet, and it has Classic, Hyper and Zen modes, with Zen for practice with no wipeouts. Fluxo is free to download and shows ads; a Remove Ads purchase is available, and the optional Premium Unlock is a one-time purchase, never a subscription.
Get Fluxo free on the App Store
A rolling-orb adventure where a Weather Dial switches between three weather modes, each changing the course around you. It has 36 hand-built stages across six regions plus an endless mode, with full offline play, no ads and no account. It is free to download with optional in-app purchases, including a Plus subscription and one-time packs, and coins are earned only by playing.
Get RushOrb free on the App Store
A turn-based number puzzle: launch a number at a beast so the sum is exactly 10 and it pops, while an overshoot keeps flying into the next beast. It has 45 handcrafted stages across three worlds, plus a Daily Lab puzzle that is generated on your device and playable offline. There are no ads, no accounts and no in-app purchases, and the whole game works offline.
Get Number Beasts free on the App Store
A four-minute daily challenge of four short games from a new mix each day, drawn from thirteen games covering attention, memory, logic, numbers, reading and wording. Extras include The Tower climbing mode, six district bosses and a Daily Duel that is the same for every player. It is free with no in-app purchases listed and no ads, and all games work offline, though the optional Game Center leaderboards need a connection.
Get SkillArena free on the App Store
A daily session of five short puzzles that takes about six minutes, with eight puzzle types across memory, logic, numbers, spatial reasoning, focus and language. Difficulty adjusts to your level, and you can play untimed, timed or unrated. It works offline with no account, no ads and no tracking (purchases, restores and optional Game Center leaderboards need a connection), and it is free to download with optional Pro subscriptions.
Get Cognilo free on the App Store
Get everything ready before you go. Open each game on Wi-Fi the day before a flight or trip, install updates and play a round. That way nothing is half-downloaded when the signal drops.
Make sure the game is really on your phone. When storage runs low, iPhone can recommend Offload Unused Apps. Apple says offloading frees up the storage an app uses but keeps its documents and data. The app itself is gone until you download it again, which needs a connection. You can see your apps and storage in Settings, then General, then iPhone Storage.
Watch your data plan. In Settings, then Cellular, you can see which apps use cellular data and turn it off for any of them. That keeps a game from quietly using mobile data on the road.
Use Low Power Mode on long trips. On iPhone 15 and later, go to Settings, then Battery, then Power Mode. On iPhone 14 and earlier, go to Settings, then Battery. You can also tap the battery icon in Control Center. Apple says Low Power Mode reduces display brightness, sets Auto-Lock to 30 seconds, turns off some visual effects and turns off Background App Refresh and automatic downloads. The battery icon turns yellow while it is on, and it switches off by itself once you charge to 80% or higher.
Expect online extras to need a connection. Leaderboards, purchases, restores and syncing progress between devices all rely on online services. Apple says iCloud and Game Center are what keep your progress, high scores and game saves up to date across your devices, so don't expect that syncing while you're offline. Cognilo and SkillArena both note that their optional Game Center leaderboards need a connection.
Pack power. Gaming with the screen on uses battery. A charging cable or a small battery pack makes a long flight or road trip much less stressful.
Turn on Airplane Mode, make sure Wi-Fi is off and open the game. If it plays normally, it works offline. Many developers also say so in the App Store description, so check there first.
A game that runs fully offline does not need data to play, but some games still go online for ads, updates or leaderboards when they can. To be sure, turn cellular data off for that game in Settings, then Cellular. Apple says the app will then use only Wi-Fi.
Yes. Games that run offline work in Airplane Mode. Apple says Airplane Mode turns off all radios except Bluetooth, so wireless headphones can stay connected, and you can still use Wi-Fi if the airline allows it.
Some do. Of the five games above, RushOrb, Number Beasts, SkillArena and Cognilo list no ads. Fluxo shows ads, and you can remove them with an optional Remove Ads purchase.
Apple Support: Use Airplane Mode on your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro
Apple Support: Use Low Power Mode to save battery life on your iPhone or iPad
Apple Support: How to check the storage on your iPhone and iPad
Apple Support: Access your gameplay progress on all of your Apple devices