Fruit Ninja

Fruit Ninja reduced gameplay to a single motion — dragging a finger across the screen slices fruit flying up from the bottom of the display, while bombs need to be dodged with a turn of the finger, or the current run ends immediately and the score gets recorded on the leaderboard. No menus full of settings, no complex control scheme, just pure eye-hand reaction that worked equally well on a phone as on a tablet and could be understood in a few seconds without any tutorial at all.

Halfbrick Studios designed the game specifically for the touchscreen at a time when many developers were still porting mechanics over from keyboards or gamepads, and that's precisely why Fruit Ninja became one of the titles through which players first realized what a finger on glass could do differently than a classic button. Zen mode without bombs and the time-limited Arcade mode gave the game two distinct rhythms — meditative score gathering without pressure, and a hectic race for the highest possible combo within a limited time.

Simple graphics of fruit flying against a dark background, a satisfying slicing sound, and a clear score in the corner of the screen made it an ideal title for short breaks between other activities, and thanks to that Fruit Ninja still holds a place among the games frequently cited as an example of mobile design that fits touch controls perfectly.

Why play it: Ideal for moments when you want a quick, purely reflex-based game without having to learn any rules — all you need is a finger, a screen, and a few spare minutes any time of day.