Anyone can experience reality. Many can experience digital. Why not mix the two? With these AR games, you can have fun in 2018. We show you the best augmented reality games for Android and iOS. Here you’ll find free AR games like Pokémon GO, as well as games that let you improve your fitness while playing.
Augmented Reality (AR) may still sound like science fiction to some. However, there are already many games in the download stores that successfully utilize this technology and captivate millions of players.
What is Augmented Reality?
AR means that digital (and also acoustic) elements are “laid over” reality or connected to it, effectively merging the two. Instead of seeing monsters in a generated cave in the game, they appear on your desk or in front of you on the sidewalk.
The variety of AR games for smartphones is enormous. From catching monsters to stacking blocks and escaping from zombies, there’s something for everyone.
In our overview, we want to show you our selection of the best AR games for 2018. If you have any AR gems that excite you in 2018, we look forward to your comments on that.
Tetroids, a Tetris AR Game for iPad and iPhone
The patience game with falling blocks is something we’ve all seen somewhere. Some may remember Tetris from “back in the day” when it was one of their first video games. Others might be regularly playing variations of Tetris in their browsers. And most of you are probably humming the theme tune: *ding-dingdingding-dingdingding …*
With Tetroids, you play Tetris in multiple dimensions. The position of the blocks can be moved 360°, and there’s a square on the ground that you need to fill with the blocks. It sounds complicated at first, but after a few minutes of stacking, you get the hang of it.
Depending on how you and your iPhone/iPad move, you can change the view of the tower.
With AR gameplay, you stack the towers wherever you want. On the kitchen table or on stairs – anywhere there’s a flat surface, you can start Tetroids.
The gameplay consists of swiping, rotating, and closing gaps. With combos, you collect extra points.
Here’s Tetroids in the iTunes Store: Tetroids AR Puzzle on itunes.apple.com
Zombies, RUN! Also Keeps Gamers Physically Fit (Android & iOS)
Augmented reality games on smartphones can help you become or stay physically fit. In “Zombies, RUN!” you run away from a disgusting horde of the undead while exercising.
The spectacle occurs mainly acoustically and in your head. Through your headphones, you hear both your own music and the spooky zombie story (in English). Tip: Running at dusk adds an extra sense of feeling.
While you run, you hear the sobbing noises and loud footsteps of the zombies chasing you. What helps you avoid getting caught? Exactly: running faster! This way, you can outpace the disgusting undead and sprint with an extra boost of motivation.
If the zombies catch you, you lose the items you collected during your adventure. You need these to upgrade the settlement that the story revolves around. Collecting these items triggers a certain motivation factor that makes you eager for the next mission.
Over 200 missions lead you through the zombie story, in which you save a city. The “Zombies, RUN” app combines fitness tracking and gaming. Perhaps this app is the decisive step to motivate yourself to exercise more.
The Walk – Stay Fit without Running (Android & iOS)
The game “The Walk” comes from the same developers who are behind “Zombies, RUN!” As the name suggests, this game takes a more relaxed approach.
Instead of running away from a horde of wild zombies and collecting items, The Walk motivates you with a different way to save the world. A story (again in English) is told to you, and you are given a goal. A bomb explodes in a subway station, and you have a package with you that can save the world.
However, you need to cover a certain distance and take steps. Here, the story also unfolds acoustically and develops as you get closer to the assigned goal. Players report that it takes about three months to complete the mission.
Pokémon GO – Become the Best Pokémon Trainer (Android & iOS)
Pikachu and his friends have already been seen in the anime series or Gameboy games many years ago. In summer 2016, the big Pokémon hype broke out when Pokémon GO was released by developers at Niantic.
With your phone or tablet, you can discover Pokémon outside that are hiding in random places in the wild or at PokéStops. The game is oriented towards streets and landmarks that exist in the real world around you. Through actions in the game like catching monsters or spinning PokéStops, you collect experience points that slowly increase your trainer level.
Your phone’s camera makes it possible for you to find wild Pokémon in your environment.
On your adventures, you try to complete the PokéDex, take over gyms, and defeat raid bosses together with other players. For that, it’s essential that you move to different places. If you want to play at home on your couch, you won’t get far.
Pokémon GO offers adventures for both young and old, and it’s also a great way to socialize. Trainers often meet at gyms or special locations to play together.
You can find more information about Pokémon GO on our overview page
Ingress, the Pokémon GO for Hackers (Android & iOS)
Ingress is essentially the predecessor of Pokémon GO, as it is the first AR game from Niantic. Ingress also uses real locations, landmarks, and maps that influence the gameplay.
Visit various locations and create or hack portals there to progress in the game. There are missions and events organized by Niantic that always aim to provide fresh experiences.
Even though the gameplay structure is quite similar to Pokémon GO, the differences are significant. You won’t see legendary monsters here; instead, there are exotic matter. It’s more about data and hacking. Your goal is to control areas – the larger the area, the better.
Instead of experience points, you collect action points, which gradually increase your player level.
Genesis AR – The Future of Hearthstone?
Genesis Augmented Reality shows what AR can do. Combined with game cards that players print themselves, monsters come to life before your eyes.
By pointing your smartphone’s camera at a card, the monsters find their place on kitchen tables or other playing areas. Each character has a unique gameplay style, some with brutal attacks, others with mystical spells. You control the characters in real-time with a joystick and attack buttons on your smartphone.
The game was funded through a Kickstarter campaign and is apparently still in development. The last post on Genesis AR’s Facebook page is from June 2, 2017, showing new gameplay.
They mention a release in the third quarter of 2017. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any new posts on the developers’ platforms, but the game is already available in app stores. It seems that Genesis AR is still in a beta phase. You can still register for the beta program on the game’s official website.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite – The Magical AR World (Planned for 2018)
After Ingress and Pokémon GO, it’s not over for Niantic. They have teamed up with Warner Bros to plan the release of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, an AR game set in the Harry Potter universe.
The developers believe that the game has the potential to appeal to many generations. Moreover, the magical Muggle world fits well into the augmented reality environment where the spells could be displayed.
In the game, you learn various spells and then use them in battles against legendary beasts. You can fight especially strong foes by teaming up with other players.
Unfortunately, no further information about Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is known yet. According to Niantic, the AR game is set to be released in the second half of 2018.
That was our selection of the best AR games for Android and iOS. Did we forget a game? Please write it in the comments – we’re always open to suggestions.
The mobile market has much more to offer. Here are the 6 most promising mobile MMOs for 2018
