Time was the human race would spend its mornings pondering over the daily Sudoku in the daily newspapers. tempting us to train our brains until they were as sprightly as a school student before the onset of endless exams.
Now, years and years on, we've moved on yet again. In 2015, we wake up and immediately turn to our phones to give our minds a much needed morning shake – whether that's by playing a tricky puzzle game, or attempting to post a “just woke up in bed” selfie where our eyes are actually open and we don't look like someone has woken us up by smacking us around the head with an iron is, of course, up to the individual.
For those of us who opt for the former, the last six or so years on the App Store have been especially kind – there are puzzlers aplenty to keep us entertained, making any kind of guide that whittles down the pack to just ten 'must have' releases pretty essential. Just as well we decided to put one together for you then, right?
Use the quick links below to read more about a specific game:
Threes by Sirvo
A cute card-matching game that will get you hooked
Cut the Rope by ZeptoLab
Get the candy to Om Nom or watch him wail
Hitman Go by Square Enix
A puzzler stealth game for mobile starring Agent 47
Monument Valley by ustwo
The epitome of a mobile puzzler
Tetris by Electronic Arts
A perfectly adapted touch screen version of this classic puzzler
The Room by Fireproof Games
An expansive puzzler that will leave you desperate for the third entry
The Trace: Murder Mystery Game by Relentless Software
This is the way to do murder mystery solving on mobile
Bejeweled by Electronic Arts
The original king of match three games
Hundreds by Semi Secret Software
Blowing up that balloon may seem simple, but it's anything but
Triple Town by Spry Fox
A match three game with a village-building twist
See also: Best iPad Games