27 Bluetooth-enabled Multiplayer iPhone Games
The iPhone/iPod 3.0 OS allows third-party applications to utilize the device’s Bluetooth capabilities for two-player games. The first (and only) application I had that supported this in an update was Flight Control, and since then, whenever my wife and I are on a train, we occupy our time playing this.
The huge advantage of multiplayer Bluetooth compared with Wi-Fi is that you just need the two devices, no Wi-Fi access points or Internet connectivity is required. This is truly awesome, although as we cry, “Arrrgh sooo close!” loudly on public transport we can get some strange looks. We’ve loved playing Flight Control, but I thought that by now there must be a good number of other Bluetooth-enabled games. So I’ve searched the App Store and found the following games are the only ones that support multiplayer gameplay over Bluetooth. This list will hopefully grow soon with more complex quality titles.
Flight Control — 99 cents
Direct planes so they can land without crashing into each other. Each player controls different colors and needs to send the other player’s colors off screen to the other player’s device.
F.A.S.T – Fleet Air Superiority Training — $1.99
For great graphics and a true dog-fighting two-player experience.
Bomberman Touch 2 – Volcano Party — $2.99
Play the classic Bomberman game against a friend in either head-to-head mode, or co-operative mode.
Attack From the Dead — 99 cents
Play with a friend in zombie killing, co-operative mode action.
iSamurai Bluetooth — 99 cents
Swing your phone around like a samurai sword and have a sword fight with a friend.
Showdown Poker — 99 cents
Play poker against a friend.
Showdown Quickdraw — Free
Have a Wild West-style gun-slinging match with a friend.
Tank War – Bluetooth Battle — 99 cents
Battle a friend with tanks in a bitter neon colored war.
Attack – Wireless Bluetooth Space Battle — 99 cents
If you don’t like tanks, maybe you prefer to fight in spaceships instead. Battle head-to-head.
Tic-Tac-Touch: FS5 — Free
It’s Tic-Tac-Toe; what else is there to say?
Touch4 FS5 — Free
Remember playing Connect 4 from your childhood? Relive the experience.
Briscola — $1.99
Play the Italian card game “Briscola” against a friend.
Heads Up Poker 3G — Free
This is another multiplayer Poker game.
SG Mahjong — 99 cents
This lets you play Mahjong against up to four people at once.
Scopa — $3.99
Play the Italian card game “Scopa” against a friend.
ShapeShape — 99 cents
In a game that looks like a cheap knock-off of Rolando, two-player mode lets you race against a friend to finish a level, as well as allowing you to share custom levels made with the level editor.
Pong – iPhone Edition — 99 cents
There couldn’t be a more simple game than pong, the first computer game ever made.
Checkers Lite — Free
The classic game of checkers. Everyone knows checkers.
Combat On Palm — Free
Two player head to head space combat action.
Trivia Wars — 99 cents
Challenge a friend to a trivia content.
Mancala Lite — Free
Play the game of Mancala against friends.
Reversi Lite — Free
Play the age-old game of Reversi (also known as Othello) against a friend.
iPunchOut Boxing — 99 cents
Have boxing battles against a friend by holding onto your device tightly and swinging your fists around.
Speed Lite — Free
Play the card game of Speed against a friend.
Cheap Tactics — 99 cents
Challenge a friend to this simple strategy RPG game.
BattleFrogs — 99 cents
Similar to Battleships, but with frogs on lily pads. Guess where a friend has placed their frogs by throwing rocks.
Bluetooth Hot Potato — 99 cents
Pass the hot potato to other players before it burns up.
No doubt that despite my searching efforts I may have missed a game — or perhaps one has just been released. Let us know your favorite Bluetooth multiplayer game in the comments.
Tweet This (72)
Will Robertson on July 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
They don’t have it, but I wish Hexy and Tap Tap Revenge would add Bluetooth multiplayer.
Beau Giles on July 20th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
You forgot Flick Fishing!
Staff Comment Andrew Bednarz, TheAppleBlog on July 20th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I did indeed, and no-wonder; they should use the word “bluetooth” in their App description :)
Twist on July 20th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Andrew learn how to use the break feature as a favor to us RSS junkies please.
Staff Comment Josh Pigford, TheAppleBlog on July 20th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Twist: It’s not Andrew’s fault. GigaOM (TheAppleBlog’s parent company) opts to deliver full-content RSS feeds. If that’s not something you want, send an email to support at gigaom dot com and provide that feedback.
Thanks for being a reader!
Luciano Fagundes on July 20th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Hi Folks
You forgot mentioning “i-Dig: The Recycling Challenge”. We have just released it last week.
Take a look at:
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320628001&mt=8
Staff Comment Andrew Bednarz, TheAppleBlog on July 20th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Thanks, I’d suggest explicitly adding the words “bluetooth and wifi multiplayer” in the App Store description :)
Tom Reestman on July 20th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Great list.
Here’s another one for you that my daughter and I play it quite a bit:
http://www.gameloft.com/iphone-games/uno/
Staff Comment Andrew Bednarz, TheAppleBlog on July 20th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Tom, does support bluetooth? The AppStore description only mentions wifi.
Kentaurus on July 21st, 2009 at 3:06 am
It has NO bluetooth the game. Only WIFI!
Tom Reestman on July 21st, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Andrew,
Sorry about that. It’s home WiFi, or any ‘net connection (WiFi, 3G or EDGE) but not BT.
Chris on July 20th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
MusicApp is another pretty good one.
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=288533543&mt=8
Chris on July 20th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Opps, posted the wrong link
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318222149&mt=8
Pro-Vamsi on July 20th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Well these are only few of them!! There are lot more interesting games I guess.
Nntpgrip on July 20th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Wifi is used in all cases for multiplayer. Bluetooth is only used to transparantly autonegotiate an ad-hoc wifi connection between the two or more players. They went over this in the keynote. Just FYI
Staff Comment Andrew Bednarz, TheAppleBlog on July 21st, 2009 at 2:32 am
I didn’t realise that, makes sense though. Although for my purposes (connecting on a train) the bluetooth part is a requirement.
Ben Guest on October 22nd, 2009 at 12:54 am
Direct quote from apples own documentation:
“The Game Kit framework provides features designed for game developers who want to connect users of different iPhones together. Game Kit includes the following technologies:
Peer-to-peer connectivity allows your application to create an ad-hoc Bluetooth network between multiple iPhones. Although designed with games in mind, this network is useful for any type of data exchange among users of your application. For example, an application could use peer-to-peer connectivity to share electronic business cards or other data.”
So, no WiFi is NOT used in all cases.
Ben Guest on October 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 am
Oops, I just re-read your original comment, you may be right, but the point is that an external WiFi network is not needed, you can play a peer-to-peer game anyplace.
Bryon on July 20th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
These won’t work on the 1st generation ipod touches… Is that right? I really wish it would
Hat on July 20th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
imech, coming out in the next couple days should be a huge win!!!
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2783135/imech_iphone_game_ipod_touch_game/
tobiCOM on July 21st, 2009 at 1:50 am
Thx n1ce Collection
macphisto on July 21st, 2009 at 2:41 am
The link to “Attack From the Dead” is wrong, it takes me to Bomberman Touch 2. Just FYI. :)
Adam @ ArcTouch on July 21st, 2009 at 11:19 am
We added the multi-player capabilities to Pong using the framework we developed for our Beam It! contact sharing app (http://arctouch.com/beamit)
We also are giving away the source code with free usage rights for this framework so other developers can add multi-player to their apps. Check it out and if you have questions or need assistance with it or Game Kit contact us.
Doug Hogg on July 21st, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Hi,
Thanks for including iSamurai Bluetooth.
Here are a few details. iSamurai Bluetooth is a sword-fighting simulation and action game for two-players, with an additional single-player mode. There are four attacks and four matching blocks. A player attacks by swinging his/her iPhone like a sword, and if the other player blocks in time, the sound of clashing swords is immediately heard from both iPhones. If the block is too slow or incorrect, a cry of pain comes from the defender’s iPhone. There are a variety of sounds, some humorous. What if both players attack at once? They both get “hit”. Both iPhones (or iPod Touch 2Gs) keep track of the score and report at the end of the battle. With this new Bluetooth version, players can battle anywhere.
Tips:
When using Bluetooth with iPhone software 3.0, turn off Wi-Fi on both iPhones. And if using Wi-Fi, turn off Bluetooth on both iPhones. Also Apple has posted some fixes for Wi-Fi problems with iPhone software 3.0: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1559
We haven’t had any damaged iPhones during all of our extensive testing of the game, but I recommend a good case for grip. Also people should stand back about 8 feet from each other when battling so their iPhones can’t possibly collide.
:-)
Doug Hogg
Toy Kite Software
gazetna on July 22nd, 2009 at 3:31 am
Here are a few details. iSamurai Bluetooth is a sword-fighting simulation and action game for two-players, with an additional single-player mode. There are four attacks and four matching blocks. A player attacks by swinging his/her iPhone like a sword,
Olly Farshi on July 24th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Andrew, awesome, wonderful article, although note that the first game ever made was Tennis For Two.
Tennis For Two was like Pong, and clearly the ultimate predecessor for Pong, but certainly not the same game.
Check the vid here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2E9iSQfGdg
and the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_for_two
Had to get my gaming geek on for a moment and let you know!
Staff Comment Andrew Bednarz, TheAppleBlog on July 24th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Right you are Olly, Tennis For Two was the one I was thinking of, should have double checked! :)
Travis on July 25th, 2009 at 7:25 am
You can see a demo of “Attack PRO – Wireless Bluetooth Spaceship Battle” here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JleGfEjEMc
Doug Hogg on July 25th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
When playing these games, if you have trouble connecting to another iPhone or iPod Touch 2G over Bluetooth, here are a couple of articles with suggestions:
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/07/15/bluetooth-another-wi-fi-killer/
http://www.tuaw.com/2009/07/10/apple-proposes-iphone-ipod-touch-wi-fi-and-bluetooth-fixes/
:-)
Doug Hogg
Toy Kite Software
Alice Alice on July 28th, 2009 at 4:10 am
iHawky is an exciting remake of the legendary copter game, but with its own creative identity.
If you used to spend hours playing copter on your computer, this is a must have iPhone/ iPod Touch remake. If you’ve never heard about copter then get with the program already, start playing now!
Official website http://ihawky.com
DC on September 6th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
worst. graphics. ever. it looks like an art project from primary school.
any website that calls its OWN game awesome should be avoided.
Games on August 2nd, 2009 at 12:43 am
nice post …. Thanks
Emily on August 5th, 2009 at 4:28 am
I am very impressed with your site. The quality of the design and content makes it a real winner! Thanks again for a great site and a great resource.
johnny on August 7th, 2009 at 7:18 am
321 jump
ANON on August 7th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
The best 2 player game by far is REAL RACING. OUTSTANDING!!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=306220440&mt=8
Theorian on August 11th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
NanoMechs is also a multiplayer game. Allowing up to 8 players over wifi!
http://www.linktoapp.com/NanoMechs
bz on September 6th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
The title is BLUETOOTH, so stop posting WIFI ONLY games!
daz on October 10th, 2009 at 6:17 am
what’s that game on the tele advert with 3 iphones bouncing a football around each of the 3 screens?
Khai on October 11th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
(air)hockey by FS5. You can play via bluetooth.
Search for “FS5 Hockey” and it’s free!
Doug Hogg on October 14th, 2009 at 8:04 am
iSamurai has been upgraded to iSamurai: Critical Strike. The new version has these features
- New CRITICAL STRIKE attack, which causes extreme damage.
- Greatly improved slash detection and matching block detection.
- Updated two-player game to give tactical real life sword fights.
- Close-to-death warnings.
- Intro video and instructions.
Doug Hogg
Toy Kite Software
Vince Chris on October 19th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Try iRobox… It’s 2 player (Bluetooth) robot fight. Similar to rockem sockem…
You can chose between 6 robots to use. Best 2 out of 3 rounds wins.
Fun stuff for .99 cents!!
Think you need the 3gs
Doug Hogg on October 19th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Wow!. Response has been great to our new version – iSamurai: Critical Strike. We have now had many 1000s of downloads. This version is the game that we had in mind when we started programming – a real-time one-on-one tactical sword fight (where no one gets hurt).
:-)
Doug Hogg
Toy Kite Software
Lucky3 on November 7th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Hi all,
Also try Kilimanjaro, climbing against each other via Bluetooth or wifi and let us know what you think.
http://www.lucky3.be
Lucky3 Software