Top Best Games and distractions iPhone and iPad apps of 2020

App Story rounds up the best free and paid-for iPhone and iPad apps to download right now

Appstory pick of the best free and paid-for iPhone and iPad apps.

Touchtime

Ever wondered where the hours go? TouchTime breaks down exactly how long you spend each day watching animal videos on YouTube or testing the latest Snapchat filters. Can you handle the truth? [Android, free]

Eliza

Celebrity AI IBM Watson turns therapist with Eliza, an app that analyses voice memos for emotional sentiment to let you know how you’re really feeling. [iOS, Android, free] 

Hungeremoji

Hungermoji turns the notifications system on Android phones’ home screen into a game. Feed your character fruit or seafood while swiping away the bombs in this clever OS twist. [Android, free]

Sea Hero Quest

Neuroscientists hope this game will help them to understand dementia, by creating a benchmark for the navigational ability of healthy people. The app collects player data, which is then fed to scientists at UCL and UEA. [iOS, Android, free

The app formerly known as H _ _ r

This app takes in ambient noise and creates something more acoustically pleasing. Choose from seven options, including Happy, Relax and Talk, to turn annoying chatter into mood-lifting music. [iOS, free.]

The Westport Independent

Worried about the decline of print media? Try taking control of your own newspaper. As well as managing marketing budgets and deciding the headline, this game examines your ability to fight for a free press under pressure from a propaganda-pushing government. [iOS, Android, £3.99]

Cakewalk

Forget boot camp – the only way to get fit this year is by taking orders from a sarcastic piece of birthday cake. Cakewalk keeps track of how many steps you’ve taken and dishes out a variety of snarky witticisms if it thinks you’re slacking off. Connect to your Twitter account for public shaming and extra motivation. [iOS, free]

Architecture of Radio

This app reveals the data all around us. By visualising open data sets from cell towers, Wi-Fi routers and satellites, Architecture of Radio can plot wired and wireless data in a 360º map that is both captivating and informative. [Android, iOS, £2.29]

Churchill Solitaire

Churchill used his own, fiendishly difficult version of Solitaire to keep his mind sharp – and now former US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld has helped develop the two-deck card game as an app. [iOS, free]

Shooty Skies

Fly like an eagle and fight like an octopus in this erratic shooting game. Expect bright colours and blocky features to whizz by as you aim a stream of bullets in this retro arcade scrolling shooter. [Android, iOS, free]

Prune

Describing itself as “a love letter to trees”, Prune’s beautifully minimalistic design is matched with elegantly simple gameplay in which you swipe your finger to help a virtual tree grow into the sunlight. [ iOS, £2.99]

The Everything Machine

Designed for kids but fun for adults too, this app lets you combine your device’s hardware elements to build creative machines, from a stop-motion camera to a kaleidoscope. [iOS, £2.49]

Don’t Starve

In this remake, the player takes on the role of Wilson, “an intrepid gentleman scientist” trapped in a strange wilderness. Learn how to exploit its resources and inhabitants to survive. [iOS, £3.99]

My Idol — 3D Avatar Creator

This app turns your selfies into animated characters. Dress up in digital outfits and share your dancing avatar. One problem (for UK users): it’s in Mandarin. [iOS, Android, free]

Materials Library

From the Institute of Making comes this searchable database of materials. Along with images and text, there’s now video and audio content to augment the catalogue’s contents. [iOS, free]

Funny or Die Weather

Comedy site Funny or Die and meteorology might not seem like an obvious collaboration. But to WIRED’s surprise, the merging of the two has resulted in an elegant, user-friendly weather app with bonus facts and funnies. [iOS, free]

Yoga 15

Yoga 15 is your personal yoga coach. The aim is to spend a manageable 15 minutes every day relaxing, energising and improving your mobility, strength and flexibility. There are more than 100 videos available, the first six of which are free. [iOS, free]