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In the Apple Games app, you can find your next game across dozens of categories including action, adventure, racing, puzzles, and more.

You can explore new releases, see top charts, or get personalized suggestions, and view Apple Arcade’s curated collection of games (subscription required), which have no ads or in-app purchases. You can also search or browse by category, see reviews and privacy information, and download or buy a game, play it, or quit it.

Note: Game Center, Apple Arcade, and Apple One aren’t available in all countries or regions. The availability of Apple Arcade games across devices varies based on hardware and software compatibility. Some content may not be available in all areas.

Browse or search for games

  1. Open the Apple Games app on your iPad.
  2. Do any of the following:

    • Explore new releases, see top charts, or get personalized suggestions: Tap Home.
    • View the curated collection of games from Apple Arcade (subscription required) without ads or in-app purchases: Tap Arcade.
    • Search or browse: Tap the Search button, browse by category or enter what you’re looking for. Then tap the Search button on the onscreen keyboard.
  3. Select a game to see information such as ratings, game controller support, leaderboards, achievements, and more.

    To see additional information like reviews and privacy information, tap View in App Store.

Download or buy a game

  1. Open the Apple Games app on your iPad.
  2. Go to the game you want and tap the price. If the game is free, tap Get.

    If you see the Redownload button instead of the price or Get, you purchased this game before. Tap the Redownload button to download it again for free.

  3. If required, authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode to complete your purchase.

    Purchases are made with the payment method associated with your Apple Account.

In a Family Sharing group, a child may have to ask permission before downloading or buying games.

Play a game

  1. Open the Apple Games app on your iPad.
  2. Do any of the following:
    • Play a downloaded game: Tap Library and then tap Play next to the game you want to play.
    • Continue a game: Tap Home, then tap the game in the Continue Playing section.

Quit a game

To quit a game, open Exposé, swipe right to find the game, then swipe up on the game.

See also

With the Apple Games app, you can send friend requests, compete on leaderboards, and play with friends during a FaceTime call.

Supported games with Game Center leaderboards let you challenge friends for a high score or a specific goal, and you choose the number of tries and how long it lasts. You can also use AirDrop to invite friends.

Here’s how to play with friends in the Apple Games app on iPad.

Challenge friends

Supported games with Game Center leaderboards let you create a challenge and compete with friends for a high score or specific goal. A challenge turns single-player games into friendly showdowns, with a shared competition within your group. You pick the game and the friends you’d like to invite. Everyone’s results are yours to track as they complete the challenge.

  1. Open the Apple Games app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Friends, then tap Challenge Your Friends.
  3. Select a game and then choose any of the following options:
    • Number of tries: Tap 1 Try, 3 Tries, or Unlimited.
    • Challenge duration: Tap 1 Day, 3 Days, or 1 Week.
    • Add Players: Tap Players, search for a contact or a friend’s Game Center nickname and select the player. Then tap Continue.
  4. Tap Start.

To leave a challenge, select the game, tap the More button, tap Leave Challenge, then tap Leave Challenge again.

Play games with friends during FaceTime calls

You can find and download games in the App Store that support multiplayer gaming with Game Center during a FaceTime call using SharePlay. During the call, open a supported multiplayer game, tap Start SharePlay, then follow the onscreen instructions. See Use SharePlay to watch, listen, and play together in FaceTime.

FaceTime’s screen sharing feature also lets you play any game while on a call. Read our guide, Share your screen in a FaceTime call.

Use AirDrop to invite people to a multiplayer game

To invite nearby friends to multiplayer games that support Game Center, use AirDrop.

  1. Open the game you want to play on your iPad.
  2. Go to the screen where you invite friends.
  3. Hold the display of your iPad a few centimeters from the top of the other person’s iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch.

    A glow emerges from both devices to indicate a connection is being made.

  4. Continue holding your devices near each other until the game appears on the other person’s screen.

See also

Game Center is Apple’s social gaming service that lets you connect with friends, track and compare scores and achievements, compete with other players in challenges, and invite friends to multiplayer games.

In the Apple Games app, you can personalize your Game Center profile with an avatar and a nickname your friends will see, and choose who can see your game activity. You can edit your profile later, too, and manage who can connect with you.

Note: You can’t use the Apple Games app unless you’re signed in to your Apple Account.

Set up your Game Center profile

  1. Start the Apple Games app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Continue and tap Continue again.
  3. Do the following to customize your player profile:
    • Choose your avatar: Tap the Edit button and select an avatar.
    • Create a nickname: To choose a nickname that your friends will see when you play games together, tap Nickname. Then enter a name or choose one of the suggestions.
    • Choose who can see your game activity: Tap an option.
  4. Tap Continue.

You can also set up your Game Center profile by going to the Settings app, then tapping Game Center. Turn on Game Center, then customize your player profile.

Edit your Game Center profile

  1. Start the Apple Games app on your iPad.
  2. Tap your avatar in the top-right corner. Then tap Edit Profile.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • Edit your avatar: Tap the Edit button and select an avatar. Then tap the Done button.
    • Edit your nickname: Tap your current nickname, enter a name or choose one of the suggestions, and then tap the Done button.
  4. When you’re finished, tap the Done button.

You can also edit your Game Center profile by going to the Settings app, tapping Game Center, then tapping Customize Profile.

See also

Guides are available to help you discover great places around the world to eat, shop, and explore. Guides are automatically updated when new places are added, so you always have the latest recommendations.

You can browse guides by city, interest, or publisher, and view, share, and save the ones you like, and in select U.S. cities, you can see what’s trending, like restaurants or kid-friendly spots.

Here’s how to explore places with guides in Maps on iPad.

Explore the world with guides

  1. Go to the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Scroll down and tap Guides We Love.
  3. Browse by any of the following:
    • City: Tap the Go Down button near the top of the screen and then tap a city. You can also scroll down to the Cities category.
    • Interest: Swipe right to see more interests and tap to browse guides in that group.
    • Publisher: Scroll down to the Browse by Publisher category.

In select U.S. cities, you can see suggestions about what’s trending in the area. Enter “Local Lists” in the search field, tap Guides, then tap a collection, such as restaurants or kid-friendly spots.

View, share, and save a guide

  1. Start the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. To open a guide, tap its cover. To view its contents, scroll down.

    You can also do the following:

    • Save the guide: Tap Add to Guides.
    • Share the guide: Tap Share, then choose an option.
    • See saved guides: Tap Places, then tap Guides. See Organize places in custom guides.
    • Close the guide: Tap the Close button.

Quick tip: App Clips buttons let you do things like reserve a table directly from a guide, so look for them.

See also

Tag: Maps

You can choose which options appear in an app’s Share menu, and change the order in which they appear. You can show or hide an option, add an option to Favorites or remove it, and reorder your Favorites. These changes apply only to the app you’re customizing, though.

Note: These changes affect only the app you’re customizing, so to set up the Share menu in each app, repeat the steps there.

  1. Open a document in the app and tap the Share button.
  2. Swipe left over the row of buttons and then tap More.

    The screen for sharing a photo, with the sharing options immediately below the open photo, including the More button for editing sharing options.

  3. Tap Edit and then do any of the following:

    • Show or hide an option: Tap the control next to the option to turn it on or off.
    • Add an option to Favorites: Tap the Add button.
    • Remove an option from Favorites: Tap the Remove button.
    • Reorder Favorites: Drag the Reorder button next to any option.
  4. Tap Done.

See also

Tag: iPadOS

You can organize places into your own guides for easy reference, and you can share your guides with others.

A guide called Favorites always appears in your guides, which makes it easier to save places. You can add a place to a guide, edit a guide, and add Publisher Guides to your collection, too. You can also pin any places you want to see in your Places.

Here’s how to organize places with custom guides in Maps on iPad.

See your favorites

To make it easier for you to save places to a guide, a guide called Favorites always appears in your guides.

  1. Go to the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Below Your Guides, tap Favorites.

Quick tip: Pin any places you want to see in your Places each time you open Maps. See our guide, Add a pin to your Places.

Create a guide

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Your Guides. Tap the Add to List button.
  3. Enter a name for the guide. Tap the Add Image button to add an image from your photo library.
  4. Tap the Done button.

Add a place to a guide

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap a place on the map or a search result.
  3. In a place card, tap the More button and then tap Add to Guides.
  4. Choose one of your guides and tap the Done button.

To add Publisher Guides to your guides as well, see our article, Explore places with guides.

Share a guide

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Your Guides. Tap the guide you want to share.
  3. Tap the Share button at the top of the guide card and choose an option.

Edit a guide that you created

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Your Guides, then tap the guide you want to edit.
  3. Tap the Edit button. Then rename it or do any of the following:
    • Choose a cover image: Tap the Change Image button, tap another image, and tap Choose.
    • Remove places: Tap to select the places you want to delete from the guide and then tap the Delete button.
  4. Tap the Done button.

Remove a guide

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Below Your Guides, tap the More button on the guide you want to remove. Then tap Delete.

See also

Tag: Maps

You can use pins to mark places so you can more easily find those locations later.

You can drop a pin to share a location, or to start or end your route somewhere that isn’t already marked. Pins appear as a row of icons in your Places, and you can get a pin’s latitude and longitude, edit it, or remove it. You can also note your current location with Mark My Location, and get directions to a pin.

Drop a pin

Dropping a pin helps when you want to share a location with someone else, or when your route needs to start or end somewhere that isn’t already marked on the map. Unless you’ve saved them to your Places, only one pin appears at a time.

  1. Go to the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Touch and hold the map until a pin marker appears.

    To refine the location, tap Move, then drag the map.

  3. Tap Pin. To mark several places with pins, save each pin as you drop it.

    Pins appear as a row of icons in your Places when you open the Maps app.

To get directions to the pin, tap the pin, then tap the directions button.

Quick tip: You can note your current location even when the Maps app isn’t open. Touch and hold the Maps icon on the Home Screen and choose Mark My Location. To learn more about quick actions, see our guide, Perform quick actions.

Share a pin

  1. Start the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Touch and hold the map until a pin marker appears, then tap the Share button (at the top of the card).
    • Tap Places, tap Pinned, swipe left on the pin, then tap Share.
  3. Choose how you want to share it.

Get the latitude and longitude of a pin

  1. Start the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Places, tap Pinned, and then tap the pin.
  3. Swipe up to Coordinates (below Details).
  4. Touch and hold the coordinates and then tap Copy.

Edit a pin

  1. Start the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Places, then tap Pinned.
  3. Tap the Info button. Then do any of the following:
    • Change the name of the pin: Tap in the Label field.
    • Assign it to your Home, Work, or School address: Choose an option below Type.

Note: After you’re prompted to sync Maps to My Card, changing your Home, Work, or School address may mean updating it in both Maps and Contacts. For more, see our article, Add a pin to your Places, and our guide, Complete or edit My Card.

Remove a pin

  1. Start the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Places, then tap Pinned.
  3. Swipe left on the pinned location, then tap Delete.

You can also tap the Info button, then tap Unpin.

See also

Tag: Maps

You can find pins, places, guides, and routes in one place: your Places in the Maps app. Add your own personal notes—visible only to you—to saved places, or pin your most frequently visited places for easier access.

You can also save dropped pins and your home, work, and school addresses to Places. When you share a place, your note appears with the shared link.

Here’s how to add places and notes to your Places in Maps on iPad.

Save a place to your Places

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. While looking at a place card, do one of the following:
    • Tap the Add button. It turns to the Added button.
    • Tap the More button, then tap Add to Places.

You can also save dropped pins and home, work, and school addresses to Places.

Add notes to a place

Notes you add to a place are there to read any time. If you share the place, your note shows up as text with the shared link, though it won’t save to the other person’s notes for that place.

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. While looking at a place card, tap the More button. Then tap Add a Note.
  3. Write something and tap the Done button.

Adding a note to a place saves the place to your Places.

Remove a place from your Places

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Places.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Tap the More button, tap Delete from Places, then tap Delete.
    • If you’re in the place card, tap the Added button, tap to deselect Places, then tap the Done button.

Removing a place from your Places deletes any personal notes you added to it.

See also

Tag: Maps

You can set your home, work, or school address for one-tap access to real-time traffic updates, directions, and notifications, making your travel more efficient.

The address you set can be different from the one on your contact card in the Contacts app. If an address changes, you can update its details, or remove a set address altogether.

Here’s how to set your home, work, or school address in Maps on iPad.

The Maps app showing the Details screen with options to set an address as home, work, or school.

Set your home, work, or school address

You can set a home or work address that’s different from the home or work address on your contact card in the Contacts app.

  1. Go to the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Below Places, tap the Add button (you may need to swipe left).
  3. Tap the search field and then enter the address you’re looking for.
  4. Tap the address. Then assign it to a type: My home, My work, or My school.
  5. Tap the Done button.

Note: Changing your home, work, or school address once you’ve been asked to sync Maps to My Card may mean you have to update it in Contacts, too. Read our guide, Add or edit your contact info and photo.

Change a set address

If your home, work, or school address changes, you can update its details.

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Below Places, touch and hold the address you want to change.
  3. Tap Edit Details and then do any of the following:
    • Rename the pin: Enter a new name in the Label field.
    • Assign the address to your home, work, or school: Choose an option below Type.
    • Move the location of the pin: Tap Refine Location on the Map. Drag the map.
  4. Tap the Done button.

Remove a set address

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Below Places, touch and hold the address you want to remove.
  3. Tap Unpin.

See also

Tag: Maps

You can customize a walking path to plan a hike, an exercise route, or a city tour. In U.S. national parks, you can browse hikes and filter them by length, elevation, and route type.

You’ll be able to save the routes, along with any notes you add, to access when you’re offline. While you build a route, you can reverse it. You can also retrace your steps with Out & Back, or close a loop.

Note: Not all features are available in all countries and regions.

Create your own walking or hiking route

  1. Go to the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. To select a starting point on the map, touch and hold any road, path, trail, or other place accessible by walking to drop a pin and tap the More button. Tap Create a Custom Route.
  3. Tap other points along your route to choose a path and then do any of the following to complete your route:

    • Reverse a route: Tap the Reverse button.
    • Retrace your steps: Tap the Out & Back button.
    • Close a loop: Tap the Close Loop button.
    • Undo a point: Tap the Undo button.

    A custom route in the Maps app, with distance, elevation profile, estimated time, and options to save or get directions to the start of the route.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • Go to the starting point: Tap Directions (available near the start of the route).
    • Start turn-by-turn walking directions: Tap Go (available if you’re not near the route).
    • Save the route for later: Tap Save, name the route and add notes (optional). Then tap the Done button.

      Tip: To access the route and the surrounding map even when you don’t have access to an internet connection, make sure Download Route is turned on.

You can also remove a point by tapping a point, then tapping Remove Point, Remove Start Point, or Remove End Point.

Browse and save hikes

You need to be online when you search for hikes.

The Maps app showing results matching a search for hikes in a national park.

  1. Open the Maps app on your iPad.
  2. Make sure you’re in the Explore map, indicated by the Map Modes button at the top right of your map. See Switch to a different map view.
  3. Search for hikes in [national park name] and then tap the search result.
  4. To narrow down your choices, tap the filters, such as All Lengths or All Route Types. Swipe left to see more options.
  5. Tap to open the hike, then tap the Add button.

    You can also do one of the following instead of saving the hike to your Places:

    • If you’re near the start of the route: Tap Directions to go to the trailhead.
    • If you’re not near the route: Tap Go to start turn-by-turn walking directions.

    Tip: To access the route and the surrounding map on your iPad when you don’t have access to an internet connection, make sure Download Route is turned on.

See also

Tag: Maps