I’ve been playing games on my iPhone since I got one, but most of the games I played were card games or similarly simple games like Peggle. A game that was released last year, Waking Mars, is more ambitious than Solitaire Golf in scope and mechanics. While I liked the concept of Waking Mars, I didn’t finish it because the size of my iPhone screen was too small. On the flip side, a game I enjoyed on my iPhone, Ridiculous Fishing, is one I can’t stand on my iPad. These two games got me thinking why each game is better suited for a certain iDevice.

In Waking Mars, by Tiger Games, you play as Liang, a scientist sent to Mars to investigate a series of caves. During the expedition, Liang discovers alien life called Zoa. The Zoa are a plant-like species that produces seeds. In order to get farther into the caverns, Liang has to plant the seeds of different types of Zoa to increase the biomass, which will open passageways. The story has multiple paths depending on if you find Octo and if you decide to investigate the purpose of the Zoa or leave and return to base camp where your teammate Amani is.

To move Liang, you drag your finger, and to plant seeds, you open a half radial in the lower right corner, select a seed, and aim the seed to an appropriate patch of ground. Seeds can’t be planted just anywhere, and sometimes you have to guide seeds to specific places. Some of the Zoa are hostile, so you have to navigate Liang around tricky areas. On the small iPhone screen, aiming seeds and navigating Liang through hostile territory was frustrating because my finger covered half of the screen. However, on the iPad, Waking Mars rose to its full potential. The larger screen made noticing the little details possible, and I could see where Liang was and where to aim seeds. Because all you need to do is drag your finger, you can either balance the iPad on one hand or put the iPad on a solid surface. I put my iPad on my desk when I played. Waking Mars is a good example of needing a bigger screen. Without an iPad, I probably would not have finished the game. Yes, the game is also available on PC, but I didn’t want to pay for it twice.

My experience with Waking Mars made me think that all games are better on the iPad or at least the same quality. This was until I played Ridiculous Fishing. Ridiculous Fishing is by Vlambeer (Super Crate Box), Zach Gage (Spelltower), and Greg Wohlwend (Hundreds). The game is about Billy, a fisherman. You cast Billy’s line by tapping the screen, and you navigate the line by tilting your iDevice left and right, avoiding fish on the way down. When you come back up, you need to tilt in order to catch as many creatures as you can. Once Billy’s line reaches the surface, the fish fly into the air, and you have to shoot as many fish as you can before they fall back into the water.

The game looks great on either iDevice, but playing it on the iPad is tiring. An iPad is heavy and large, so I needed both hands to tilt. Transitioning from holding the iPad in both hands to stabilizing the iPad so I can tap to shoot is cumbersome. My hands and wrist hurt from playing after a short time. If I had only played Ridiculous Fishing on my iPad, I might not have completed the game, and I would have missed out on one of the most surprising endings I’ve encountered in games on any platform.

Both Waking Mars and Ridiculous Fishing are excellent games, and I recommend them highly. Waking Mars is exploration combined with a puzzle element; figuring out the best combination of Zoa can take time, but the time is worth it if you decide to venture deep into the caves. Ridiculous Fishing amazed me by taking two simple mechanics, fishing and shooting, and telling a simple, yet interesting, story about Billy. My time with each game on the iPad and iPhone showed me that some games are better suited for a particular device and that not trying out games on both could mean missing out on a great game.