X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. How we test phones

Apple Arcade's new games Nuts and Spire Blast out now

Try the new games this weekend.

Shelby Brown Editor II
Shelby Brown (she/her/hers) is an editor for CNET's services team. She covers tips and tricks for apps, operating systems and devices, as well as mobile gaming and Apple Arcade news. Shelby also oversees Tech Tips coverage. Before joining CNET, she covered app news for Download.com and served as a freelancer for Louisville.com.
Credentials
  • She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.
Shelby Brown
2 min read

Apple Arcade on Friday added new games Nuts from developer Noodlecake and Spire Blast from Orbital Knight to its growing catalog of over 145 games. Apple hasn't done a dual-release like this recently, but two games mean twice the fun. You can try your hand at the games this weekend across iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod Touch and Apple TV

ere's what you need to know about the new games:

Nuts

Developer: Noodlecake

nuts-apple-arcade
Apple

In this surveillance mystery game, the squirrel population in Melmoth Forest is acting suspiciously and it's up to you, as a field researcher, to get to the bottom of it. Pack up your map, cameras, motion sensors, thermal imaging tech and GPS for the weirdest surveillance mission ever. Along the way, you'll be tasked with missions: placing cameras, observing footage, tracking the squirrels' movements and more. The whole time, you're in communication with Professor Nina Scholz. With all that gear, plus your logic and wit, will you be able to uncover a bigger conspiracy?

You must get your caravan in working order before setting off into the wild to track these strange forest critters.  The game is presented in a unique color aesthetic. Noodlecake balances the tension of the nights ticking by alongside the hilarity of potentially sinister squirrels. 

Spire Blast

Developer: Orbital Knight

spire-blast-apple-arcade
Apple

Spire Blast is a Candy Crush-meets-Jenga puzzle game in which players must match colored bricks to blast and knock down towers. Your hungry dragon companions can help, but you have to take good care of them. The game is physics-based, so be mindful of how you match and shoot the bricks -- it will influence how the tower topples. 

The game only gets more addictive and challenging the longer you play. You'll get items to help you knock the towers down -- like Boosters -- but the tower structure will become more solid and taller. You'll have a certain number of colors to eliminate per level to advance as well.

With the release of Apple Arcade, Apple entered the mobile gaming world more than a year ago. The subscription gaming service costs $5 a month and lets you play more than new and exclusive games across the iPhoneiPad, Mac, iPod Touch and Apple TV

In addition, with the release of Apple's new iPhone 12 devices, you can get a three-month free trial of Apple's gaming service with the purchase of a new device. Even if you don't purchase a new phone, if you're signing up for Apple Arcade for the first time, you get a one-month free trial. The Apple One subscription bundle also launched last year, which makes it easier and more affordable to get up to six Apple subscription services -- Apple Arcade included -- for one price.

For more, check out every game you can play on Apple Arcade, and how to choose the best gaming subscription service for you.