I was a little late to the smart phone party. I got an iPhone last November and of course jumped into gaming right away, though with just 8 gigs of space, I'm always running out of room. I played a lot of Solitaire at first and dabbled in some free-to-play games that really made me mad at how they grabbed for my money. Then I came across Touch Arcade, one of the Net's leading websites for iOS gaming. Their app is super helpful because you can put any game, whether or not they cover it, into a Watch List and you'll get a notification whenever anything happens with that game (an update, price change, etc.). I can't tell you how many times I stuck a game that sounded fun in my Watch List and later got it for free during a giveaway that may have lasted a day or two. Never would have known without the Watch List. So, if you like iOS games, definitely get the TA app. It'll save you bundles 
Anyway, I didn't mean to get off on that but I thought it'd be helpful. Games! The mobile version of Ticket to Ride, a train-themed board game, has seen the longest continual use on my phone. The board is a map of the United States (there's also a European edition) that's crisscrossed with train lines and you draw cards that give you destinations to connect. You then draw train cards, which come in various colors, and try to plot out the best route from point A to point B (you can have multiple destinations at once, though, you're trying to to connect). It's a ton of fun and the game has some decent AI to play against and includes modes for pass-and-play on a single device, local wireless, and internet for multiplayer with real people. It's a game I can play for a few minutes or an hour, and it's not hard to rope people into trying it with you
Another game that has received long-term playtime is Super Hexagon. A game with a simple enough premise that manages to be surprisingly hard, SH has you controlling a little cursor that rotates around the outside of a hexagon (or at times some other geometric shape), trying to avoid incoming lines and shapes. If you get smashed, it's game over. But survive for 60 seconds and you clear the mode. How hard could that be, right. Well, so far I've only cleared the first one of the three modes initially available. Oh, those three modes are called Hard, Harder, and Hardest, and they're not kidding. Still, it has that addictive "one more try" quality that keeps me coming back again and again. And thanks to the pulsing electronica soundtrack, no session is ever dull. This is easily a game with paying for.
These gifs are a little faster than the actual game...usually
On the other end of the intensity spectrum is Quell, a sublime and relaxing puzzle game. I'm sure we've all played an RPG with one of those ice cave puzzle where once you start moving you won't stop till you run into something. Those puzzles tend to be annoying, in my opinion, so I didn't think I'd like Quell but instead I loved it. It's a wonderfully low-key experience ideally suited for touch controls and the difficulty curve is perfect. I was stuck on a few of the endgame puzzles for days but they're always fair and oh so satisfying to finally figure out. I got Quell for free (thanks, Touch Arcade) and I hope to pick up its sequels at some point.
You have to collect all the little marbles to complete the level
Of course, what kind of "core" gamer would I be if I didn't play Infinity Blade? This one-on-one fantasy sword fighting game really does deserve all the hoopla it's gotten through the years. Despite the repetition inherent in its design (i.e., replaying the same castle over and over again through different bloodlines), IB offers a lot of depth and replayability. Copious amounts of armor and weapons to master and multiple paths through the castle keeps things from going stale but it's the engaging combat that carries the experience. Anyone who says there is nothing for console gamers on iOS has never played Infinity Blade.
Those are a few of my favorites so far. There a plenty more, trust me, and plenty of more games I hope to play in the future. Mobile is a huge market now and one that is often written off by the naive console gamer, but it offers a myriad of great experiences that should not be missed.
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