The 20 best iPhone and iPad game icons of 2013
Iconic
Icons have a big job to do.
These little square pictures have to stand out among one million others, wrap up an entire game in one image, and draw a wandering finger back day after day.
It's got to catch your eye in the App Store, but it must also represent the game so it can't be a photo of Justin Bieber or a pair of boobs. It's got to be stylish, but still capture the theme and content of the app. It's got to be detailed, but look great in miniature.
Most icons fail the test. Their parent games get lost in an ocean of big heads, busy scenes, clashing colours, and claustrophobic borders. But a few games manage to stand out from the crowd, and poke their head out of the App Store like a throbbing zit.
These are the ones we liked most in 2013. Icons that were daring, vivid, characterful, enticing, and artistic. Icons that sit proudly on our homescreen, instead of being hidden away in a folder.
