The iPad is my favorite gaming platform. I enjoy gaming with the large, multi-touch screen, and the variety of games makes things even better. With one device I can play ports of classic games, brand-new games, and sequels that may have never happened.

Still, trying to find what to buy for that iPad gamer can be difficult. Here are the best accessories and games to get the guy (or girl) that already has gaming bliss.

iCade

The first item on the list is also the coolest. The iCade is a classic-style arcade cabinet that your iPad can fit into, giving it the look and feel of a retro arcade game, complete with an analog stick and buttons. It only works with certain games, but people that want to have the complete arcade experience in miniature need to look no further than the Atari games bundle.

The iCade, retro gaming right in your living room, bedroom, or wherever.

Combining the old with the new is an innovative concept, and the iCade performs well. Even if your iPad gamer doesn’t use it as intended all the time, it’s a unique novelty item that can be fun to show off to family and friends.

Fling Analog Joystick

As much as I love the touch-screen on the iPad, many games have failed to completely embrace the opportunites offered and instead create facsimiles of old controls, creating virtual analog sticks and buttons.

The Fling analog sticks in use in Across Age.

That’s where the Fling comes in; it attaches to the bezel of your iPad and then allows you to use its rubber joystick to interact with the game that you would like to play. It works with any game that has a virtual joystick, and gives a tactile feel to a sometimes odd experience.

Mophie Juice Pack Power Station

Mophie Juice Pack Power Station

Beyond being a mouthful to say, the Mophie Power Station (MPS from here on) is a device that will charge your iPad via USB. As every gamer knows, nothing can be worse than being in the middle of a game and having the battery die, and the MPS is here to make sure your iPad can get that extra bit of life that you need.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Art.

I recently wrote a review of this game, but I can’t stress enough how excellent it is. This is the sort of game that appeals to both artists and gamers, offering a blend of beautiful, pixel-perfect visuals, incredible music, and immersive gameplay.

Battleheart

Another game that we’ve reviewed, Battleheart is an action-line-drawing-RPG that reels you in with its charm but keeps you hooked by its gameplay. While it’s simple at its core–you genuinely are drawing lines continuously–the game has plenty of little things that you can do to stay interested, and recently got updated with two new classes to play with.

An intense battle in Battleheart.

Simple enough to be played by anyone and exciting enough to get everyone who plays it hooked, Battleheart is worth the investment if you can deal with not seeing your loved ones for a few days.

League of Evil

I’m going to be honest: whoever you get this for will have a hard time deciding whether you love or hate them. While it’s got great visuals and has fantastic gameplay, League of Evil will involve the player’s death so many dozens of times that you’ll hear some choice words within the first few minutes of playing.

League of Evil

Still, it’s an excellent game; the difficulty can be frustrating at times, but it’s always enjoyable and finding your way past a particularly difficult obstacle is always fun.

Dead Space

See? Scary.

A game that found its life on consoles, Dead Space for iPad manages to bring all the horror from its bigger brothers down to the iPad’s small(er) screen. Featuring intuitive controls, Dead Space is a game that you can gift to someone that you love and would like to have a good time, but could also do with a few nights of no sleep.

Deep Green

Chess. All chess, all the time.

Ah, the chess lover. The man that bought his iPad to peruse the periodicals, to glance at literary marvels as he sipped his carefully brewed coffee. This is a man that may not be interested in most games, but chess? Chess is for intellectuals, for manly men like him that understand that the game is so much more than it seems.