How to Have Fun with Game Center for iPhone and iPad

Game Center can be a fun addition to your iPhone and iPad gaming, but it can be a bit confusing. Part of the confusion comes with navigating the app, and part comes from the fact that your device comes with the app already installed, which may make it seem as though the app should be integrated with your phone. It’s not. You have to create a separate account for Game Center.

Once you have done that, you can spice up your profile with a photo and status message, if you wish. That’s not required to have fun with the app, however. Here the steps you may take to actually have fun with Game Center.

Adding friends in Game Center

Adding friends is difficult, but it’s worth it if you are competitive. There is no easy way to search for your friends or browse profiles, other than recommendations for profiles of people who play the same games. You have to know either the email or username your friend used to register with Game Center. You will just have to ask them. Once you have at least one friend in the app, you can browse their friends by clicking on the Friends icon at the bottom, clicking on your friend’s name, then clicking on their Friends tab.

Challenging friends in Game Center

There are two ways to challenge a friend to a game you both play. If you want to challenge a specific friend, click on your friend’s name in the Friends section, then choose a game from their Games tab. You will see a list of achievements on the game’s Achievements tab. Choose an achievement, then click “Send Challenge.”

If you’d rather challenge a friend to a specific game, choose the game from the Games section (using the Games icon at the bottom). Click the Achievements tab on the game, then choose an achievement to which you’d like to challenge one or more friends. Click “Challenge Friends,” then choose all the friends you’d like to challenge and press the Next button at the top.

Finding new game apps in Game Center

You can find new games to play by clicking on a friend’s name in the Friends section, and seeing which games are listed on their Games tab. If you see one that looks interesting, click on it. There will be a small button under the name and rating of the app that shows the price. Click on that button to get to the app in the App Store.

Check out the Leaderboards

This part is easy. Just click on a game from the Games section, and check out the Leaderboards on the game’s Leaderboards tab. Some games don’t have leaderboards, but the ones that do will allow you to click on the leaderboard items and send a challenge to your friends to complete that particular achievement.