This entry in our classics series takes a swing at a superb, surreal iPhone minigolf game from 2012 – and asks if it still lands a hole in one.
What was Wonderputt?
If we’re strictly talking about game mechanics, it was just minigolf. You got a full 18-hole course laid out on a single screen. Controls were simple: drag, aim, release. The ball would then ping around. If it dropped into the hole under par, you’d be awarded with bonus points and a slice of temporary smugness.
It’s also worth noting that Wonderputt wasn’t an iPhone original. It began life in web browsers. But on Apple devices, you could zoom in to better tackle tricky shots – handy. Of course, that alone didn’t make it a classic…
Why was it a classic?
Because Wonderputt felt like a piece of art disguised as a minigolf game. In a sense, it was to minigolf what Metamorphabet was to alphabet-learning apps. The structure was familiar, but it was totally transformed by the imagination and skill of its creator.
The visuals were eye-popping, peppered with surreal humor and lashings of animation. Parts of the course appeared to have arrived from Escher artwork. Other elements would morph suddenly mid-game, mountains melting into oceans, submarines exploding into explorable schematics, or fossil beds sliding out from under a building. Every playthrough was brief but brilliant.
Where is it now?
Bad news. The original Wonderputt technically still exists on the App Store, but as part of the seemingly mothballed GameClub. It runs poorly and hasn’t been updated since 2021. Avoid. There’s also a sequel, Wonderputt Forever, but that’s locked to Netflix and lacks the elegance and charm of the original.
Your best bet is to fire up the browser version at Coolmath Games, which is solid on iPad, but without a zoom option you’ll need eagle eyes on iPhone. If you’d prefer a native game with a similar vibe, Automatoys is probably the closest you’ll get, unless Wonderputt’s creator one day brings the original back for another round.
Visit the Wonderputt website and hope a proper version reappears on iPhone one day.