The iPad game library has grown by leaps and bounds over the last year as more high-profiles titles such as NBA Jam, Infinity Blade, and Final Fantasy III bring console-quality action to the iOS platform. We’ve rounded up our favorite premium titles in our 25 Best iPad Games story. But as the quality has gone up, so has the price—it’s not unusual to find games that cost just shy of $20. Combine rising prices with the ability to download new titles with just the tap of an icon, and you can quickly rack up a sizeable bill. But you don’t have to. The App Store still contains a good number of free iPad games that let you adventure, puzzle, sport, shoot, and sleuth at absolutely no cost.

Free gaming, does, however, come with a few trade-offs. Some titles (such as Words With Friends HD) serve up in-gaming advertising. Some (such as Pro Zombie Soccer Apocalypse HD Lite) offer a handful of levels for free, but then nudge you to purchase the entire game once you hit the wall. Others (such as Smurfs’ Village) serve up neither ads or trials, but deliver a full game that’s accented by in-game purchases that improve gameplay. In the best free iPad games, the gameplay is more than good enough that these hidden costs don’t outweigh the benefit of free gaming on Apple’s awesome tablet.

We’ve done our homework and weeded out the stinkers in our search for the 10 best free iPad games. The resulting collection is a surprisingly diverse mix that includes the sports, hidden object, arcade flight sim, puzzle, tower defense, and world-building genres. Best of all, these free games are of such quality that you’ll be surprised at how much you get for nothing.

So check out our slideshow and let use know what you think of these selections. Better yet, suggest high-quality free iPad games of your own.

5. Pro Zombie Soccer: Apocalypse Edition Lite

Developer Super Awesome Hyper-Dimensional Mega Team has created a winner in the equally outlandishly named Pro Zombie Soccer: Apocalypse Edition Lite. This free iPad game may be difficult to lasso into a definitive category as it borrows elements from the tower defense, shmup, and sports genres, but it’s a fun and addictive soccer-meets-zombie-slaying diversion. There’s a decent amount of content in the lite version. If you make it to the end of this sporty undead massacre, you’ll probably end up buying the complete game anyhow; it’s only two bucks.

6. Smurfs’ Village

With Smurfs’ Village, Capcom Mobile has resurrected the classic ’80s Hanna-Barbera animated property as a free-to-play iPad game. In Smurfs’ Village you strive to build a thriving habitat for your little blue creatures, building mushroom houses, growing crops, and performing other communal duties. The goal? To create a safe haven from the evil wizard Gargamel. Featuring gameplay that’s one part Farmville and one part Sim City, Smurfs’ Village is an engaging title for those that like management and simulation titles. In-game purchases help you build the community faster.