Mobile Games

Mobile games are seen to some people as stupid, not valuable, or just plain bad. And, sure, a lot are. However, some are good. This guide is to skip through any sifting, searching, or surfing you might have to do, and gets straight to my recommendations.

• If you're gonna get only one puzzle game, or only one game off this list in general, get Simon Tatham's Puzzles. It's a bunch of random-gen puzzles, some you know, some you don't. No ads, works offline, incredible controls, small download size, completely free. A perfect app that genuinely everyone should have. There's also a web version that I found while making this guide.
• Okay? Yes, that's the name of a game. Launch balls at blocks and strings to complete a musical scale and clear the board. Works offline, easy controls, no ads, completely free. It does ask you to "pay what you think the game is worth" but this isn't required and, while accessible at any time, only asks you once. I spent $1.99 on this game.
• Flow Free is the puzzle game classic. Match point A to point B of each color and fill the board with pipe. There's a few variants but the original is best. (Honestly, buying the "all packs" IAP is worth it. Doubled puzzle count and no forced ads is wonderful.)
• Smash Hit is plain old glass destruction with ball bearings while you move through a polygonal landscape action. Throw balls, break glass, don't get hit. (Premium, again, is worth it, although not quite as valuable here.)
• Minesweeper: Collector is a lot of minesweeper content. Square and hexagonal modes, things to collect, items to use, missions, an online ranked mode, there's a ton to do. (Yet again I'm advocating for premium, but don't buy the online subscription. It's also not going to be worth it unless you actually run out of content, which is very highly unlikely.)
• Chuzzle 2 is a nearly perfect mobile adaptation of the original. It has the mobile-game type level play, but it's still definitely Chuzzle and it feels like a successor that they put a few ads in. There's also a little tamagotchi thing that can give you gameplay items.
• BAIKOH is a word game that requires quick thinking and a strong sense of self. The game likes to taunt you but don't let that distract you because the letters are stacking up and you need to keep them down! I'm not good at this one but it's solidly good.
• Brainful is a pretty quick game. Select the one that it tells you, and then keep doing that. The problem is, your selection you have to do changes every time you do a selection depending on the tile you selected last time, and you have to go fast. I've gotten really close to 100% completion.
• Bouncy Ball is a platformer where you're always jumping. Start easy with the campaign or jump in instantly with the user created levels, which allow for infinite possibilities and ideas, as well as a heavy dose of difficulty. There's also an Expert training mode so you can practice the hardest techs. This game has existed for years and is still getting content updates.
• Kitten Cards is a game about both kittens and cards. It's a trading card game where the whole game is trading cards. Try to get all the inserts or complete the base collection. Buy, sell and trade with other players to move more quickly and experience a solid player built economy. There's also a web version, if you want to try it out right now.
• Unpuzzle is a game about undoing a jigsaw puzzle, with a few rules attached. It starts simple and ends up making you wonder if you were even playing the same game when you first started. 150 levels.
• Bullet Hell Monday or Bullet Hell Monday Finale, take your pick. Tehy're both very good introductions to the bullet hell genre and play the same way. I prefer Finale. Avoid all the bullets coming at you while you spray some back. It's super hectic.
• PENTOMINOVICH is a Tetris clone that's definitely better than the official one out there. 100 puzzles and general customization, along with a good on-screen control system, make it the best Tetris on the platform so far.
• rensim is pretty light: it's a PuyoPuyo sandbox. Try to build the best combo you can from scratch, practice your technique, or just fuck around. If that interests you, it's a good download.

That should give you enough playtime for a while. The phone games exist for a reason: to be played.

Back to Guides