With many of us desperate to avoid being left alone with our own thoughts,???? ????? ???? ??????? ????? mobile games are a useful and convenient crutch that can help soften the harsh reality of our unquiet minds. Several popular video game titles such as Fortnite and PUBGhave made their way to mobile, offering people a comforting distraction while they visit the bathroom or are otherwise separated from larger screens.
Tiny phone screens aren't the best platform for first person shooters, however, and many find the format more frustrating than fun. Fortunately, there's a big, wide world of engaging mobile games to keep you company while you're doing your business.
Here are 11 of the most addictive, best mobile games to make your time on the toilet less existential.
1. Two Dots
My mum was introduced to Two Dotsin early 2020, but the puzzle game continues to consume her life. I estimate there are around 5 billion levels, not to mention the limited-time challenges added every few days.
The premise is simple — just connect like-colored dots to make them disappear, forming squares to clear all dots of the same color. Each level gives you a limited number of turns to reach a set goal, while various mechanics such as spreading fire and wandering beetles add complications.
Two Dots also connects to Facebook to provide a leaderboard, letting you know when you beat your friends' high score so you can message them to rub it in.
Platforms: Android and iOS
Price: Free (with optional in-app purchases)
2. 2048
Credit: 2048 by Gabriele Cirulli 2048is a puzzle game that's deceptive in its simplicity. The aim is to slide numbered tiles across the board to add like numbers, consolidating them to eventually reach 2048. Continuing past this is theoretically possible, but even reaching that elusive number is enough of a challenge.
All tiles slide together when you swipe, so joining two typically puts other tiles in less optimal positions. New tiles also spawn with every move, eventually cluttering up the board and ending the game.
It's practically a compulsion to try again, and again, and again to beat your own record. No matter how high your numbers climb, they can always get higher.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Also available in browser.
Price: Free (with option to pay for removal of ads on iOS)
SEE ALSO: 12 of the best 'Wordle' clones, because one word a day isn't enough3. Crossy Road
Crossy Roadis essentially an endless version of Frogger, only with isometric pixel art and a bald eagle that will swoop down and end your life if you take too long. The game was a smash hit upon its release, taking an arcade classic and updating it for current mobile gaming habits.
There's a huge lineup of unlockable characters, so you can cross busy highways as a chicken, or a dinosaur, or even characters from other games. However, gameplay is the same regardless of which critter is making that mad dash through oncoming traffic. There aren't any power-ups or special abilities — it's all about your own skill and reflexes.
Crossy Road is one of those games that's easy to learn but difficult to master, which is one of the reasons it's so addictive.
Platforms: Android and iOS
Price: Free (with optional in-app purchases)
4. Piffle
From the developers of Crossy Road, Piffleis a cute arcade game that can easily entertain you for as long as it takes to poop, plus during boring meetings if you're sneaky. In Piffleyou break gradually lowering blocks by flinging ball-like cats (or cat-like balls) at them. The goal is to clear the stage before the blocks reach the bottom and bonk your kittens on their little kitten noggins.
There are of course special blocks to make the task more difficult, as well as power-ups to make it easier. Like Two Dots, there are more levels than you're likely to ever get through, even if you don't replay ones where you earned fewer than three stars.
If aesthetic is something you're concerned about, you can also unlock different looks for your Piffle Balls. I favour grey tabby Stripey McStripeface, though Patches the pirate is pretty cute too.
Platforms: Android and iOS
Price: Free (with optional in-app purchases)
5. Mini Metro
Transport game Mini Metrowill appeal to anyone who loves planning and efficiency, prompting players to draw train lines connecting stations. Optimising your rail network and watching passengers shuttle about your city is an easygoing, meditative experience, providing a quiet sense of accomplishment.
Though the game begins calmly, it doesn't take long for it to spin out of control. Your carefully manicured rail system can quickly become overloaded as more stops spawn, leaving you cursing the tidal wave of passengers — an experience many of us are intimately familiar with.
If you can't get enough of Mini Metro, its sequel Mini Motorwayson Apple Arcade applies the same premise to roads.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Also available on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.
Price: $0.99 (Android), $3.99 (iOS), $9.99 (PC and consoles)
6. Fire Emblem Heroes
Fire Emblem Heroesis undeniably overwhelming when you first load it up. The turn-based strategy game has an enormous roster of heroes to collect, several with very involved backstories, and it can feel as though there are a million menus and sub-menus. Not to mention the various currencies.
However, once you work past all that, you'll find an entertaining roleplaying game boasting a more in-depth combat system than you'd typically expect on mobile. Battles are conducted by moving your heroes about a map to attack your foes, factoring in which hero types are stronger against others.
There are Story Maps to play through if you're interested in the plot, or you can just spend your time levelling up your heroes in the Training Tower. You might enjoy this game more if you're a fan of the Fire Emblem series, though newcomers won't face the frustration of being unable to obtain their favorite hero.
Platforms: Android and iOS
Price: Free (with optional in-app purchases)
7. Monument Valley
It'd be a gross oversight not to mention Monument Valley. This beautiful, Escher-like puzzle game is great for people who don't play a lot of games. It's also great for people who do play a lot of games. It's just great in general.
In Monument Valley, players rotate and move sections of optical illusions to guide a character through to the exit. It's a gentle game with no time limit, so you can spend as long as you want working out the puzzles and marveling at the geometric art. This engrossing game leaves a strong impression, and even appeared in Season 3 of House of Cards.
Monument Valleyhas 11 chapters to work through, and you can buy eight more for $1.99. If that isn't enough, there's also a sequel to tuck into.
Platforms: Android and iOS
Price: $3.99
8. Ticket to Earth
If you can't decide whether to play a puzzle game, a turn-based strategy game, or look for something with an engaging story, Ticket to Earthhas you covered on all three fronts. The game provides an innovative mix of puzzling and combat, further enhanced by interesting characters, unlockable skill trees, and changing win conditions that will keep you on your toes. It also doesn't get too bogged down in the story, which is great when you're playing in short bursts.
In Ticket to Earth,players match colored tiles to move their character across a board and power up attacks on various enemies. The tactical gameplay requires you to think a few steps ahead, balancing the costs and benefits of each move. It may be tempting to join together a string of purple tiles for a ranged attack, but it could leave you surrounded by enemies, and it might be better to trace a shorter path to a health pickup.
Ticket to Earthalso has an augmented reality mode, so you can impose the board into real life.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Also available on PC.
Price: $4.99 (Android and iOS), $14.99 (PC)
9. Framed
Famous Metal Gear Soliddeveloper Hideo Kojima named Framedhis game of the year in 2014, and with good reason. This unique puzzle game has players rearrange comic book panels to change the outcome of events, enabling their characters to slink past cops and avoid capture. It's an interesting and original concept that's executed well, and you don't have to be an avid comic fan to enjoy it.
Framed's puzzles can get delightfully challenging, but not too much for some casual toilet gaming. Starting relatively simply, puzzles grow more complex as the abilities to rotate panels and rearrange them once your character is already moving are introduced. All of this is enhanced by some cool noir styling.
It's a relatively short game, taking around an hour and a half to finish, but if you want more you can always grab sequel Framed 2.
Platforms: Android and iOS
Price: $2.99 (Android), $3.99 (iOS)
10. Dota Underlords
Dota 2 is an amazing game which you should already be playing, but you don't need to know anything about it in order to pick up auto battler Dota Underlords.
In Dota Underlords, players pit themselves against up to seven opponents in a last man standing fight to the death. Each player is given a small amount of gold every round, which they use to buy heroes and place on a checkerboard. These armies are then matched up against each other, with heroes automatically battling it out to whittle away at each other's life.
SEE ALSO: How to start playing 'Dota 2'The gameplay is fairly simple, but it's important to be strategic if you want to win. There's a limit to how many characters you can have on the board at once, while pairing certain heroes together provides bonuses.
Dota Underlordscan be played in single-player or multiplayer mode. Keep in mind that games can last up to 30 minutes, so it's more suitable for when you can spend a lot of time on the pot.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Also available on PC.
Price: Free (with optional in-app purchases)
11. Hearthstone
Hearthstoneis another title we'd be remiss not to mention. This digital card game has amassed a significant fanbase and even has its own esports circuit, but you don't have to play competitively to enjoy it. It's a polished game with bold, slick graphics, while the touchscreen tries to mimic that tactile sensation which makes card games feel so good to play.
Half the fun is customising your own unique deck to suit your play style, but there are also basic decks that let you jump straight into the action. Players compete one-on-one, taking turns to summon creatures and cast spells with the objective of defeating their opponent's hero.
Though Hearthstonedoes have a single-player mode, the game is at its best when you're flinging cards against real opponents, with matches usually lasting a maximum of 10 minutes.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Also available on PC.
Price: Free (with optional in-app purchases)
Topics Gaming