The invention of smartphones has not only led us to live more connected lifestyles but also brought a world of entertainment to our palms, allowing access to streaming services, social media, and unique games.
In the US, it is estimated that nearly 191 million people play games on their mobile devices. To keep these players entertained and coming back for more, game developers must pull out all the stops and create engaging, thrilling, and addictive games.
Some games do this better than others, drawing players into their story or gameplay in unique ways. These games are difficult to stop playing and cause players to get lost for hours without realizing how quickly time has passed. Here are a few of the most enjoyable and addictive games.
Subway Surfers
Released in 2012, Subway Surfers has been a staple in the mobile gaming industry for over a decade—boasting over four billion downloads. Although many games released around the same time have faded into obscurity, this game by SYBO and Kiloo remains steadfast because of its seemingly endless supply of thoughtless fun.
The premise behind Subway Surfers relies on your ability to react quickly as you hurtle down subway tracks on a board. In your path, you’ll find various obstacles, including subway trains. Avoiding these is a priority as you collect coins and other power-ups along the way.
One of the main reasons the game has remained so popular is due to constant updates by the developers. These provide new locations, characters, skins, and boards. Each of these can be used to surf the tracks for hours without realizing how much time you’ve spent dodging increasingly speedy obstacles.
Wordle
Some games suck players in for hours in a single session, but Wordle changed this ethos by creating a game that doesn’t take long to play each time you choose to. However, it will have you coming back almost religiously each day.
The game is simple enough to understand: each day, a new mix of jumbled letters is released. The game tasks you with finding what five-letter words these spell out, including the Wordle word of the day (which grants extra bonuses if you can decrypt it).
The game has taken the world by storm, with many sharing their Wordle scores on social media and competing against friends to see who can find the correct word daily. Another aspect of its popularity is that this game gets your brain going as you try to use your logic to unjumble the letters.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Launched as a mobile spin-off of the viral Nintendo title Animal Crossing, Pocket Camp is a scaled-down option of the game offering just as much enjoyment. As the title suggests, you’re responsible for establishing a camp rather than an island.
With gathering tasks requiring you to spend time daily to stock up on resources like ore, fish, fruit, or bugs, the game also has many side quests. These are presented by animals that wander into your camp and promise bountiful rewards if you can help them achieve specific tasks.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has all the allure of the full game and will have you spending hours playing to try and establish the ultimate camp. It allows relaxed, casual gaming that is incredibly popular among mobile gamers, and it’s no surprise that this game has been downloaded more than 44.8 million times.
BetMGM Casino
Despite not being a game in itself, BetMGM Casino allows users to access a wide range of free slots games that they can enjoy while passing hours of boredom. The app is one of the many iGaming options that have become legally available in select US states over the last few years.
Featuring games from top developers in the industry like NetEnt, Evolution, and Pariplay, anyone looking for a fun game to test their luck (without spending a penny) will love the selection available. Among these are hundreds of unique games that offer themes ranging from Ancient Egypt to distant galaxies.
For those looking to spend in-app, these games have the added benefit of giving access to incredible chances to win. While spinning reels, it can be easy to lose track of time and get drawn into the astonishing entertainment offered by the various casino games.
Clash of Clans
Developed by Supercell in 2012, Clash of Clans is one of the most played strategy games and has been listed in the top 50 grossing apps in stores internationally almost a decade after its release. By 2018, the app had been downloaded more than 500 million times, with more downloads happening daily.
The premise of the game is simple. Upon entering the game, you become the chief of a village tasked with upgrading and improving it. To do this, you’ll need to mine resources, upgrade your storage of these resources, and research new ways to do things.
To make this more difficult, your clan will be attacked by other (sometimes more powerful) clans. Therefore, you’ll need to develop an army capable of withstanding attack and that you can use to attack other clans. All this leads to hours spent fortifying and training your troops without putting your device down.
Idle Miner Tycoon
Idle tycoon games have been a fan-favorite for years. Starting at the bottom of the ladder, these games require you to work to upgrade and improve until you’re the tycoon of a massive operation that generates income as you sit back and watch.
Among the most popular of these games is Idle Miner Tycoon. The game offers various mines you can unlock across eight continents—each producing a unique element. Resources produced in one mine can be used to unlock more until you’ve established a global mining enterprise.
Even though the game allows you to gather resources offline, players may need help closing the app. This is evidenced by the more than 150 million downloads the app has received alongside its average app store rating of 4.7 stars.
