So last time I did post on the Flash Game era, as a way of remembering it and how much it entertained my childhood. But during and then after that time was the introduction of the mobile gaming era, where many of these flash games migrated to and many new and exciting little games came to be made, and these games have expanded more and more as time has gone on and as mobile technology and operating systems have improved over the years.
Mobile games can be good for people who are often busy throughout many days as the games often don’t take up much time and only require periodic play and often only about 5-10 minutes to check every so often through each day – many of the games don’t demand much of your time and so will not distract you from your more important tasks and work during your busy schedules. It is one of the reasons I like playing a number of mobile games myself as I can just check them quickly while I am researching, writing and editing blogposts and it takes up very little time. Mobiles and tablets also start up fast and don’t require as much set-up as a computer or gaming console.
Many mobile games are also free to play and allow you to progress over time without having to pay-in and so you don’t have to worry about losing too much money… just as long as you don’t get addicted to buying micro-transactions for faster progress, if this is the case then it is perhaps likely that you have more time on your hands than you realize, let’s say if you rush a 3-hour upgrade on a game using their premium currency rather than setting it to go and then shutting the game off and getting on with your work and day. For me that is the point on the games – that there aren’t constantly things to do and it isn’t taking up too much of your time, but is more casual.
Of course, though, you don’t have to play mobile games casually, there are many players who buy the premium currency and rush, but that is up to how they want to play and is what they enjoy. But generally, if you are looking for games that are just casual and don’t take up much time and only require periodic checking, then mobile games are a generally good bet. There are also just many fun puzzle games and task games that you can do in your free time as well, like if you are on a break or something or finished a day at work.
Anyway, I am going to go over a few mobile games that I currently play day to day. I will also give some mentions to other games I have previously played on mobile as well that are good and believe many people can still enjoy, even now.
Kingdom Rush Origins and Vengeance
I just wanted to give Kingdom Rush another mention as you can also get their games (including the 1st and 2nd installments) on mobile, Origins and Vengeance are the 3rd and 4th installments respectively. They are tower defense games with a loose story line, but the levels are very fun and enjoyable and provoke much thought to strategy and as mentioned I love all the enemy types and the art and references packed into all the levels is also fantastic. They are games well-worth using your spare time up on.
The 3rd game (Origins) is a prequel to the original game and where you play as elves instead of humans like in the two original games, while in Vengeance you get to play as the bad guys (from the 1st installment) for the first time and it also introduces a new feature to unlock a bunch of different towers that you can swap in and out, there are also new heroes and lots of great new levels. The one criticism I have for the Vengeance game is that for some reason they removed the enemy encyclopedia so you can no longer look up information and stats of enemies you have come across, which is something I really liked in the previous games – and it is still possible they could add it sometime in the future through an update, which I hope they do, only a very small downside, the rest of the game is great.
Of course, the games cost a couple of quid each (although you can play the first two installments for free as flash games), but it is very cheap (especially if you catch it in a sale where it may cost less than a quid). There are micro-transactions to get some of the heroes, but again it is not necessary for progress and completion.
The Simpsons: Tapped Out
This was my first ever mobile game and I still play it after all these years (about 6-7 years now) and it is a very casual and easy-going game, with no strategy or anything about it. You just simply rebuild Springfield with buildings from The Simpsons and through this you unlock the various characters of Springfield. The game is free to download but has a bunch of premium content for money, but there is plenty in the game that can be obtained from playing totally free (as I have and still am).
You can get premium stuff over time by saving up the free bits of premium currency you obtain here and there and as of late they have even been releasing some premium content in in-game events that can be easily obtained by collecting free event currency by doing the actions required. The game is old and can have some connection issues sadly and I believe at some point within the next few years the game will be drawn to a close, as they have basically added nearly everything they could add to it as well as the game reaching its operational capacity (these games do have a shelf life) but I am impressed that it has gone on for this long and I very much enjoy my large Springfield.
So yeah, you build buildings, place decorations, roads, etc and unlock content, get money from buildings to build more stuff and unlock characters and their questlines. There are periodic in-game events you can earn special limited-time content from (much of which will either become premium later on or will be reintroduced sometimes in other events). You can also add friends and check out their Springfield’s, as well as getting some bonuses from this.
So, if you are a big Simpson’s fan and enjoy a totally casual game, then this is for you. The in-game events that happen can easily be completed without paying in any money and during the in-game events you only often have to check in every 4-hours, but missing a couple of these periods often isn’t a big deal. The in-game events did used to be a bit more demanding compared to now where they have been scaled down a lot (such as removing the need to tap CPU enemies that spawned to collect currency, or having to collect other event currencies to craft other prizes and so on, although I do sometimes miss these older larger events). The in-game events often happen at Halloween and Christmas as a given, while other events are more random with different themes, there have been Easter and Valentine’s Day events but they are not guaranteed each year like the Halloween and Christmas ones.
There have been many similar games released where you rebuild places and unlock characters from your favorite shows – such as Disney Magic Kingdoms, Family Guy: Quest For Stuff, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow and so on, but I have found that Simpsons Tapped Out is less demanding than these games and more easily obtainable stuff without paying in, compared to these other games.
Clash of Clans
Most people have at least heard of Clash of Clans, it has remained since its released one of the most popular games on the app store. In the game you build a base, make or join a clan with other players, attack other players bases to get more resources to build and upgrade your base further and also take part in Clan Wars and Clan Games in Clans. You can do other stuff while you are waiting for your buildings to build or your upgrades to finish or while your army is being trained. You also don’t have to be a part of a Clan to progress, but it can just be more fun and give lots of good benefits, such as donation of high-level troops for new players and bonuses from clan perks.
The game also has several updates per year where new things are added, such as perhaps a new Town Hall level, a new troop, some kind of new building or another feature. Recently a 2nd base you can build up was added, known as the Builder’s Base, which has a different way of how obtaining resources and attacking/defending. So, there is much to unlock and take part in within the game and there is much to learn from the composition of your base and armies, improving defense and attack strategy, there are plenty of players who are content creators on Youtube as well that can help you improve at the game from watching their videos.
The aim of the game is simply to just keep building and upgrading your base and troops and climb up the in-game leaderboards and leagues, the further you get into the game the more complex it becomes, the more features you unlock and the more strategy that is required to be successful. But if anything, the game just enables you to use up your spare time.
There is premium currency again for speeding up buildings and upgrades and just progressing faster, but it isn’t needed. You can also get up to 5 builders, several of which you get from the tutorial anyway and the rest you can easily earn enough free gems to get throughout the game, you just need patience. You can actually get quite a bit of free premium currency by regularly cleaning the obstacles that spawn in your bases.
Clash Royale
Made by the same company as Clash of Clans. This game brings many elements from Clash of Clans such as the troops, the buildings and the art style but puts it all into a completely different kind of game. The game involves unlocking and upgrading cards of troops, buildings and spells. In the game you go into battles against other players using a deck that you have built from the cards you have unlocked and upgraded using gold (which you obtain from chests that you win from successful battles, chests take some hours to open, but it lets you get on with life while you wait).
There are currently over 100 different cards in the game enabling many different deck compositions to be made and used and again like Clash of Clans, Clash Royale has a dedicated community of content creators on places such as Youtube and streaming services such as Twitch, enabling you to learn some of the best deck compositions, ways of building decks and how to use them in battles.
The aim of the game in each battle is to protect your towers (crown towers) from the enemy while taking down their crown towers, if you take down all three of the enemy crown towers you win (or if the time runs out it is whoever is left with the least health or the lesser number of crown towers that loses). You get trophies from winning and lose them from losing, trophies enable you to climb leaderboards and access different arenas, allowing you to unlock new cards and come across different metas and strategies (or once up in Legendary, different leagues).
The game also has clans to work with other players, including in wars that get you more gold and cards and also donation of cards. The game also has a number of challenge modes to unlock further prizes and often introduces new special game modes that are up for periods of time and include prizes of cards, gold and so on. There is often quite a bit to do.
I myself have played the game since global launch, but I must give warning to those who get annoyed or rage at games easily, that this probably isn’t the game for you as it can be quite frustrating, especially if you go on a string of losses.
Plants Vs. Zombies Games
You can get the original game on mobile as well as the 2nd game and also another PvZ game with a more different playstyle, called Plants Vs. Zombies: Heroes.
I believe many people would have played or at least heard of the first Plants Vs. Zombies game, it is quite an old one now and can also be downloaded on Steam for your computer. But the 2nd installment of the game (which took a very long time to come out) was only released on mobile, BUT, what is cool about this is unlike the first game, the 2nd installment is free to download and play (but of course includes micro-transactions for things like special plants and the such) but it isn’t needed. Although the first PvZ game costs money to buy on the computer, its mobile adaptation is also free, so another upside of mobile.
Basically, in PvZ 1 and 2 you use a Sun resource to plant various types of wildlife in your garden to stop various types of zombies from getting to your home, each level gets progressively harder and introduces you to new plants and zombies – the game is very much now expanded with numerous types of plants and zombies and gameplay mechanics and also puzzle levels, so there is plenty to keep one entertained during their free time, levels don’t take too long to do. There is also a 3rd installment coming at some point as well, which I am quite surprised about as I didn’t expect it to be so soon, especially since they can keep updating the other past games now with new content.
The other game, called Plants Vs. Zombies: Heroes is a lot different to the original PvZ games. In this game it functions like a card game, where you get a collection of various plants and zombies (you can play as either side) and you also have a bunch of heroes for either side that you can unlock, each hero having their own unique powers and plants/zombies that can be used in decks that you construct from the plants/zombies cards you collect. Although there is much strategy in the normal PvZ games, this game brings in much more strategy and thought in the way you construct decks, use heroes and how you play each game – where you can either play against other players or do levels where you are against a CPU. The game also has much more to it as well and there is lots to do, although it does seem they don’t update it much anymore with new content.
The PvZ heroes is a very unique concept for a card game and isn’t simply a copy paste of other kinds of online card games that can be found on the app store (there are many bootleg Clash Royale games out there), there is much more to it and it very much follows the PvZ format (such as the lanes).
Geometry Dash
Geometry Dash is a simple but fast paced and challenging game where timing and reaction is all that counts. There are many levels on it to do and although it does cost a couple quid to purchase, once you have it you basically have access to all the levels and don’t need to spend any more money. If you like fast paced reaction/puzzle games then this can be a great time killer and demands no time of you whatsoever.
Geometry Dash is clearly inspired by The Impossible Game, which is very similar, but has greatly expanded upon it and isn’t simply just a straight copy paste. It also includes many sick beats and if you want to players can make and publish their very own levels, pretty much giving the game lots of life and much levels to try. Just try not to rage too hard.
So, they are the main games that I have and play from time to time and also a few that I have since stopped playing but still believe are quite good games. The world of mobile games has a lot to offer.
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