Check out the site dark pattern games, it shows a list of games and their "dark" side like money and time wasters. They also show the "healthy" side of mobile gaming as well
Emulators are where it's at on Android, at least for me. There's a handful of good native android games but you can play so so many fantastic old games using emulators.
Here's a thorough guide on setting it up:
https://retrogamecorps.com/2022/03/13/android-emulation-starter-guide/
And a link for ROMS collections:
It seems like a lot to take in just to play some games but I promise it's easier than it looks to get up and running.
If a phone game is actually good it generally will also be ported to pc and consoles, so that should be a good point of reference
And vice versa.
I thought I had a couple of counter examples, but every good game on my phone has a steam port (or originated on PC).
I really thought Miracle Sudoku would be phone only, but even that exists on steam.
Simon Tatham's Puzzles will forever be the GOAT.
Heck, I've got it on both my android phone and my Palm PDA. Worth having it on both.
Dang. Nice. Having a Palm PDA with Simon's Puzzles in ~~2024~~ 2025 is epic. I would take that thing to parties...and, at the kind of parties I attend, it would make me royalty.
Oh I use it as an ADHD management tool! All the organization and productivity stuff of a smartphone with none of the distractions or dark patterns. Mine is a Sony PEG-UX50, top of the line for 2003 and distinctly 2000s Sony in appearance, function, and annoyances.
That is very cool.
That is very cool.
Try F-Droid, there's some good quality games in their listing, and it's a lot more transparent than the Play store.
There's also a lot more indies (whether new or old) that have made it to mobile, like Stardew Valley, Terraria and Dungeon Clawler, so it's worth checking out the "premium" category on the Play store to find some decent games too
Nah. There are few games on F-Droid, and most of them haven't been updated in years. But could you please list some of them?
I play a lot of Shattered Pixel Dungeon. There is an unofficial release on f-droid
Could've picked a better abbreviation for "no-bullshit games" than "nobsgames", haha.
Check out MiniReview, I've had better luck there finding game of certain types that I'd enjoy.
Seconding this recommendation. You can find it on the Play store here: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=mini+review&c=apps&hl=en_US. And, you can find the website here: https://minireview.io/
Unciv is nice
Actually the official google "play games" app has a nice feature that should be included in play store: it can filter for games without purchases.
Other than that, the mentioned minireview app has good filters.
Can it filter for paid games only with no in-app purchases?
The "play games" can. Three filters I always use in combination: "Premium" (i.e. paid), "no ads", "no in-app purchases". In the current version of the app you have to scroll quite down to find these.
In terms of browsing Google Play there are two alternative ways I'd recommend.
First one is AuroraStore, grab it from F-droid:
The second option is AppFinder, grab that from their website here:
I use Appsales to catch sales on paid games: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=appsales&c=apps
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