this post was submitted on 21 Apr 2026
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No Stupid Questions

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Looking for games for my friend. She's mostly looking for a casual timewaster for a bit of enjoyable escapism. She historically liked some of the "merge games" where it's about merging icons on a grid, and a couple of the more traditional idle games but its so hard to find any without summy practices like dark patterns and abusive monitization.

So, what are some good casual mobile games? Ideally, the sort of thing your grandma could enjoy, but without the scummy practices that are widespread.

Edit: I'm looking for more "pure" casual games, rather than ones that are primarily puzzle or arcade games. Something more akin to Cookie Clicker, those old shovelware hidden object games, or Bejeweled's zen mode rather than Tetris or Brickbreaker.

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[–] RodgeGrabTheCat@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 minute ago

I'm really enjoying 2048. I set the board to 7x7 and have been playing the same game for weeks. Current largest block is at 131072.

https://f-droid.org/packages/org.secuso.privacyfriendly2048/

[–] AgentRocket@feddit.org 1 points 4 hours ago

I have sunk way too many hours into this one. A simple sorting puzzle, without any adverts or micro transactions. only downside i found so far, there is no option to replay a level.

[–] StillAlive@piefed.world 1 points 4 hours ago
[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 1 points 4 hours ago

All the native Android games I have played have already been suggested, so I could suggest using GameNative or similar to emulate some neat indie titles.

If you like retro games, you could also emulate your legally obtained ;) titles from GameBoy to PS2 to Dreamcast. I like using Retroarch for most of my emulation on my computer and I believe it exists on Android too. Dolphin is great for GameCube and Wii games, NetherSX2 for PS2. There are plenty of other good emulators too, each with varying degrees of feature set, compatibility, and stability.

On iOS, you have Delta (which focuses on older Nintendo titles), and not much else (Apple's fault for having closed app ecosystem and not having the best support for things like JIT)

[–] wraekscadu@vargar.org 6 points 7 hours ago

Unciv is a pretty cool game! It's basically FOSS civ 5 that can be played on mobile. Huge timewaster haha

[–] 0oWow@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Vista Golf is a long time go-to of mine.

[–] Klear@quokk.au 1 points 5 hours ago

Look your Loot is amazing

[–] Kyle_The_G@lemmy.world 18 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

balatro and ballxpit. Both very fun time-wasters.

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 6 points 10 hours ago

I second Balatro. Best $10 I ever spent

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Yes! Balatro!

In that vein, does anyone know if Monster Train 1 or 2 has been ported to mobile?

[–] v4ld1z@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago

Monster Train 1 has been for sure. Works pretty well and switching between the levels of the train is fine too. Some text can be a little small depending on your phone screen size

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.today 1 points 5 hours ago

bejewled 2 is good, it's old but may still run if it's an android

[–] bravesirrbn@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Disco Zoo is cute

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (3 children)
[–] ttyybb@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

I've found Ricochlime to be a fun one

[–] bigb@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I like Breakout 71, it's deceptively simple but gets addicting https://f-droid.org/packages/me.lecaro.breakout

[–] SqueakySpider@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 hours ago

I just got this, it's amazing

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 4 points 10 hours ago

Pirate Solitaire is very casual too

[–] prti@szmer.info 1 points 6 hours ago

CircloO - a chill, physics based platformer game with user made levels. I've spent a really embarrassing amount of time on it.

[–] hoch@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago

Egg Inc is pretty great

[–] RepleteLocum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 8 hours ago

Considering valves translation layer for arm we might be able to play all games on phones. Main issue would be controls, but I guess emulators exist.

[–] bitofarambler@crazypeople.online 11 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Walkscape is a fun mobile analog to runescape where xp in a dozen skills is gained by real-world steps.

It's still being built and expanded but its alpha stage is very playable and besides the skills has exploration, challenges, items, apparel, pets and a lot of fun stuff going for it, all while being a casual, healthy game.

Looks like signups are open now.

[–] theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Have they added support for any watches yet? I have had my eye in this for ages as I'd love to try it but haven't checked in a while!

[–] bitofarambler@crazypeople.online 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

ios wearables are supported according to their roadmap

Oh, shame, but thanks for the info!

[–] jontree255@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

10,000,000 or You Must Build a Boat

[–] Zathras@lemmy.zip 8 points 12 hours ago

Zen Koi - You are a koi (fish). You eat, grow, breed, ascend to your final dragon form. Collect different combinations of fish colors and patterns. Very chill, soothing music.

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 9 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

On Android, there's a good collection called Offline Games that has a lot of decent 'grandma friendly' mini games inside it.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 10 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Good choice - I was going to suggest Simon Tatham's Puzzle Collection.

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 5 points 10 hours ago

Yes. Always Simon Tatham's Puzzle Collection.

It's freaking fantastic. Anyone sleeping on it needs to check it out.

It runs on just about anything, too, including some eReaders.

[–] Townlately@feddit.nl 4 points 10 hours ago

Android: Merge Sweets, Cooking Adventure, Eatventure, Burger Shop (1 and 2), Hidden Through Time, Screw Jam Puzzle

I have been able to play all of these without watching ads or spending money.

[–] lichengeese@lemmy.zip 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Bee Sort By Sam may scratch that merge game itch

https://games-by-sam.com/bee-sort-by-sam/

The same creator has a fun daily deduction game as well.

[–] aramis87@fedia.io 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

I used to play the web version of Bee Sort. Unfortunately, I got stuck on level 371 and the web version doesn't have the option to skip a level. Does the app version have that option?

[–] lichengeese@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 hours ago

I play on web too, so I couldn't say. I am on level 509, and my chief complaint is actually that the difficulty does not seem to scale up beyond level 100 or so. I wonder if they've adjusted things since you got stuck?

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 7 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

There's so many free open source games that fit your need.

Check out this search on F-Droid: https://search.f-droid.org/?q=game

And

https://search.f-droid.org/?q=Puzzle&lang=en

[–] PlzGibHugs@piefed.ca 3 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, I'm looking for more "pure" casual games, rather than ones that are primarily puzzle or arcade games. Something more akin to Cookie Clicker or Bejeweled's zen mode rather than Tetris or Brickbreaker. F-Droid doesn't seem to really have much like that.

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 5 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

There's less, but still some great ones.

Since you asked for non-predatory games, I still recommend spending some time searching F-Droid. It's the only place I find most non-predatory mobile games.

On f-droid, I would try out:

  • Burger Party
  • Breakout 71
  • Duck Run
  • Gurgle (Wordle)
  • Gridle (Wordle variant)
  • Luanti
  • SuperTuxKart

And on Google Play or Aurora, check out (paid, but nice if they haven't enshitified yet):

  • Mini Motor X
  • You Must Build A Boat
  • Ridiculous Fishing
[–] aramis87@fedia.io 2 points 9 hours ago

Ridiculous Fishing

"As of December 10, 2025, the Android version is no longer downloadable from the Google Play store."

:(

[–] Lehmuusa@nord.pub 2 points 11 hours ago

Anuto tower defence?

[–] Godort@lemmy.ca 6 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

I have probably clocked hundreds of hours into Gauguin. It's a sudoku-esque puzzle game about filling numbers in a grid. It keeps my quick math sharp.

Also, it might be a bit on the intense side of casual, but Balatro is probably the best mobile game ever made.

[–] agingelderly@lemmy.world 4 points 11 hours ago

Seconding Balatro. I don't think a mobile game can get better than this

[–] severalkittens@ani.social 3 points 11 hours ago

I really like Piffle . It's brick breaker with cute chibi cats and the monetization isn't really in your face at all.

[–] Vibi@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

It's been many years since I used my phone for games, but I do remember suuuuper liking Kairosoft games! They were very cute, straightforward, and progression felt fun. They also didn't have any micro transactions. They're kind of simulation type games, but they are also very approachable for new players!

[–] cannedtuna@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Umamusume

/s

[–] msokiovt@lemmy.today 2 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

When I played it, Hill Climb Racing is pretty decent.

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[–] gh0stb4tz@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

Kards. It’s a WW2 card game that’s super easy to play and fun.

[–] Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I quite liked Necromerger. It has a very fun monster aesthetic, the little guy talks like invader zim, and I honestly wasn't put off by the minorization. Had about 100 hours and no reason to delete it after 8 months, so I bought the premium version, 9 bucks, 1 time purchase, just gives you more energy or something.

I ultimately ended up out doing myself, got to a point where I got my satisfaction and still had energy left so I ended up playing longer than I wanted. Can't say I've ever complained about getting more game per game, but it was hard to put down when whatever I was waiting for showed up.

[–] macncheese@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I like Meow Tower. It's a nonogram puzzle game which was new to me, you get the hang of it pretty quick and it's nice to have something other than a merge puzzle. Plus cute cats!

[–] Hackworth@piefed.ca 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Grindstone (iOS, Switch, Steam)

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