One of the advantages of owning an Android smartphone or tablet is a larger selection of mobile games available—compared to the Apple iPhone. Google isn’t as restrictive as Apple with the types of apps and games that you can download, so you’ll always have a wider range of gaming experiences.
However, there are millions upon millions of apps available to play on the Google Play Store, so it may be intimidating to find a good place to start. That’s where we come in.
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We rounded up the top 10 free and the top 10 paid games (20 in total) for your Android mobile device. So whether you like simple, yet challenging puzzle games, in-depth strategy MMO (massive multiplayer online) games, or just looking for something fun to play every once and a while, you’ll find a great selection of games worth playing, below:
TL;DR – These are the most popular Android games
Free Android Games
Paid Android Games
Most Popular Free Games
1. Monopoly Go!
Monopoly Go! is one of the most popular games on Android for a few reasons, it’s a classic that’s easy to play, quick to learn, and just flat out fun. This is the “Go!” version of the board game, which is faster-paced and more ruthless—instead of just bankrupting your opponents, you also have to destroy their properties in this take-no-prisoners mobile game.
2. 2248 – Number Puzzle Game
The app 2248 – Number Puzzle Game is easy to pick up and learn, but difficult to master. This is a swipe-and-match puzzle game where you match and merge identical numbers to clear a level.
For example: If you match four blocks of the number two, then four blocks merge into one number eight block, and then you try to match that with other number eight blocks around it, and so on and so on in sequence. The more you match and merge, then the more you can clear levels.
3. Roblox
Roblox is the ultimate online community! This is an app that combines games and social media where you can create your own games and experiences, discover other player-created games, and build just about anything they can imagine. It’s also a virtual space where you can meet and chat with others.
4. Royal Match
Save the kingdom! Royal Match is a match-three puzzle game where you match royal items to clear levels to save King Robert. Once you clear a level, you get coins to upgrade, decorate, and rebuild your kingdom.
5. Attack Hole – Black Hole Games
The object in Attack Hole is to move a black hole to swallow as many bullets, shotgun shells, grenades, guns, and more weapons down within 20 seconds. The faster you swallow, the bigger the hole gets to suck up more and more. Between each level, you have to use the ammo and weapons you collected to take down the big boss. If you take him down, you get more points and coins for upgrades and extended time to clear the next level.
6. Hide and Go Seek: Monster Hunt
Hide and Go Seek: Monster Hunt is a simple game of hide-and-seek with a group of friends, only you’re placed into a room and then transformed into an item that belongs to that specific room—like a roll of toilet paper in a bathroom. The object of the game is to stay hidden in plain sight, as a large orange monster tries to find and eat you.
7. Camo Sniper
The enemy is elusive and clever, so if you want to be the best, you have to track ‘em down and shoot ‘em. Camo Sniper is a first-person shooter game where you survey the land looking for enemy soldiers through a sniper scope. However, soldiers are designed to seamlessly blend into the background. You have to have a keen eye and steady trigger finger to win this game.
8. Block Blast Adventure Master
Block Blast Adventure Master is a puzzle game that’s a mix between a traditional block game and a grid game. Just place the blocks in the square to create a solid line. Once a line is created, it disappears to make room for more blocks. Think of it as a drag-and-drop version of Tetris without the falling blocks.
9. Honkai: Star Rail
From game developer HoYoverse, Honkai: Star Rail is a space fantasy turn-based RPG (role-playing game) that features a journey across the galaxy aboard the Astral Express, as you travel to distant planets and meet new companions to stop the evil and corrupting “Fragmentum.”
10. Cooking Craze: Restaurant Game
Travel the world through the meals you prep, cook, and serve in Cooking Craze: Restaurant Game for Android. This is a restaurant game where you grow in the kitchen ranks as a professional chef. Make burgers in New York City, fancy pastries in Paris, grill up some savory meat treats in Rio, as you try to keep your guests happy to build your business and upgrade your kitchen.
Most Popular Paid Games
1. Minecraft ($7)
At $7, Minecraft is where you can explore anywhere and build anything in an open sandbox game. Your journey and experience are all up to you! You can use blocks, items, and other materials to build your home or your village, while you can also craft weapons to defend your home or hunt animals to eat or farm. The game is only limited to your imagination.
2. Bloons TD 6 ($7)
Defend your home from invading “Bloons” in Bloons TD 6 for $7. You can use an army of hero monkeys, structures, towers, bridges, and other devices to prevent balloon-like “Bloons” from traveling from one side of the map to the other. The more Bloons you pop, the more coins you make for upgrades, extra lives, and more.
3. Monopoly – Classic Board Game ($4)
Play the classic board game Monopoly on your Android smartphone or tablet for $4. You can play as the classic game tokens—such as the car, top hat, battleship, and others—as you travel around the board buying up properties, building houses and hotels, and collecting rent via Monopoly Money. The object of the game is to bankrupt everyone, so you’re the sole winner with most of the money and properties.
4. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (on sale for $1 $10)
On sale for $1 (was $10), SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is a madcap platform video game adventure where you play as SpongeBob, Patrick, or Sandy as you try to save Bikini Bottom from all sorts of killer robots.
5. Incredibox ($5)
From French game developers So Far So Good, Incredibox—which goes for $5 on the Google Play Store—is an app that’s a mix between a music app and a gaming app where you can make your own music. Just drag-and-drop the beats, effects, melodies, and even voices to create a bouncy hip-hop track with impressive and fresh visuals and animations.
6. Garten of Banban 2 ($3)
At $3, Garten of Banban 2 is a survival horror game that takes place in an underground facility under Banban’s Kindergarten classroom. You’re tasked with finding the truth behind the suspiciously empty space, while trying to survive and discover its hidden mysteries.
7. Stardew Valley ($5)
With more than 50 hours of gameplay, Stardew Valley—which is priced at $5—is a farm simulation game that has elements of open-world role-playing. Set in Pelican Town, you inherit a small house and a plot of land from your grandfather. You’re then tasked with clearing the land to grow a farm that’s full of all sorts of livestock and crops. Once you’re ready to harvest, you sell your goods to expand your farm and business with more upgrades, animals, and crops.
8. Brotato: Premium ($5)
Armed with up to six weapons at the same, Brotato: Premium is a top-down arena shooter where you play as a badass potato who fights off waves of aliens. The object of the game is to stave off threats until your platoon rescues you from an alien world, while you create and build unique weapons to survive. Not bad for $5.
9. Papers, Please ($5)
At $5, Papers, Please is a puzzle simulation game and takes place in a border town called Grestin after a six-year long war between two fictional European countries, the Communist Arstotzka and neighboring Kolechia. Think of it as East Germany and West Germany post-World War II.
You play as an immigration officer in charge of people entering the Arstotzkan side from Kolechia, while you must check and stop hidden smugglers, spies, and terrorists from entering using only documents and fingerprints at the border.
10. Terraria ($5)
Terraria—which goes for $5 on the Google Play Store—is a 2D action-adventure sandbox game where you can dig, fight, explore, mine, survive, and build your very own world. It combines elements of platforming and exploration, while it’s described as a mix between Metroid and Minecraft.
What to Look for in Android Games
The Google Play Store is the primary place where Android users find and download games with nearly four million apps available. It may sound daunting to search for games, but Google’s most popular free and paid games lists are a good place to start. Here’s what to look for in Android games.
The first thing you should do is check to see if the mobile game you want to play is compatible with your Android device. Most apps in the Google Play Store require that your smartphone is running, at least, Android version 4.4 KitKat—which was released in October 2013. Older mobile devices might not be able to run most modern games.
You should also consider how much storage space is available on your device. While some games have small file sizes of only a few hundred megabytes, there are others that have very large file sizes of up to 20GB. Luckily, there are Android devices that are designed with an expansion card slot built-in. If you run out of space, you can always pop in a microSD card to add extra storage. But if your device doesn’t have an expansion slot, then you’ll have to delete a few apps, photos, or videos to free up some space or get a new smartphone with a larger capacity altogether.
Meanwhile, when it comes to price, the Google Play Store divides games into two categories: Free-to-play and paid. And while free-to-play sounds self-explanatory, it doesn’t mean these games are completely free. Free versions of games might have commercial breaks or some limitations to gameplay, while in-app purchases can upgrade or remove restrictions. For example: Cooking Craze: Restaurant Game includes in-app purchases for additional items and bundles, but purchases are not required to play this game.
Additionally, most paid games download to your Android device completely unlocked. But, it might also include in-app purchases for upgrades. For example: Monopoly has in-app purchases to unlock special editions of the game. There’s also a gaming subscription called Google Play Pass for Android users. Games available for the service include zero ads and in-app purchases, so you’re free to play without restrictions for $5/mo.
Finally, the most important thing about picking an Android game is if it’s fun to play. Whether you’re going to spend a few minutes or hours upon hours playing it on your smartphone or tablet, games have to look like a fun and immersive challenge to conquer.
Upcoming Android Games
Wondering what new games are coming down the pipeline on Android? See the biggest upcoming Android games for the latest.
Also see: the 20 most popular iPhone games right now.
Rudie Obias is a contributing freelance Tech writer and editor for IGN with a speciality in all things Apple products.
