# Advice on small, time-wasting phone games **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 25, 2025, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119 "2025-11-25T11:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/1 "2025-11-25T11:22:32Z")
I have recently upgraded my phone. Holy frickin’ hell is there a lot of ads on everything! Anyhow, now that I’m done playing whack-a-mole with pre-loaded crap… I’d like a couple of what I call “time-wasting” games to load on the new phone. My old phone had a crossword puzzle app that was great when I was standing in line or having to wait a few minutes for something. But what the heck, new phone let’s check things out, right? I’ve sampled some pattern matching games and tetris-like games (one was a sort of cross between tetris and soduko) in addition to cross words and… holy frickin’ crap, it’s ADS ADS ADS. And in-app purchase options (no, I did not buy anything). I’m guessing if I want something without ads I need to pay for it, correct? I don’t need in-app purchases, “rewards”, or other bullcrap. I’m looking for something to keep fingers and mind idling while the rest of me is idling. Any suggestions or recommendations? Also, I have zero desire to connect the app store to a credit card or my bank account. How to manage this desire with the Google play store? Purchase a gift card for myself and use that to pay for purchases? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/2 "2025-11-25T11:27:55Z")
Join us over in [the Balatro thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-no-balatro/1009916/47). Worst $10 my productivity has ever spent! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/3 "2025-11-25T12:07:08Z")
I’d consider Google Play Pass: [Google Play Pass](https://play.google/intl/en_us/play-pass/?safe=strict) It’s a cheap subscription that gets you access to more than a thousand curated, ad-free games with no in app purchases. Many of the games are excellent. It’s $30/year or $5/mo. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/4 "2025-11-25T12:09:43Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > How to manage this desire with the Google play store? Purchase a gift card for myself and use that to pay for purchases? I think you can buy Play gift cards at grocery stores or Best Buy. You should be able to use the “redeem code” option at checkout. You can pay with PayPal too. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/5 "2025-11-25T13:00:16Z")
Seconding Balatro. It’s a great & addictive time-waster. > [@Reply](#): > > I’d consider Google Play Pass: [Google Play Pass](https://play.google/intl/en_us/play-pass/?safe=strict) And just to expand on this a bit (sorry, was on my phone earlier): Play Pass works with popular game creators to make special versions of their games with everything already unlocked and the IAPs (in-app purchases) disabled. So it’s the experience you’re looking for: gaming without all the commercial interruptions. It’s a good way to get a feel for mobile gaming, and you can stop the subscription anytime you want. The games you end up liking enough can be bought individually. I don’t know why Google doesn’t make the games more obvious, but here’s a third-party list of included titles: [Google Play Pass Games - The Complete List (Updated) [2025]](https://www.ytechb.com/google-play-pass-games-list/) Some standouts among the included games (these are all included in Play Pass, OR you can individually buy them): - The [Kingdom Rush series](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=kingdom+rush&c=apps) - tower defense - [Mini Metro](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.codepoint.minimetro) - cute little metro network builder - [80 Days](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inkle.eightydays), a narrative game about floating around the world - [Stardew Valley](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=stardew+valley&c=apps) - cozy farming/life sim - [Dead Cells](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdigious.deadcells.mobile) - side scrolling roguelite - [Shapez](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdigious.shapez) - factory builder (but shapez 2 on PC is better) - [Dredge](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.BlackSaltGames.DREDGE) - farming horror - [Plague Inc](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=plague%20inc&c=apps) - like the Pandemic board game, but in reverse (you’re the virus) - [Slay the Spire](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.humble.SlayTheSpire) - the original roguelite deck builder - [Limbo](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdead.limbo.full) - atmospheric horror side scroller - [Poly Bridge 3](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drycactus.polybridge3), a cute bridge builder - Digital games like [Northgard](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdigious.northgard), [Everdell](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.direwolfdigital.mylileverdell), [Evolution](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.northstargames.evolutiongame), [Talisman](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nomadgames.talisman), etc - [Cultist Simulator](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playdigious.cultist), a story-based card game - A ton of generic card games (Solitaire, etc.) and word games (crosswords, word searches) If I had to play one game (only) among them, it would be Mini Metro. Super quick to learn, casual, but addictive as heck. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/6 "2025-11-25T13:25:11Z")
The (free) games I play on my tablet to waste time are Marvel Puzzle Quest (a match-3 game) and Legends of Runeterra (a roguelite deckbuilder). They both try to sell you their premium currency once in a while, but it’s not “ads, ads, ads”. They do have “rewards or other bullcrap” (i.e., unlocking characters), however. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/7 "2025-11-25T13:45:47Z")
Simon Tatham’s puzzle collection is a set of 40 open-source logic puzzles. Many are similar to a named puzzle without the name, so as to be free. > > > 40 classic single-player logic puzzles, playable offline, generated on deman... The implementation isn’t bad. It’s free. There are no ads. It’s not especially addictive, because it wasn’t designed to be addictive. The puzzles vary a lot. Odds are you will find one or two you really like. I also have paid versions of Catan and Sudoku and Nonograms that are ad-free that i play a lot. Happy to give references to specific games if you are interested. And i have an old copy of “250+ solitaire collection” by Alexei Anoshenko that is really a great collection of solitaire games. It used to have ads and be actively developed. The developer implemented all the features i wanted. And then, one day, the app allowed you to pay once to remove the ads. I did so, and I’ve been afraid to upgrade it since, in case that’s no longer allowed. But check it out, maybe you can still do that. I mostly play simple spider on it, but there are lots of other games. (And actually, this is a new phone, and the copyright on the “about” page says 2010-2025, so it’s probably still available, unless it got pulled for being Russian or something.) One problem with collections is that i tend to settle on one and just play that one for a while, and rarely go looking around for others. The other games are not like having a game just peeking at me in my game folder, somehow. Still, they are strictly better than the one game i tend to leave it set at. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/8 "2025-11-25T13:54:42Z")
I’d recommend [cardgames.io](https://cardgames.io/). Available both via your browser and mobile. It has 40+ games, most of which are card games, but also chess, checkers, Yahtzee, and others. Ads are unobtrusive. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/9 "2025-11-25T14:05:11Z")
The ones i recommended are all android apps. Do you have an android? An iPhone? Something else? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/10 "2025-11-25T14:08:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Also, I have zero desire to connect the app store to a credit card or my bank account. How to manage this desire with the Google play store? Purchase a gift card for myself and use that to pay for purchases? I use PayPal for that kind of situation. Yes, i could get a fraudulent claim on PayPal. But i read from time to time that merchants don’t like PayPal because it sides with the customer even when the customer fraudulently denies paying. And you only need to give out your email (the email linked to PayPal), not a credit card number or bank account number. ---
**Author:** ![Hook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@Hook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hook)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/11 "2025-11-25T14:26:48Z")
For crossword games, I can’t recommend “Redstone Games” highly enough. Fee to play does have ads, but as I remember (it has been a while), it cost $5.00 lifetime to upgrade to ad-free and it adds 20 to 30 new puzzles each week. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/12 "2025-11-25T14:50:46Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > d consider Google Play Pass: [Google Play Pass](https://play.google/intl/en_us/play-pass/?safe=strict) > > It’s a cheap subscription that gets you access to more than a thousand curated, ad-free games with no in app purchases. Many of the games are excellent. Yeah, OK - seems setting up a subscription sort of defeats my desire to NOT have a money suck attached to a card or bank account. Not to mention I don’t want “access” to so many games. I do not have time to even look at them, much less play them all. I’m sure the support of developers is worth while and the lack of ads is very much appealing but I’m looking more for a buy once and never have to worry about it again. Nor am I looking for an “addictive” game. Or at least nothing more addictive than a daily crossword (about 3/4 of which I never go around to playing because my time for these things is very limited). No role playing or involved storyline - I have a gaming computer at home for that sort of thing. I’m not interested in “30 new games a week” or X number in Y time interval. I mean, the last 8 years I have had just one crossword puzzle game on my phone and that’s it, didn’t feel a need for more. I could get 4-6 new puzzles a day from it and most weeks barely got through the group I downloaded on Monday by the time a week went by. I have no idea what a “deckbuilder” game is, and the description of what’s involved with Balatro is baffling to me. Oh, and just to clarify - my phone is Android, not iPhone. The pay with PayPal notion has some appeal but that’s still linking to an account that ultimately is connected to my bank. I might opt for purchasing a Google play card for myself. I may be unnecessarily paranoid but these days can you be too careful? And since I’m considering a one-time purchase or two I don’t have to worry about anything on-going. I do appreciate everyone’s input as I try to figure out what I actually want and how to go about getting it. Thank you for all the suggestions, if a particular one doesn’t help me it will probably help someone else. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/13 "2025-11-25T14:57:26Z")
[2048](https://play2048.co/) is dead simple and can be set down and ignored. It’s easy to learn but extremely difficult to master. Most casual games will run 5 minutes or so, though an obsessive player could make a project of it. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/14 "2025-11-25T15:02:51Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Or at least nothing more addictive than a daily crossword The New York Times Games app may be your speed. The free daily games are Wordle, Pips, Spelling Bee, Connections, Sudoku and Strands. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/15 "2025-11-25T15:06:48Z")
Perhaps I could give examples of what’s been appealing to me. I’ve enjoyed the mahjong games like vita mahjong (until it went berserk with ads and offers to redeem prized), and Microsoft mahjong which I played on a computer once upon a time - which would be fine if I could figure out how to get it on my phone without too many gymnastics. Partly, I’m adjust to having a “modern” smart phone rather than my prior semi-intelligent/mildly developmentally delayed phone. Could be a next year I’ll smack myself in the head and exclaim “but that’s EASY!” looking back over this thread. I enjoyed a game called Woodoku at least initially - then it got impossible, choked with ads, etc. I’m not really a fan of Soduko Obviously, there’s an aspect of enticement then “buy this to remove the annoyances” going on with some of these. There may be something obvious I’m overlooking here ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/16 "2025-11-25T15:15:04Z")
If you play Euchre, this app only has a banner on the bottom: > > > Play Euchre... Definitely my favorite Euchre game, easy to jump in and play a few hands. Some Verizon plans come with Google Play Pass. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/17 "2025-11-25T15:25:19Z")
While “totally free” is always nice (see Simon Tatham’s excellent collection), i like games that have unobtrusive ads and let you make a one-time purchase to remove them. The developer gets some revenue, and i can play an ad-free game off-line without having to think about it. Oh, and i get to test the game and see if i like it before paying. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/18 "2025-11-25T15:25:20Z")
You can technically buy a Play Pass subscription with PayPal or a gift card, but understood if that’s not what you want. I don’t subscribe either, but it was useful for trying a bunch of games and deciding what I liked. Anyhow, some games do have the “pay to remove ads” option. You just gotta download them and try it out. Most free games will have ads. Most of the ones you pay for upfront don’t. Play store has a refund policy too (2 hours? I forget) so if you buy a game and end up not liking it, you can still refund it. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/19 "2025-11-25T15:34:31Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I’ve enjoyed the mahjong games like vita mahjong There are paid, ad free mahjong games like [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onecwireless.mahjong.full](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onecwireless.mahjong.full) > [@Broomstick](#): > > There may be something obvious I’m overlooking here I don’t think you’re missing anything… the games market (especially on Android) is quite predatory. The top grossing games are all full of in game purchases, often gambling lootboxes. You have to go out of your way to find ad-free games. Google doesn’t make it easy, probably on purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119/20 "2025-11-25T15:42:16Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > While “totally free” is always nice (see Simon Tatham’s excellent collection), i like games that have unobtrusive ads and let you make a one-time purchase to remove them. The developer gets some revenue, and i can play an ad-free game off-line without having to think about it. Oh, and i get to test the game and see if i like it before paying. ^ That has a lot of appeal to me, too [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-small-time-wasting-phone-games/1025119.md?page=2)