Review 20 Quick Mobile Games to Pass Time on Android and iPhone

Whenever you have a small chunk of time to burn, check out these fast and free mobile games for a burst of fun. From awesome arcade challenges to perplexing puzzlers, these games will keep you entertained.

All the games are available for free on Android and iOS, though they contain optional in-app purchases.

1 iSlash Heroes

Sharpen your blade and prepare for iSlash Heroes. Your goal is to slash pieces of the board away until the meter reaches the red ribbon. The trick is to watch out for the bouncing ninja stars because if you hit one, you lose a life.

The more pieces you remove, the less space there is for the stars to move.

Download: iSlash Heroes for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

2 Fishing Break

Fishing Break is a casual and colorful challenge. You hop into your boat and travel to different watery worlds, catching fish and creating a collection. Swipe to cast, then tap and hold to reel in your catch. Just be careful not to pull them in too quickly, or they may break the line.

You can earn coins for the fish you sell and use them to unlock better fishing spots.

Download: Fishing Break for Android | iOS (Free, in app-purchases available)

3 Doodle Jump

Doodle Jump has been around on smartphones for years, but it remains just as addictive as ever. The aim is to control a little jumping creature, tilting your phone to avoid enemies, collecting power-ups like jetpacks, and seeing how high you can get.

There are lots of different themed levels to play in, missions to complete, and global leaderboards to try to place on.

Download: Doodle Jump for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

4 Polyforge

Polyforge is a relaxing mobile game. As the crystal rotates, you time your taps to imbue each side with color. But be cautious—if you hit the same side twice, you must start again.

Each correct tap creates a nice musical tone, but a wrong tap gives an off-key note.

Download: Polyforge for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

5 Two Dots

Containing thousands of levels, Two Dots has you connect dots of the same color to collect and remove them from the board. You have a limited number of moves and lives, and can use boosts to help get you out of a tight spot.

Download: Two Dots for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

6 Angry Birds Blast

You don’t have to be an Angry Birds fan to have fun with Angry Birds Blast. In this matching game, you pop adjacent balloons of the same color to set the birds free. Make large matches to create bombs and laser guns to blast away balloons, and use power-ups if you get stuck.

You have to be strategic because you have limited moves.

Download: Angry Birds Blast for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

7 Roll the Ball

If you enjoy slide puzzles, then Roll the Ball is one to check out. You simply slide the tiles to create a path to guide the ball to the goal.

Do your best to arrange the tiles so that you can collect three stars on each level. There are no time or move limits, so play at your own pace.

Download: Roll the Ball for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

8 NYT Games

The New York Times’ games app is packed full of bite-size games, like Sudoku, Spelling Bee, Connections, and more. One of the best is Wordle, which sees you guessing a five-letter word in six turns.

It’s easy to pick up, but there are plenty of Wordle tips to employ to better your score.

Download: NYT Games for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

9 Trivia Crack

Play against random people or your pals to see who rules in the world of trivia across various game modes and topics like geography, entertainment, and sports. As you answer correctly, you’ll see your rank climb on the global leaderboards.

Download: Trivia Crack for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

10 Word Chums

If you like Words With Friends, then you’ll love Word Chums. In the vein of Scrabble, you take on others to see who’s the better wordsmith.

What makes this multiplayer word game stand out is the cute characters, colorful interface, and upbeat experience. Word Chums also offers power-ups for blasting away your letters and getting high-scoring hints.

Download: Word Chums for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

11 Draw With Friends

You don’t need to be the next Picasso to have fun with Draw With Friends. In fact, it’s funnier when your drawings aren’t the best. This game is like an online version of Pictionary, where you draw words and guess what others have created.

You can play against anyone globally or create a private room for you and your friends.

Download: Draw With Friends for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

12 Bowling Crew

Bowling in your local alley is all well and good, but with Bowling Crew you can knock down pins on a boat, in a rock club, in the snowy mountains, and more. It’s a fast-paced, frenetic bowling game that is easy to pick up and play, but also has a decent learning curve so that you can master it over time.

Bowling Crew also lets you play against other players if you want to put your skills to the test.

Download: Bowling Crew for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

13 Subway Surfers

Swipe up to jump, down to slide, and move left and right as you charge ahead in Subway Surfers. In this upbeat, endless adventure, you’ll strap on your jetpack, hop on your hoverboard, and collect coins as you maneuver around the obstacles.

Stay on top of your game, get a big score, and outrun that cop on your tail.

Download: Subway Surfers for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

14 Horizon Chase

There are plenty of amazing arcade racers to choose from and Horizon Chase is one of the greats. Race laps around global tracks with easy controls, an awesome soundtrack, and turboboosts.

Download: Horizon Chase for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

15 7 Little Words

In 7 Little Words, you create words using blocks of letters to solve the seven clues. You can solve them in any order and you can shuffle the letter blocks or use a limited number of hints if you get stuck.

Your goal is to make it through each level, of which there are thousands.

Download: 7 Little Words for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

16 Pokémon GO

Pokémon Go needs no introduction. Catch monsters, evolve them, and battle others, all from the comfort of your phone. The game encourages real-world movement and it’s perfect for a quick session while you’re on the move.

It’s surprisingly deep, too—there are plenty of Pokémon GO tricks to uncover.

Download: Pokémon GO for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

17 WordBrain

In WordBrain, you swipe letters to link them and create words. Those words must fill the empty slots at the bottom, so you can see how many letters each word contains.

It starts off simple, but soon the number of selectable letters grows. But don’t worry, you can make as many attempts as needed to pass the level.

Download: WordBrain for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

18 Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw Puzzles is a calming mobile game that offers thousands of jigsaws to solve, spanning categories like food, animals, and landmarks. Select an image, then choose the jigsaw size and number of pieces, and you’re good to go.

Download: Jigsaw Puzzles for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

19 Crossy Road

Tap and swipe to guide the chicken across the road in this Frogger-inspired game. Don’t get crushed by the obstacles like passing trains, but don’t stand still for too long either.

Crossy Road has that “just one more go” feeling as you try to best your score, and it’s also a great two-player mobile game.

Download: Crossy Road for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

20 Infinite Tiles

As the tiles slide towards you in time with the music, tap them to build up your score. It sounds easy, but as the pace quickens, the tiles grow in number, and you need to touch multiple tiles at the same time. You can earn coins to unlock special tracks and play an endless mode to build up your reflexes.

Download: Infinite Tiles for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)