Today smartphone has become affordable and it has almost replaced the feature phones of the yore. Gaming is one of the primary area of usage when buying a new phone. While these low-price smartphones cannot run(smoothly) Asphalt 8 or Real Racing 3 in its full glory, they can surely handle plenty other games. I myself don’t like all these racing and shooter games on mobile devices but I do love all those simple puzzle games which can give you hours of fun. When the smartphone revolution started games like Angry Birds, Temple Run and Fruit Ninja were at the top. While these are still popular today, there many new games on the block.
Here are the top 15 games in puzzle genre for Android and iPhone.
1. Can You Escape – Tower
Can you escape is a popular series of game, in which you have to escape rooms and locked cells to advance to the next level. Can you escape – Tower is currently trending in the top puzzle games on the app store. You have to find items and clues in the given level and use them to free your way to the next level. The game tests your wits and at times leaves you confused. But don’t worry if you’re stuck, the game also offers clues in terms of walk through videos which you can use when you are stuck. If you like solving puzzles using clues give this game a try.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
iPhone, Android
2. Candy Crush Saga
This one needs no explanation. It’s the Angry Bird of current times. This app which has been downloaded over 100 million times, is so popular that it has its own sets of meme and parody videos, plus quite a few knock-offs too. But the original Candy Crush is still at top of the hill. For the one living under the rock since last two years, you have to group together three or more candies of same type until you achieve a set number of points in limited time or moves. The game has added many new features now and is more exciting than before.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
3. Flow Free
Flow free is another popular heavy-weight in the puzzles category. In this addictive game you have to connect two dots of same color using pipes. Also you have to cover the entire board with pipes, with no area left uncovered. This is where it gets tricky. There are only so many ways in which you can do that. And of course the difficulty increases as levels progress. There’s also time trial where you connect as many dots as possible in the same way as above, in the given time. If you are up for a challenge please check out this colorful app.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
4. Unblock Me FREE
Unblock Me, is a game where you must rearrange a number of blocks in a given space so as to make an exit path for one of the red colored blocks. The rearrangement will leave you pulling your hair, because it is really tough. Also did I mention, the number of times each block is moved is also counted? So your achievement of passing a level is diminished if you took 400 moves while your friend passed the same level in 100 moves. There are two modes, challenge mode and relax mode. Also for the one who gave up, there is a hint system which helps you. There are many clones of the game so make sure you install the original one from Kiragames.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
5. Where’s my Water? 1 & 2
No this app is not from California, it’s made by Disney along with similar named apps, Where’s my Perry and Where’s my Mickey. The apps main characters such as the Swampy, Allie and Cranky make it particularly appealing to kids and adults as well. You have to dig a path so a limited amount of water reaches any of these characters. Laws of gravity applies here so you can’t dig like crazy. As the levels proceeds it becomes tricky and you have to avoid certain elements which can destroy the water.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
6. Monster Puzzle 3D
Whether it is a RPG Puzzle game or a MMORPG, that’s up to you to decide, but it’s a challenging puzzle game, that is for sure. Currently in the top puzzle games in the play store, this game has many things, collectable RPG elements, Facebook integration and much more. The basic premise is that you combine certain elements of same type (much like bejeweled) which grants powers to your monster. As you progress defeating bosses, you can add more monsters to your team and also upgrade their powers for more fun. Like Dota, your team can also raid the dungeons and get additional monsters. Give this combination of Puzzle-MMORPG a try and I am sure you will enjoy it.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Android
7. Shoot Bubble Deluxe
It’s often said that big things come in small packages. This can be exactly said about this game. At only 1.3 MB, this app packs a simple yet addictive game. The game is based on reverse Tetris type gameplay. You have to shoot bubbles, from a platform located at the bottom of the screen in a way that three or more bubbles of same color are grouped together, upon which they detach and fall. While you are doing this the whole upper area advanced downwards and you have to clear all the bubbles before it reaches you or else game over. There’s also arcade mode where a wall of bubbles keeps coming down and you have to clear it all before it reaches you. This game is one of my favorites and a great stressbuster.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
8. Two Dots
Two dots is the sequel to the much popular Dots game. In Dots, you connect vertically & horizontally, same colored dots, to remove them. Forming a complete square eliminates all the same colored dots from the board. The challenge here is to clear a set number of dots of each color in given moves. Dots game proved that a simple, well thought out and colorful UI design and simple gameplay are enough to make a chart topping game. Two Dots rightly improves in that direction. They have kept the basic game as per, added new power-ups and new ranking systems. Also the levels have increased to 285.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
9. The Room & The Room 2
Room is like Can you escape, but on steroids. Its true Room was on app store before Can you escape, and there are inevitable comparisons and even comments of copying, but Room is much harder and stricter on the player. Also it’s more polished. The exquisite attention to detailing in each level’s scenario, is not seen in Can you escape. Rightly so, Room is already a top grossing app in iOS universe and is slowly catching up in Android. It has also won a Bafta award. Yes it’s a paid app, but I guarantee, once you play it, you will happily buy the next version.
10. Block Puzzle Mania
This is a very interesting game, for one, even though it heavily uses Tetris elements, it turns out to be creative in its own way. You have to arrange Tetris like shapes in a board manually to form a line. If you can’t fit the given piece anymore the game is over. Well that’s it, because the app doesn’t have any extra features. There is only one mode and an option to link your Google account. Maybe somebody over at Block Mania can get more creative and add more of these features.
Price: Free
Android
11. Cut the Rope 1 & 2
Cut the rope is one of the oldies which is still popular enough to demand a slot in this list. I remember playing it the first time on my iPod touch, back in 2010, spending hours and hours on it. Now Cut the rope 2 improves the classic game by adding more challenges, obstacles, more scenarios and a colorful setting. The main game is still same, you have to cut the rope, intelligently, avoiding any obstacles so that the candy reaches Om Nom. And you have limited time to do this. There are new locations from boxes, garages and junkyards to rooms and tunnels.
iPhone (Paid), Android (Free with in-app purchases)
12. Tetris Blitz
Tetris Blitz is built upon one of the most popular and recognizable games on the planet. Made by EA, who develops PC/console games, they have added many great features and graphical effects which spruce up the overall gameplay. No longer you have to just watch a line disappearing, there are explosions which will leave you in Frenzy. Speaking of which the new Frenzy mode keeps you on toes giving you double points for each clearing. And then there are Power-ups and Finishers such as Frostbite, Mino-rain etc. If you are a fan of old Tetris, do give this game a try.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
13. Super Hexagon
This is another example of simple design and simple gameplay making a great app. Who thought Hexagons can be this much fun? In this game you have a small triangle around a small central hexagon, which you can move along its boundary. Now the sides of a larger Hexagon surrounding the screen contract and you have to prevent getting that triangle from squishing between the two. The other highlight is the superb background music. Playing this for a long time will make your mind trippy. It’s also a lot harder than the other games here. Yes it’s a little expensive than other games, but the design and idea alone are worth it.
Paid
14. TWIST 3D
Remember Rubik’s Cube? Please don’t run away, this app doesn’t ask you to solve Rubik’s cube. I mentioned it because here also you rotate a similar cube. Explaining in detail, you have a cube, on which you tap same color combos of at least three. You can rotate and twist the cube to find new combos. For added difficulty the colors keeps changing. Then you have gems, which you can get by matching same colored gem with same color pattern. It may sound confusing but when you play it, it’s super easy to understand and quite a fun to play.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
iPhone, Android
15. Kitchen Scramble
Do you like SIMS, or simulation games, then you are going to love this game. You have to maintain and keeping running virtual kitchen. You tasks include preparing recipes, serving the customers, visit different kitchens (locations) etc. Also the recipes are real world based, so also learn some cooking while playing. It may not teach you to cook like Gordon Ramsay, but you can learn at least basic skills. Know some friends have interest in cooking, add them through Facebook to share and learn new recipes.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
SEE ALSO: 20 Best Multiplayer Android Games
That’s it, yes there are many other games which are either not so famous or catching up, but for the time being, if you are looking to kickback and relax after the day’s work, these are the games to check out. If you want to suggest any of your favorite puzzle games which you play regularly or have any thoughts please feel free to share them in the comments section.
Abubakar Mohammed
