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Ask HN: Are there any mobile games that are good rather than purely addictive?

13 points by borkt ↗ HN
The talk about how previous generations of games were so much better has gotten me wondering. I have never gotten into mobile games because they all seem to be a variation of clicking bubbles or jewels with no way to truly win. Are there any mobile games that actually have strategy, accomplishment, etc that you remember from games you played 10-20 years ago?

18 comments

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otras
I've heard very good things about Monument Valley [0] (not affiliated). From its Wikipedia page:

Critics praised its art and sound design, but noted its lack of difficulty and short length.

A short length may be the sign of the antithesis of "purely addicting with no way to truly win"!

https://www.monumentvalleygame.com/mv1

jakobegger
Monument Valley 1 and 2 are awesome. I got it for my kids and they love it (5&6 years old), but I also enjoy playing some of the trickier levels with them.

It's true that the difficulty levels off at some point, but if you are a casual gamer that's a good thing... I just get frustrated when games get too difficult and then I stop playing.

dpeck
Fast than Light (FTL) would fall into that category for me. It has a lot of rouge-like elements, the store is the same but all the details change with each new game so tons of replayability.

iPad only, though with the screensize of the new xs and xs max they might want to reconsider that.

Also, just recently released for iOS is Stardew Valley. I haven't played it (usually the only time I'll play anything is on a long flight) but it was extremely popular on other platforms and is getting rave reviews so that might be worth trying.

Regardsyjc
Stardew Valley can be super addictive. It was like crack for me. People talk about putting in 60+ hours within their first week for this game all the time.
twoquestions
King of Dragon Pass is amazing, you run a Bronze Age clan and try to found a kingdom.

Kairosoft games are pretty good too, if you liked Sim City.

abledon
Clash of clans — going on 6 years, still one of the highest grossing apps on App Store
gravy
Osmos -- introduced me to ambient music! Great gameplay and aesthetics and music.
mcintyre1994
I really like Polytopia, its a little turn based strategy game with loads of replay value - every game's different. IAPs are just the different tribes you can play as, nothing scammy.
Ginguin
Buying a tribe also unlocks multiplayer (online), which is where the game really grabbed me. Playing with the spouse and siblings is a blast. The fact that you can play the game without having to pay anything is a bonus, but paying for something was worth it.
cm2012
Hearthstone is a very fun card game with plenty of strategy involved. By Blizzard, creator of Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo, etc.
Regardsyjc
These are some games I played 10 years ago: Snake, Pacman, Space Invaders, Oregon Trail. These games weren't addictive because they were so repetitive and the difficulty level increased to the point where it was frustrating and impossible.

Oregon Trail and games like that had an end.

So non-addictive games are designed to end whether through increasing difficulty levels or story?

Three of my favorite games are Telltale Games The Walking Dead (PC release, mobile port), Last of Us, and The World Ends with You (Nintendo DS release, mobile port). I loved the story. They weren't addictive and they had an end. TWD had such a simple game mechanic (point and click choose your adventure) too, it was pure storytelling. If you watch Ready Player One the movie, it's a little bit of video game history. You can also research video game history and play those old games too.

The most recent game I played that's kind of like old game mechanics is Overcooked. I unlocked the NG+ for Overcooked 2 and I had to quit because it was too hard which is a good thing.

LUmBULtERA
I like The Room games. Lots of puzzles that are very appropriate for touchscreens, and they have endings.
HAL9OOO
Chess, if you're online play against real people (on chess.com/lichess) and if you're offline do tactics problems!
pacuna
Playing blitz/bullet can become a bit addictive. Probably a small dopamine hit every time you win.
HAL9OOO
True... crap just realized that is happening to me :(.
shostack
Kittens Game is a pay once, no ads or IAP game that has me hooked right now.

Active subreddit (/r/kittensgame).

Deep strategic resource planning that can take months to play out.

Fun concept.

Cool game mechanics that continue to unfold just when you think you've reached "the end."

It is an incremental idle game (not a clicker really). However the way it abstracts away certain concepts once you've progressed enough, and turns them into resources or components needed to make it to the next stage is really engaging. I reached a point on my first play through where I was like "oh, ok, not really sure what else there is to do, I guess I beat the game?" Then went Googling and realized I was still in what is referred to as "the early game." I'm now approaching the "late game" stage, but still have a ways to go and several resets before i'm there.

The resets are a core mechanic btw, and while a bit of a headache for me personally, each time you do it you speed things up significantly such that something that took me months to achieve before is unlocked in a matter of minutes.

CM30
Super Mario Run? I mean, that's basically half the reason it didn't make as much money as Nintendo had hoped; because they ported the 'buy the whole thing for a fixed price up front' model from their console games and the people on mobile who preferred free with in app purchases/ads freaked out at the price.

I guess that'd probably fit the bill. Just simple old fashioned 2D platforming with a fixed set of levels, collectables to find in said levels for extra challenges, and a few mini games and competitive side modes.