6 Unique Games My New Android Phone Wouldn’t Be Complete Without

I’m responsible for Android Police’s monthly and annual summaries of the best new games in the Play Store. This means that each month there is a unique selection of games on my phone, but most of them only remain available for the days or weeks I need to review them.

However, some games have stuck with me for years. I keep them because they offer virtually endless replayability or are a fantastic way to pass the time. Although I love it when an RPG takes over my life for a month, you won’t find any on this list; our favorite mobile RPGs like Oxenfree 2 and To The Moon don’t offer much replayability. So without further ado, let’s move on to the games I always have in my pocket.

6 Old-School RuneScape

Old School RuneScape doesn’t have the same obsessive appeal it had for me when I was a teenager, but it’s the best game on mobile to pass a long wait. From boring college classes to long waits at the DMV, Old School RuneScape has always been there to make sure it’s not a complete waste of time.

There are plenty of casual games designed to occupy your time on the Play Store, but in Old School RuneScape you always feel like you’re progressing towards something. I know I’ll never reach level 99 in any skill, but the faint glimmer of hope makes the most boring times of my life tolerable. The catch is that you need to be online, but you don’t need a super-fast data connection to play.

5 Pokémon TCG Pocket

Pokémon TCG Pocket has completely taken over my life since early October 2024. I’ve completed the dex for every booster, and I have a selection of rares and ultra rares that I’m ridiculously proud of. I thought the childish appeal of ripping apart digital booster packs would have faded three months later, but I’m pretty obsessed. When I switched phones earlier this month, I immediately logged into my Pokémon TCG Pocket account. This way I wouldn’t risk missing the notification of a new booster opening.

Ultimately what I wrote in my TCG Pocket review is true, the game reflects that classic feeling of collecting Pokémon cards with your friends.

4 Plague Inc.

I can’t remember a time when Plague Inc. wasn’t installed on my Android phone. I completed the base game as well as the DLC several times, but the allure of wiping out humanity with a pathogen of my design never became boring. It’s satisfying, challenging and replayable.

I’ve tried every game from Ndemic Creations on the Play Store, and while I applaud its creativity in applying the Plague Inc. formula to an insurgency simulation, it doesn’t scratch the same itch to design my own disease . I’ve also tried After Inc., but it seems like a poor knockoff of Northgard. So while I can’t wait to see what Ndemic Creations comes up with in the future, I don’t think it will surpass the addictive and destructive gameplay of Plague Inc.

3 My boy!

My boy! isn’t a game, but it’s the best Game Boy Advance emulator I’ve used on Android. From time to time, I want to browse Pokémon Emerald, and after testing various emulators on the Play Store, My Boy! is the one that lasts me the longest.

Managing emulators and ROMs can be a pain, but My Boy! is simple to use. Place your ROM in a file, select the file in My Boy!, and you’re ready to go. The app makes it easy to map gaming buttons to hardware buttons, which is convenient for me since I often play with a controller. While I don’t open My Boy! as much as other games, it has stood the test of time and become my default choice for enjoying retro gaming.

2 Balatro

Balatro took the gaming world by storm when it launched on February 20, 2024, but I didn’t take notice until it launched on Android in September 2024. I’ve played a lot of games on mobile, but Balatro is the most enjoyable roguelike I know. I installed.

Balatro sticks with me because even though I abandon most roguelikes after unlocking or completing all of the game’s content, I’m happy to play the same levels over and over again in Balatro. It’s an incredibly replayable roguelike, which has replaced much of the time I would have spent playing video games on my PC or Nintendo Switch.

1 New York Times Games

It’s always good to start your day with a victory, and the different puns offered by the New York Times are the perfect way to do that. I think everyone should have a daily challenge game to enjoy with their morning coffee, and for me, that’s the NYT Games app.

NYT Games has stuck with me over other daily challenges and word games because of its variety. I’ll get bored of Wordle after a month or so, and The Mini crossword isn’t innovative enough to keep me hooked for more than a few weeks. But after playing through all eight games in the app, I’m ready to give them another chance. I could have several daily challenge games installed on my phone, but NYT Games has everything I need in one place.

Keep your favorite games, but don’t forget to try new ones

You may only have one or two games on your phone, but it’s always a good idea to explore new titles. I built this list by regularly exploring new games on the Play Store, but I normally have double that amount stored on my phone at any given time when I’m discovering the best games of the year.