If you’re looking for the best games on Android without paying a penny, here’s a round up of free games from 2019 that will allow you to spend your time for less as we move into 2020. Note that most games are also available on Apple iphone. It’s a rather long post, so here’s the breakdown:
There’s no shortage of free games on Android and in the Play Store. But there are so many free games today that it’s hard to find quality titles that will last more than a few minutes on your Android smartphone’s memory. So here’s a small selection of old and new free games, in different genres and themes. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but you can of course suggest your favorite games in the comments so that we can add them here.
Management games
The Sims Mobile
Sims and smartphones, it’s a long story. Electronic Arts’ flagship management license came back with a launch in 2018 based on Sims 4: The Sims Mobile. This new opus takes up the basic principles of the license: the player creates a human avatar whose life, habitat, work and social relations will have to be managed.
And through 2019 it has remained a firm favorite.
Still free to play, with in-app purchases, The Sims Mobile has been much better received than previous episodes thanks to more generous content without the need to go through the checkout process.
- Genre: life simulation – management
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing is a well-known Nintendo license and like Super Mario or Fire Emblem, it has also been exported to mobile phones and is called Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. The aim of the game is to create and manage your own campsite in a world made up of fun animals.
This title obviously gives pride of place to life simulation and you have to maintain your friendship with the characters who visit your camp by completing the quests they submit to you. The game also encourages you to meet other players by visiting your respective campsites and exchanging materials.
- Genre: life simulation – management
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch
RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch is the mobile version of RollerCoaster Tycoon originally released on PC. Well suited for mobile use, RollerCoaster Tycoon Touch has set aside the almost unreadable tables of other titles available on the Play Store. The editor mode allows both new and existing players to enjoy the game.
Be careful though, this is a free-to-play so you can either be patient and use the virtual currency to unlock the attractions, or spend real money.
- Genre: management
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Fallout Shelter
Originally released back in 2015, Fallout Shelter was originally intended to be a small application designed to promote the console and PC game Fallout 4. However, it’s a very neat nuclear shelter management game in which the player must manage an underground population of survivors, get them to live, work and send some of them on expeditions outside.
It’s pretty, clever, and the aesthetics are bound to appeal to fans of the post-apocalyptic role-playing series.
- Genre: Post-apo management game
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
SimCity Buildt
SimCity is the reference game in terms of city management. On this mobile adaptation, you will be able to build your city from every angle: roads, buildings, shops, etc. Become an exemplary mayor of a large megalopolis as you improve your city.
Be careful, the game is free-to-play and you will have to spend money for certain services such as speeding up the work etc.
- Genre: Management
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
Games of skill
Ballz
The brick-breaker game is one of the oldest concepts in the videogame world and yet someone often manages to reinvent it by adding simple little touches, from the simple power-up game breaker to revolutionary gameplay.
Ballz falls more into the second category, since here it’s not about preventing balls from falling to the ground, but just breaking bricks that require a number of strokes before bursting while collecting new balls that will make the next round easier. To be tried urgently.
- Genre: brick-breaker
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Sky Chasers
In Sky Chasers, the player has to help a pilot get from one point to another across levels using a small ship powered by two engines. Pressing the left side of the screen activates the left engine and pressing the right side activates the right engine.
The handling is instinctive, the pixel-art graphics are particularly cute and the game has a very progressive difficulty making it very accessible. A little free gem that only offers a single in-app purchase to make the advertising disappear.
- Genre: Skill games – platform
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Duet
In Duet, the player controls two small balls that rotate in either direction around an invisible axis. The goal? To make it from one end of the game’s ten levels to the other without busting a single one on the various moving or stationary platforms that stand in your way. A game of skill whose principle can be understood in a few seconds, but which very quickly warms up the neurons with some sometimes difficult passages.
- Genre: Skill games – Reflection
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Platform games and runners
Once Upon a Tower
Why do you need a prince when you have a hammer? In Once Upon a Tower, we play a princess trapped in a dungeon whose Prince Charming, who came to save her, has been devoured. So you have to use the hammer to destroy the sound and kill the enemies to get to the bottom of the levels while avoiding the traps!
The game is very dynamic and is clearly one of the best platform games on Android. Thus, the game has an in-app shopping system that is in no way intrusive and that only serves to avoid losing a level if you die. It will then offer you to use a heart that you will have to either buy or get by watching an ad.
- Genre: Platform game
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Alto’s Odyssey
After having lost his llamas in the mountains, Alto is now going on an adventure in many other universes. The game is still a runner putting you on skis to survey many landscapes this time more idyllic and colorful since not subject to the universe of the first episode. It is still a game of very high quality and an experience to be made on Android, especially since the game is free and supported by ads.
- Genre: Ski Runner
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Crossy Road
It too has very quickly become a classic in mobile gaming. A little chicken on the side of the road decides to cross it, you control it and you have to watch out for cars that have done nothing but make this poor galliforme. If you prefer, you can even embody a duck, a dolphin or a unicorn.
- Genre: Arcade – Runner
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Rayman Adventures
If you’re looking for something a little more peachy or colourful, Rayman Adventures should do the job perfectly. No surprise here, this is a runner – a platform game in which you play as Rayman once again, this time in search of ancient eggs. Platform, exploration, runner, there’s something for everyone, and the graphics are also beautiful.
- Genre: Runner without arms – Platform
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
Punch Quest
If you like dynamic runners, Punch Quest will immerse you in exploring dungeons at the controls of a badass adventurer who can ride dinosaurs. To defeat the skeletons, trolls, mages and other ghouls that infest the place, your two best weapons will be your fists.
- Genre: Runner – Boom Boom in a dungeon
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes (largely dispensable)
Puzzle games
Hungry Cat Picross
You’re more into quiet games that require reflection? Then Hungry Cat Picross is exactly what you need. It’s a Picross, a game in which the player has to blacken squares in a grid with the help of numbers to make drawings stand out. The developers have gone one step further here, however, as there are several colours to fill in each grid.
The principle is clever, the realization is to the small onions and the lifespan is monstrous. The kind of game that quickly turns into a hard drug, especially since new grids are added every Tuesday.
- Genre: Thinking and Logic Game – Hard Drug
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Match Land
Match Land is a crazy storyline where you must assemble a team of heroes in a fantasy world to collect ingredients for your gourmet shops. Hmm… To familiarize yourself with this universe, it’s better to play a little bit, otherwise you won’t understand much.
This game is a Match 3 game in which you must skillfully move tiles to align at least three identical ones vertically or horizontally. By making a series of good moves – without exceeding the allotted time – you accumulate power that will be used to slaughter the creatures that will be transformed into ingredients. Match Land quickly becomes addictive with its cute graphics and catchy soundtrack. You’ve been warned!
- Genre: Match 3
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes, only if you want to unlock bonuses without paying for them.
- In-app purchases: yes
2048
It caused a sensation a few years ago when it went from being a small newcomer to an international mobile gaming phenomenon. The craze has since died down, but 2048 is still a game that deserves its place on a smartphone. Its system of adding up tiles to get the highest score possible is clearly addictive!
- Genre: Puzzle – Reflection
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: no
Action and shooting games
Fortnite Battle Royale
After a first release on iOS, Fortnite Battle Royale is now available on Android… on Samsung phones in priority, and in closed beta with registration for the others. The Epic Games title requires a muscular configuration to run, but that’s normal: this is the real game, not a mobile adaptation. So you can use your account to keep trying for the top 1 and improve your level even on the move.
Be careful though: Fortnite is not available on the Play Store, but can be downloaded directly from the official Epic Games website. We explain how to install it in a dedicated article.
- Genre: TPS – Battle Royale
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
PUBG Mobile
The famous Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds arrived on mobile at the beginning of 2018 after having conquered the PC throughout 2017. The concept is simple: you are parachuted onto a giant map with 99 other players.
Over time, the size of the map shrinks due to the spread of deadly gas, so it’s up to you to stay in a safe area and arm yourself to hopefully become the last survivor of the game.
- Genre: Battle Royal – Third Person Shooter
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: or
Vainglory
If you like MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) like LoL, you may already know Vainglory, the reference of the genre on smartphones and tablets. Just like its PC counterpart, Vainglory consists of creating a team and destroying the opponent’s base in 3 vs 3 battles, each hero having his own special features and moves. For more fun, it is advisable to play with friends.
- Genre: MOBA – castagne with friends
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
Arena of Valor
Arena of Valor was a huge success. Tencent’s game brings together tens of millions of players every day. They compete against each other in epic 5 vs 5 battles featuring fantasy characters from DC Comics superheroes (Superman, Wonder Woman, etc). In total, you can unlock up to 40 different heroes. The game challenges you to strategize with your allies to explore the arena in great detail to ambush your enemies and seize their positions.
- Genre: MOBA – Mountain with friends
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
Dragon Ball Legends
The Dragon Ball license has already been a great success on mobile with Dokkan Battle. However, it is still more adapted to a particular genre: that of fighting games. With Dragon Ball Legends, the series returns to this one for a much more dynamic gameplay that will require you to chain normal and special attacks while dodging your opponent.
The highlight of the show: the game’s story mode features a new character created directly by master Akira Toriyama!
- Genre: fighting game
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
Stranger Things: The Game
Like the Netflix series of the same name, Stranger Things: The Game pays homage to the video games of the 80s. This game uses point & click mechanics, but also beat them all, to create an action-adventure experience.
Developed to promote season 2 of the TV series, the game is completely free and offers a good experience of about ten hours. Watch out for more coming in 2020.
- Genre: Old-fashioned Action Adventure
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: no
Strategy games
Antiyoy
Behind its simplistic graphics, Antiyoy hides a complex and deep turn-based strategy game. The rules are simple to assimilate: you have villagers, lancers, farms and defensive towers at your disposal. You must expand your territory with the help of your settlers in order to earn more money and recruit new units to finally attack your opponents.
You can play in Campaign Mode, through custom levels or by taking on your friends (up to 7 players) on a single device.
- Genre: Minimalist management/strategy
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: no
Shin Megami Tensei Liberation Dx2
Shin Megami Tensei is one of the oldest and most respected RPG series in Japan, although it is a little more confidential in Europe. We know in our land especially the Persona series, which is a spin-off of it.
Here you can engage in turn-based combat alongside many monsters from the legends and myths of the world, which you can integrate into your team with great negotiating power. Once in your pocket, you can merge them to improve their skills and pocket ever more powerful monsters.
What’s more, you’ll even be able to fight with your friends with your online team! Be careful though: you’ll need to be fluent in English.
- Genre: Turn-based strategy
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
The Battle of Polytopia
Anglophobes abstain! The Battle of Polytopia is a turn-based strategy/turn-based management game in pixel-art.
Choose your tribe (each with different skills), develop new technologies and explore the world, collect resources, colonize new peoples and fight the most hostile. All in 30 rounds.
- Genre: Strategy
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases : yes (to buy new tribes)
Total War Battles: Kingdom
Battles Kingdom is the very first Android game based on the famous Total War management and tactical franchise. The title aims to be just as complete as its PC counterpart. You have to show strategy of course, but also diplomacy. For this episode, the historical period chosen is the Middle Ages, and more precisely just before the year one thousand.
The goal is to arrange your castle and build an empire through exploration, resources and invasion. Last but not least, the game is cross-platform, so you can compete against your pagan friends.
- Genre: management/strategy
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Fire Emblem Heroes
The first Nintendo game to be released on Android, Fire Emblem Heroes takes one of the largest – but still confidential in the West – licences in its catalogue to offer a free-to-play game with a twist.
We find all the neat work of a classic Fire Emblem, but with a lighter gameplay that adapts more easily to short sessions on a smartphone. Ideal for those who want to discover the series without too much difficulty, as well as for fans who will be able to find their favorite heroes.
- Genre: Tactics
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Clash Royale
Are you looking for an online game that is easily accessible and looks like what you know? Then Clash Royale is exactly what you need. A mix of Tower Defense, trading card games and real-time strategy games, Clash Royale is as easy to learn as it is hard to master.
A smartphone classic that has lots of in-app purchases, but these are not necessary until you’ve been playing it for a while.
- Genre: Strategy – Card Collection – Tower Defense
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
Hearthstone
HearthStone is no more and no less than the reference of online card game since its release on PC in 2014, then on Android in 2015. The goal here is to build decks of 30 cards and compete against other players online. Thanks to a very clear tutorial and an exemplary interface, the game is very easy to learn. But it hides an unsuspected depth at first glance which gives it an almost infinite life span.
Be careful, however, because of its age, the game encourages players to go to the checkout.
- Genre: Strategy – Card game
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
The best racing games
Asphalt 9 Legends
Asphalt 9 Legends finally takes over the series, whereas Asphalt 8 was released 5 years ago. And it does it with brilliance!
With 80 vehicles available and more than 100 playable races, Gameloft’s racing game has made a big splash by offering console-style graphics for our smartphones.
- Genre: Zoom Zoom Zoom
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: yes
- In-app purchases: yes
Data Wing
Data Wing is a very special game as it is a narrative racing game. The graphics are very simple (you control a triangle on a circuit formed by two lines), but the background is much deeper than it looks during the first minutes of play. The first grip is a bit rough, but the title is really worth a look.
Not only is the gameplay very demanding, but the background is very well written.
- Genre: Race with a Story
- Internet connection required: no
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: np
Augmented reality games
Pokémon GO
No list would be complete without it…Hunting Pokémon in real life is impossible? Not when you have a smartphone and Pokémon Go. It’s pretty much the same principle as Ingress – just walk down the street, through the countryside or along the beach and wait for Pokémon to show up to catch them.
The best thing about it is that the nature of the Pokémon depends on where you are. Water-type Pokémon are more likely to be found near streams or beaches.
Finally, it’s possible to compete against other trainers, through arenas where teams of trainers compete against each other, but also to challenge your friends.
- Genre: Catch them all – Augmented Reality
- Internet connection required: yes
- Advertising: no
- In-app purchases: yes
So that’s a wrap. Our choice for 2019/2020 whatever the genre!
Enjoy!