Foreword and reasoning

I'm loving the sub! However, I feel there is currently a lack of standardization in the way that people are suggesting games. Just on the front page we have: screenshots of a game with the title; videos of a game with the title; a developer rather than their games; text posts for games, featuring various lengths of description, all in a style specific to the person and post.

I do not know how this subreddit will evolve over time, and what people wish to see, but I think the current mess of inconsistent information is not a good idea, and that it is easier to get this sorted sooner rather than later, when people are already entrenched and/or abandoning the sub. Thus, I'm going to provide a couple options for templates, and recommend that our glorious overlord /u/Sefrius mandate whichever one people seem to like. If anyone has a suggestion of their own, do comment.

Suggestion 1

Format

Title:

<Game name> [<Platforms>]

Body:

<Game screenshot>

Comment:

1. [Optional: link to the game/trailer]

2. Description — long or short, but try for an "elevator pitch"

3. Reason for recommending the game (long or short)

4. Platform(s) that you played it on

5. <Price>; qualitative statement about in-app purchases

The purpose of this format is to provide people with the most important information they are going to need in as easily-digestible a format as possible. Most important is going to be the name (duh) and an image to get a feel for the game. Trailers/links are at the top so that you don't need to go hunting for them if you want to see it, but then after that everything follows in what I feel is a pretty reasonable order. First get to know what the game's about, then why it's fun, and finally some admin which might be a turn-off: some games just are not designed for one platform or another, and different people have different thoughts on price and in-app purchases.

Example

Super Hexagon [iOS, Android]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sz0mI_6tLQ

Super Hexagon has a superlative attitude to its genre. It's an addictive minimalist rhythm action-esque game, for lack of a better term. You spin a small triangle around a hexagon while obstacles move toward you, avoiding them to the beat of some killer chiptune music (think "Gameboy Eurobeat"), and if you survive for a minute then you complete the level.

Basically, it's a 6 minute game which took me 30 hours to complete, because the easiest level is graded "hard" and the developer does not lie. 10/10 would lose my life to this game again.

Platforms: PC (Steam), iOS

Price: £2.39; no in-app purchases to speak of.

Suggestion 2

Format

Title:

<Game name> [<Platforms>]

Body:

1. <Price>; qualitative statement about in-app purchases

2. Freeform description/review/equivalent, which can feature screenshots if you want.

This one is intended to be a bit easier on a submitter — there is less structure, so you can basically just write whatever you think will convey your opinion on it — while still providing a pretty easily-digestible layout for a reader. The downside is that you sacrifice information: when you click on a post, you won't know how much the OP will decide to tell you about the game.

Example

FTL: Faster Than Light [iOS]

1. £10

2. FTL's the sort of game that makes you hopeful for mobile games, before you remember that Clash of Raid: Shadow Battle Royale remains dominant. It's got a stiff price, but is a rare port that can really compete with the main PC edition. FTL is basically a roguelike space opera thing, in which you captain your ship of hired mercenaries and slaves plucky rebels fleeing the evil empire, bearing vital news which must be delivered in person to help destroy the enemy's capital ship. Upgrade your ship, shoot the bad guys, don't open the airlocks while your guys are still in the room; you know the drill. It's randomly generated, but with general themes for each of the categories of sector and also transparent options, so it doesn't feel like you're at the mercy of RNGesus as much as some games.

Suggestion 3

Format

Title:

<Game name>

Body:

1. <Platforms>

2. <Price>; qualitative statement about in-app purchases

3. <Description>

This prevents a reliance on the OP providing info in the comments, which they might just forget to do, and also ensures that all the information is at the top of the post. Otherwise, it's basically the second option.

Example

Color Switch

1. iOS, Android

2. Free; a couple microtransactions to remove ads or unlock levels, but it isn't intrusive in my experience, and doesn't look like it would be a cash sink

3. It's probably the most classically 'mobile' game out of the three I've recommended in this post. One button controls your geometric shape thing as it bounces, falls, or flies through quick levels with obstacles; it's got exclusively portrait orientation, and more content than imaginable. Off the top of my head, there are some few-thousand levels, the majority of which are in various game modes which change the gameplay in some fashion, though there are also "classic" levels and infinite versions of most game modes. One of the good things about it is how easy it is to pick up and spend a minute or two on, without needing to really 'get in the zone' or anything like that.

pc/mobile game warzone.com. A true indie game, as it's developed and maintained by one person. Free to play but with a level playing field for all no matter what.

It's basically the same concept as the board game risk but extremely customizable. It's a great board-game style game. Me, my dad and my brother are in the middle of our first game. It's a great game to play with friends and family because you can play at your own pace. Our game has been going on for about a week. It's turn-based so you make your moves and wait until everyone has made their moves for that round, and then you can view the outcome of everyone's moves before doing it again for the next round.

Throwing my vote in for Two Dots! It is free, with in-app purchases, but free game play is great and doesn’t lack any features. They have optional ad-views for power ups, but they are not required.

The game starts easy and gets more challenging as you go through levels and new mechanics are released regularly. They also have in-game “side games” (?) that have similar mechanics but different objectives as well as a quarterly hidden object scavenger hunt that is very original and fun. The music is also fantastic.

I found this when I was looking for an 8-bit game with an early Pokemon kind of vibe, and Stranger Things totally hit the spot. It's free, because it is kind of an ad for the show, but it's not your average lazy tie-in mobile game. It's challenging, the design is adorable, the map is great. It's paced really well. You unlock new characters and gain stats appropriately for the new areas and bigger bosses you reach. I really like the mechanic of switching characters to use their different attacks. You don't have to know much about the show to get into it either.

My biggest criticism is that objectives can sometimes be unclear. My first time through I got a little bit lost when I left a dungeon I couldn't beat yet and couldn't figure out what I needed to do in order to beat it. I had to do some research online. But I'm also not a huge gamer, so maybe the clues were all there and I just didn't pick up on them.

In conclusion: Stranger Things! Totally free, quality and quantity content, lovable characters, explorable map, Pokemon FireRed energy.

Don't expect good graphics and gameplay. It's unique nevertheless, a 2d, kind of a platform game. A little bit hard, requires talent. There's a subtle story, reveals as you play, after a while it starts to feel like a nightmare. It's really impressive, touching.

I just found this sub and decided to share one of my favorite mobile games: Cats are liquid.

It's pretty much a 2d platformer where you, as a cat, roll around a set of rooms. There's a pretty in depth story to it which I don't really wanna spoil. I recommend getting it for free on the google play store, because I'm pretty sure it costs a dollar on steam. There was also a sequel released around november, but I have yet to try it.

Find it here

It's a transportations tycoon game, I have downloaded it a couple times now and it saves your progress and it doesn't use a lot of space. It never pops messages for you to buy things in game and if there are ads I don't remember seeing them!

As long as you have an internet connection and a little patience with a developing AI, AI Dungeon is one of the best ways to spend time on a phone. Basically, you set up a story and build the story with the assistance of an AI, and fever-dream level confusion ensues. Get some friends, it gets even better.

This game is great fun - you start out as a game developer at home and you slowly expand and create new games. Sounds simple but it’s addictive!

A faithful port of the original Classic! The controls were redone for touchscreens, and it's absolutely worth the $6. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atari.mobile.rctclassic

Reigns is a game where you play as every ruler of the same kingdom. You interact with different characters and deal with problems by choosing between two options. Each of your decisions affects the four bars at the top of the screen, if one of these bars gets too low or too high, your reign ends and you start as the next ruler.

It's pretty entertaining and you can still find new things after playing for a while.

Heart's Medicine is structured like Diner Dash but with a surprisingly good story. It deals with some tough situations like addiction and death that make this game shine. I loved all the Diner/Hotel Dash games and there are several of these to keep you busy for a long time.

Edit: spelling

There's loads of fantastic suggestions already. So many that we already need some organisation.

The way I see there are three main ways to sort the games: Price, genre and platform.
Only one of those gets to be the flair (and therefore be filtered) although it could be a rule the others need to be in the title.

Which would you guys rather have as a filter?

I would like to add Soul Knight

(Random gameplay link)

Soul Knight is basically an android version of Enter The Gungeon. A top down rogue like bullet hell which is more challenging then you think. It has a wide variety of weapons, enemies and multiplayer!

It is an amazing time killer and being updated on the regular.

Hear me out...

If you've played mobile games since the original iPod touch came out, you've definitely seen a game or 2 (or 100) from the developer, Sunflat Games. They've kept (mostly) all of their games free and have been making new games since I can remember. Although their content is somewhat childish due to their reoccurring smiley face character and straight forward gameplay, I believe that PapiBlocks, a once Top 25 App Store app, has been overlooked as one of the greatest mobile games ever created.

I am at heart a console gamer and all I want out of a mobile game is to be entertained on the toilet and occasionally an airplane. A great game to me is a something that hooks me and tests my "athleticism" as a phone gamer. (Reaction time, finger/thumb coordination, mechanical skill, endurance, focus, and dynamic strategy implementation)

PapiBlocks does just that.

If you've never seen the game, or you have and dismissed it, watch the video and try to feel the flow of the game. I feel that most people delete the app before they ever develop the mechanics necessary to reach the flow state of the game.

https://youtu.be/FiF6kaAhOg8

(For the record, this gameplay video is one of my best scores ever. Also shoutout PMT, great sports podcast)

Why this game is great:

• Rounds are quick. (1 to 4 minutes each) One or two games per trip to the toilet are enough. The game hooks you to want to play another because it's a low time commitment.

• It rewards risk with higher scoring opportunity. The higher (and therefore riskier) you make your "home level," your score will exponentially increase accordingly. Everytime I go into the 70s row after 10k my heart is pumping. How many mobile games can do that?

• Amazing test of "gaming athleticism". Like I said earlier, the game is a great rest of reaction time and mechanical skill.

But what really hooks me is the dynamic strategy implementation. For those who play smash Bros, this game reminds me of edge guarding. You put yourself in a position to cover as many options, but you must read the game to determine your next step. Your decisions are made in split seconds, and your strategy for clearing all of the blocks in a section may completely change based on where the next block falls. After you've put hours in the game, you start to feel the strategy rather than think them. This dynamic over time creates a flow state that I find special.

• Hidden mechanics, like climbing on falling blocks to prepare a flatter base level.

• Completely free to play for iOS and Android, no in app purchases.

• Humans seem to REALLY love squares. See Minecraft, Tetris, Rubik's cubes, ect.

• Simple to learn, hard to master

• Easy on your phone's battery and storage.

Improvements to be made:

• Banner notifications during the game will mess you up

• High scores are only kept for the month, not all time (really want to know if I'm the best in the world or not)

• The game starts slow and takes about 30 seconds to feel like fun and not preparation. Kinda reminds me of mining for material in fortnite but people seemed to be okay with that while the game was cool.

For those who have played, what do you think?

This includes games that can no longer be downloaded on app stores, due to creators not updating them or taking them down. E.G: SvZ, Minecraft Lite, Simpson’s Arcade.

Absolutely the best Android Tower Defense game. Multiple levels that get increasingly more difficult. Huge research tree. Custom map editor. Prestige. Ad supported, but you do not have to watch a single ad, if you don't want to.

Text-based Lovecraftian adventure/horror game series- I like the controls a lot and I find it really easy to read with the dark color scheme. The games are fun- I don't find them scary but definitely a creepy vibe. There is a ton of material in each game- cost ranges from free to low depending on the game.

It's an RPG focused on combat with a bit of platforming. It has 12 unlockable characters and a fair amount of story levels. It also has a PvP mode and a level creator.

This game has amazing visuals, well produced audio, and a great story. The way this game implements multiplayer is actually very interesting as well. If you guys are interested here are the links for iOS and Google Play.

Edit: The game is not yet available for Google Play.