Latest entries - 22 April, 2025:

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Introduction

(scroll down for the actual list)

I recently realized there are still, to this day, some actual “hidden gems” in the Play Store. Not the fake ones everyone talks about which, in a way or another, often have a catch or aren’t very “hidden”. I mean free games with no ads or IAPs of any kind that are fun to play.

So I was thinking maybe it’s time to compile a list of them. Please suggest the ones you’ve found and enjoyed!

Edit: I'm now including free games (no piracy) from other sources beside the Play Store (which will be specified within brackets), such as github or F-droid. If they're also FOSS, like all F-droid games, they'll have this green checkmark ✅️. For the games that have both F-droid and Play Store versions, the green checkmark is for the F-droid version.

I won’t try them all as I did with my premium games list, because you could simply download and try them for yourself without spending a dime. I’ll simply list them.

‼️Also, please do checkout MiniReview - Game Reviews for more free games that match the following criteria (use the “Browse” tab and select the correct filters). The same app for iOS - App Store - is here.‼️

I’ve saved this post so to keep it updated over time, for my own reference and for your benefit. So feel free to save it and check out new entries every so often.

Entry Criteria
  1. FREE
  2. NO ADS
  3. STRICTLY NO IAPs (except donation buttons, but I’ll have to check first)
  4. NO PIRACY
  5. it has to be a legit, full game you’ve played and liked. No demos, no emulators (everyone knows RetroArch anyways)
  6. no entire repositories. You can recommend them in the comments if you really want, but this list is for games you’d like to recommend
  7. if it’s a Play Store game, it should be compatible with the latest Android version at the time of entry
  8. must include a link to the game, especially if from sources outside the Play Store. Not direct-download links, just links to the page
  9. sketchy sources won’t be considered. Play Store, GitHub, and F-droid are welcome

[If you want to recommend paid games, without ads or predatory microtransactions, here is the list for you.]

THE LIST

 

Legend

✅️ - FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software)

☕️ - includes option to donate, with or without minimal cosmetics only

[Game title] - delisted

 

Shooter

 

Stealth

 

Platformer

 

Rhythm

 

Arcade

 

RPG

 

Roguelike dungeon crawler

 

Deck builder

 

Adventure

 

Puzzle

 

Tower defense

 

Strategy

 

Management

 

Racing

 

Simulation

 

Casual

 

Visual novel

 

Delisted or outdated

 

Happy gaming ;)

ps: please let me know if there’s any wrong information about the games included in this list (especially regarding the ones with free donations) so that I’ll fix the post, if necessary.

  • Brainsploosh@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    7 days ago

    Underhand seems to be outdated.

    Can I suggest Drill Down as an automation game? I’ve lost so very many hours to that game.

    • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      1·
      7 days ago

      Underhand seems to be outdated

      What does it say? It looks good on my end, with Android 14.

      Can I suggest Drill Down

      Yes, I’ll add this as it’s also FOSS. Thank you!

      If you have other suggestions, next time please also provide a link to the game. This one has been delisted fron the Play Store so I found it on itch.io

      • Brainsploosh@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        7 days ago

        Says it’s made for an older version of android, and won’t let me download.

        Happy you liked the suggestion, I’ll make sure to provide a link in the future.

        • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
          1·
          7 days ago

          Says it’s made for an older version of android, and won’t let me download

          That’s odd, but also it isn’t the first time someone tells me that a game is outdated while seeming to be fine on my end. May I ask what device and Android version you use?

          Thanks for reporting this by the way!

          • Brainsploosh@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            7 days ago

            I’m on a Samsung S21FE, android 14, One UI 6.1.

            But if it works for you, feel free to keep it on the list until you get others’ reports to confirm?

            • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
              2·
              7 days ago

              Thanks. It seems like the message you see might be due, while misleading, to the device hardware rather than it’s OS version. At least that’s what came up as one of the possible reasons after a web search.

              One more reason to keep “outdated” games still on the list, as they might work for someone!

  • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
    65·
    4 days ago

    Hi everyone!

    I’m moving my two lists of games from Reddit to Lemmy, as I’m planning to jump platform and totally abandon Reddit in the future. The reason is well, Lemmy is better, and Reddit’s admin have suspended or shadowbanned my account without reason, deleting all my contributions to the community (Android Gaming) there.

    Most notably my two lists of games which I’ve curated for over 4 years: “100% free games” and “Favorite PAID games”.

    Lemmy’s still young and, unfortunately, there isn’t a relevant or active Android gaming community yet, so I’m uploading here hoping I’m not doing anything wrong!

    I’ll probably cross-post the two lists on !android@lemmy.world too.

    I’m very new to Lemmy so ANY feedback is appreciated. Thank you!

      • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
        4·
        1 month ago

        Thanks! Would this be helpful for cross-posting to that community? My goal is to have a post showing in these 2 communities, and when I update the original one in this instance, the update will automatically carry on to the community in the other instance.

        I tried cross-posting using a function in the Summit app, but the updates don’t carry on… Do you know how I could achieve this?

        • smeg@feddit.ukEnglish
          3·
          1 month ago

          I don’t think there’s any formal concept of a cross-post in Lemmy, the button in Summit will just create a new post with a link to the original and the description text quoted. They are essentially just two different posts.

      • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
        2·
        1 month ago

        That’s great! Hope it can be helpful :)

        I will start including FOSS games into this list soon, labeled as such for clarity.

        Also, here is my paid games list in case you find it appropriate to pin this one too.

        Cheers!

  • Davel23@fedia.io
    14·
    1 month ago

    Welcome to Lemmy! Love the post and I look forward to more, just one small suggestion. The title reads a little bit spamlike, I almost dismissed the post as some sort of ad.

    • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      6·
      1 month ago

      Lol! You’re right, actually. But it’s accurate, to the point and, I suppose, easy to find for users.

      What would you suggest instead? Maybe removing the “100%”?

    • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      4·
      1 month ago

      Ye I’m all for one-time paid games! I’ll drop my premium games list here tomorrow

      • Zak@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 month ago

        Thanks for your lists. It’s hard to find mobile games that offer fun and a fair deal.

  • claymore@pawb.socialEnglish
    8·
    1 month ago

    Guaguin is a sudoku-like puzzle game that I enjoy a ton. Instead of the usual 9-block square, this has random shapes with a number and a math operator on them. The goal is to have no repeating digits on rows/columns, and each block needs its mathematical problem to be solved. For example a block labeled 20x needs to filled so that all the numbers inside of it multiply to 20.

    Play Store

    F-Droid

    • Krelis_@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      Seconded, I’ve spent a good amount with this and enjoyed the different numbering systems (e.g. binary, hex) to tickle my brain

      • StorageB@lemmy.oneEnglish
        1·
        13 days ago

        Thanks for adding this! I had this installed a while ago but when I got a new phone I couldn’t remember what it was called and couldn’t find it. I clicked on this post specifically to see if it was on here, and was happy to find these games again!

        • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
          2·
          13 days ago

          That’s awesome! Also one of the reasons why I started these lists, to not forget games myself XD

  • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 month ago

    This only kinda meets the criteria since emulators are available on the play store, though roms will have to be sourced elsewhere, but… 100% roms and emulators. The N64 content and earlier emulate really well on a smartphone, especially when paired with a bluetooth controller.

    IIRC ever version (different language releases, etc) of every game for Nintendo consoles from when they first became a company through all of the N64 content is a grand total of like 20bg: each individual game is tiny, so you can easily fit all your favorites on your phone.

    I’m not sure what the latest and greatest emulators are today, but when I dabbled into this stuff last time, there were free, no bullshit options.

    Quick search reveals a couple communities for it here on Lemmy:

    !emulation@lemmy.ml

    !emulationonandroid@lemmy.ml

    I’d hit the side bars of those communities and go from there.

    Note: downloading roms you don’t own the license to is piracy; and even if you do own the license, your ISP won’t know that, so I’d recommend practicing some basic internet safety like using a VPN. Also, ad blockers are an ABSOLUTE MUST on any website that provides or directs you to roms, otherwise you’ll have like 20 links on your page that all say “Download!” that will lead you to some flavor of shitware.

    But yeah, if you want games without all the modern bullshit in them like ads and lootcrate gambling, etc, then what better option than games that were made before all that cancer existed?!

    • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      While I enjoy emulation, it is kinda OT for this list.

      Also, is it me or the two links in your comment are broken? It seems like they both miss an “h” in “https”.

      • Sterile_Technique@lemmy.worldEnglish
        11·
        1 month ago

        While I enjoy emulation, it is kinda OT for this list.

        Kinda, but only kinda. I wouldn’t put any how-to guides or anything here, but letting folks know that it’s an option is worth posting.

        Also, is it me or the two links in your comment are broken? It seems like they both miss an “h” in “https”.

        Weird. They both worked for me; I changed them to the ! links - see if that works any better. …actually iirc that makes it better for mobile users anyway.

  • Fallofturkey@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 month ago

    Links that didn’t work for me / not on the play store anymore: Satyrn, Supertux, Supertux classic, Dribble, Bad Trip, Lofi Ping pong , Rocket League sideswipe, Butterfly soup, Butterfly soup 2

  • murmelade@lemmy.mlEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Nice list, will be checking out some of these as I’ve only been playing Sudoku lately. Thank you!

  • Pamtomaka@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Glad to see you here! I hope this helps getting traction towards a critical mass on Lemmy!

    • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      Hey! I hope so too, but I’m sure Reddit itself will do most of the legwork for us haha! They’re going the way of the Xitter.

      And BTW thank you for reminding me Lemmy existed and I should have gotten on it long ago!

  • ByteMe@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    Hey, thank you for this great list! Do you think you could maybe add a small description for every game?

    • char_stats@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      4·
      1 month ago

      Hey, thank you for this great list!

      You’re welcome :)

      Do you think you could maybe add a small description for every game?

      Sorry, I won’t do that. I think it’s easy enough to click on the links and check all the info on the Store, with pictures and description. Furthermore, I did not play all these games as they’re user recommendations, so it’d be too much work for little benefit.