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“We have a problem. Mobile games suck,” says Brandon Sanderson. From his initial playthrough of the original The Legend of Zelda (the first time he was able to actually save his game: “Before that, Mario fell down the hole, and that was it.”), Brandon has been an avid gamer, having owned nearly every video game console ever created. And, he has thoughts about the state of mobile gaming.

Like most of you, Brandon has a smartphone and would like to play fun games on the go, but sadly, “[Most mobile games] are skinner boxes designed to extract as much money from you as possible.” In an effort to bring light to the mobile games that are actually worth your time, he sat down and gave us a full rundown of his favorites as well as some insight into why most mobile games, well… suck.

The 5 Titans of Mobile Games

First, let’s get the giants out of the way. Most mobile gamers have likely played these titles already, but if you’re just getting into the space, you can’t go wrong with any of these.

1. Minecraft

Brandon’s first experience with Minecraft was on a PlayStation 2 and followed the creation of the game closely on Reddit back in the day. The legendary title is also available on mobile platforms. “It’s Minecraft, right? One of the best selling games of all time,” says Brandon. What else is there to say?

2. Stardew Valley

“Stardew Valley is excellent,” says Brandon. The rest of the gaming world agrees—Stardew Valley is one of the most beloved indie games ever made, and you can play it on your mobile device! Part farming game, part life simulator, part dungeon crawler… it has something for everyone.

Brandon is trying to get Emily, his wife, into this one—and since one of the romance options is “a writer dude” (Brandon’s words), it’s a perfect fit. 😉

3. Terraria

“Where is our Terraria 2?!” Brandon played Terraria back during its 1.0 launch, before his kids were even old enough to play with him. It kept him sane on one of his long book tours, back in the day. So, he’s thankful for that, but he wants Terraria 2. Valid.

4. Slay the Spire

“If you haven’t played Slay the Spire, play Slay the Spire,” Brandon says. He strongly recommends this classic title for fellow Magic the Gathering lovers.

5. Balatro

While Brandon admits he doesn’t need to tell you to play Balatro (you’re probably already playing it), it deserves a spot among these titan titles of mobile gaming. If you enjoy the mechanics of Slay the Spire, you’re gonna have a blast with this one. The hype is real.

5 Hidden Gems in Mobile Gaming

So, for Brandon’s list of hidden gems in mobile gaming, he stayed away (mostly) from PC ports. Yes, Minecraft and Balatro are both PC ports, but for the purposes of the following five games, he’s not bringing up Final Fantasy or the like—they’re great games, but these are lesser known games designed around the mobile experience.

Brandon plays mobile games on Android and has play pass, for reference.

1. Luck Be A Landlord

Though this is a pretty basic game on the surface, it’s a slot machine rogue-like, which is sort of similar to Balatro, and is a ton of fun. If you’ve played Balatro to death and wish there was something similar, you’ve got to give Luck Be a Landlord a try if it’s available on your mobile gaming platform of choice.

2. Sagrada

You might be thinking—wait, isn’t that a board game? And you’d be right! But, Sagrada also has a pretty decent port. (We’re not breaking the rules, it’s not a PC port!) It has a daily challenge, and though you can play against other people, you don’t have to in order to get lots of fun out of the game. This is a dice rolling game themed after the stained glass windows of the famous chapel in Barcelona, so the aesthetic is fantastic.

Brandon enjoyed this one so much he went out and bought the board game afterwards.

3. High Rise Heroes

This one evokes nostalgia for Brandon, because back in the day he was a huge fan of PopCap Games (Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle, Bewjewled, and more). High Rise Heroes has a cute little story and is a boggle style word game that’ll keep you entertained for a long time. It has so much to offer and reminds Brandon of Bookworm back in the PopCap games days.

High Rise Heroes has a beginning, middle, and end which makes it fairly unique in mobile gaming these days.

4. Isle of Arrows

“This is… technically a PC port…” Brandon admits, but it’s just so good on mobile.

Isle of Arrows is a rogue-like tower defense where you build across an island, and it’s very interestingly designed. While there are some parts that are a bit clunky (an update would be more than welcome), it’s worth your time. “It’s a very simple idea executed extremely well... it's brilliant... it's criminally underplayed," Brandon emphasizes.

5. Ticket to Earth

Last but certainly not least, as it's Brandon's favorite mobile game, is Ticket to Earth. It's a seriously innovative title that is also "criminally underplayed." Ticket to Earth is a game board matching game that's sort of like a hybrid between Final Fantasy or Fallout tactics and Bejeweled, though that still doesn't quite capture it.

Brandon says he's "never played anything that plays so well on mobile," and that "it's a miracle this game was made," because it's a true art piece. It's thoughtfully crafted and masterfully innovative.

Looking Towards the Future of Mobile Gaming

While the mobile gaming landscape remains cluttered with predatory monetization schemes and shallow gameplay loops, gems like these prove that quality experiences are still possible on our phones.

Brandon's recommendations span from beloved indies that made the jump to mobile to clever original designs that embrace the platform's unique strengths. The key is knowing where to look, and being willing to pay upfront for games that respect your time and wallet.

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