7
votes
Mindless games, preferably mobile
I'm looking for something to keep me busy / focused on with minimal actual concentration, planning or learning required. Things that you can't look away from while playing or you lose what you're doing. Nothing that involves interaction with other people.
Things that have worked for me for this in the past are Bejeweled 3 lightening mode, Insaniquarium, driving around mindlessly in Forza Horizons.
I'm kind of terrible at anything that requires twitch reflexes, so anything that punishes you for slowness isn't great. Bejeweled it's not a problem because the game is basically identical no matter how you score.
Vampire Survivors. It's basically "dodge and get items until you can kill God"
Play store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.poncle.vampiresurvivors
I just got back into Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp since they announced the F2P version is ending on 11/28 and relaunching as a paid app with one additional year of some new content on 12/3 for $10. I like having it around all the time.
Sliding Seas is one of my favorites (merging match-3), but you can look away.
I'm basically a shill for King Rabbit - Puzzle and King Rabbit - Race. Both are a lot of fun.
You can try Burrito Bison, quick rounds and does require some quick tapping occasionally but not too punishing if you miss one because you multiple tries that keep replinishing before you're done. You play a 'launchador' and the goal is to fling yourself as far as possible smashing evil gummy bears.
That's such a good one. I think I've played all the way through one of the versions twice.
Also reminds me of holedown (another game I've played through a couple times), if you're willing to spend a couple bucks.
Simon Tatham's Puzzles is a good collection for me, and it's free with no ads. I find Net to be the best one for mindless. Bridges, Slant, Pearl, Map, and Untangle are all pretty good too. There are no time limits, so I guess looking away has no penalty, although losing your focus can mean forgetting what you were doing depending how your brain works.
If you're willing to spend a buck or two up front, my brain-shut-off games are Burger Shop 2, Papa's Freezeria To Go, and Papa's Pizzeria To Go. They're busy enough to keep you from thinking about anything else while not making you plan too hard. I don't recommend any of the other Papa's games though, because they keep adding bloat like minigames and forced lobby decoration that detract from the simple mindless momentum for me.
If you like Insaniquarium, you might like the original Plants vs. Zombies (same creator). I'm not sure what the state of the mobile app is right now because I prefer to play on PC (I have over 500 hours Steam playtime in it, because I kept using it as a mindless escape some years ago). According to reviews you can pay to go ad-free or just turn off wifi to stop the ads.
Also recommend Simon Tatham's Puzzles, it's a great collection! Yes, you often get into a 'flow state' while solving a puzzle, so it can be tough to look away and come back to it without losing where you were.