Chasing the Trends: 4 Types of Games People Play on Mobile Devices

Some games simply don’t translate very well when you’re taking them from a big screen to a mobile screen and tend to have fewer players on mobile devices as a result. This is why we see certain genres played on mobiles a lot more than others, and if you peek over at your friend’s iPhone screen while they’re gaming, you’re likely to see them playing a game in one of a few genres.

Games like sports sims may not work so well if you don’t have a big screen on which to watch the team you’re managing or playing as in your save. So, when people are traveling on a bus or train, or waiting in a waiting room, they’re more likely to go for a game that’s pretty quick, and that they can dip in and out of at will.

Casino Games

Many casino classics work well as the types of games that are fun and simple to play on gaming sites on tablets and other mobile devices, which is one of the reasons why the online casino industry is worth over $200 billion a year and mobile casinos continue to grow.

It isn’t a new phenomenon for casinos to be a popular way to play games and in lots of locations they have been popular for centuries, with card games being particularly popular. Online casinos have been on quite an evolutionary ride. Nowadays, a player can log in and connect to a live casino with a live dealer to play a range of table games or slots. Casinos have spent a lot of time and effort creating an experience that rivals playing in person such as connecting live to a real dealer.

Though there are some forms of casino play that take a big time commitment, such as playing in a poker tournament which might be time-bound, however, other games like blackjack and cash poker games can be played for short periods of time, perfect for most different situations where someone wants to play on their mobile device.

Similarly, slot games are a popular way of playing, and as each spin often only lasts a few seconds, players can leave the game as they please, so if they just have a few minutes while waiting for the bus they might choose to log in and have a quick spin.

Action Games (Casual)

Casual action games are some of the most widely-played games out there, these are the kind of games where there is some sort of action, such as in a platformer or a simple shooting game, but the game itself doesn’t have much in the way of storyline or investment in controls or characters.

Other casual games that could be described as action games include some of the massive hits such as Bejeweled Blitz and Flappy Birds, the game that took the internet by storm before it disappeared after being pulled from the app stores by its maker.

MMO Games

Forge of Empires is an example of one of the biggest MMO games that has a big strategy aspect to it, and it has really been made with mobile in mind rather than being a console game ported onto a phone.

Forge of Empires is a game that takes place in virtual historic cities, as players are launched back in time and given a location to grow and defend, as well as expand. The players get coins that they can spend on new buildings or help their city expand, evolve, and grow through the ages, a theme we see in a lot of RTS games.

An MMO game might seem like a bit of a shock genre to have taken off in the time of mobile devices, but a lot of these games are made in a way players can dip in and out of as they want, so they don’t have to spend hours playing on their phones at a time. Some of the games, including Forge of Empires, have in-game events happening in the background while you’re not playing, so when you log in you will be met by some updates.

Puzzle Games

Whether it’s word games or a form of number puzzle, these games are another example of a game that can be quick and casual, and one study puts puzzle games right at the top of the list of popular types of mobile games. Puzzle games come in many different forms such as matching games and also certain games that may have once been played on paper such as Sudoku.

These games are often really simple to learn and based on straightforward ideas, like Dots 2, a game where the player tries to connect as many dots of the same color as they can on a grid, it’s strangely fun and leaves players coming back to try and beat their high score.

Conclusion

You know what it is like when you find a mobile game that is perfect for those times when you’re got a spare ten minutes or you are looking for a little entertainment while you take a break, and these are some of the most popular genres.