Are there any good casual/low-stress mobile games that aren’t filled with microtransactions? For example: easy puzzle games, match-3 games, low-difficulty adventure games, or clicker-style games.
So far, the only good examples I’ve found are Monument Valley, Suika Game, and (sort of) Vampire Survivors.
I’m personally looking for games that have more progression or variety, but any suggestions are welcome.
Slay the Spire has a decent mobile version. Not sure about the casual part, but at least it’s turn based
It can be played pretty casually. A run usually takes around an hour but you don’t have to play it in one go. And on the base difficulty it’s pretty approachable. You definitely don’t have to play 500 hours to enjoy it. But you can if you want to :)
Slay The Spire is an excellent recommendation. Although a lot of people find roguelites stressful because they get stressed about losing progress. You just have to play with the right mindset:
Stardew Valley and Terraria may both fit your list, although Terraria stresses me out a bit.
Stardew Valley is a good one, but I definately wouldn’t consider Terraria casual or low-stress.
Not to mention using touch controls for it is brutal. At least, for me it is. Might be decent if using a controller with your phone.
I’ve tried it even with the razor kishi. No dice. This game was born for mouse and keyboard.
Stardew Valley can be stress inducing if you are that type of player.
- “Let me do a bit of fishing on the beach OH FCK it’s already 1 AM. Intense cardio session towards my house before JoJo employees steal 1000G.”
- “I need to give Demetrius a gift by the end of the day. WHERE TF ARE YOU ROAMING ABOUT? Come take your gift!”
- “Let me visit the shop for some seeds. WHO THE HELL CLOSES SHOP on a Wednesday? Am I the only one working in this town?”
- “Marnie TF you closing shop at 3 PM! My chickens need hay and you are frolicking in the bar”
Lol this is me before mods
Simply do not consent to JoJo
Haha
Terarria can be played as casual or low stress. You choose when to advance the difficulty, and how elaborately you contruct your preparations for the next step. But for a largely stress-free casual playstyle, focus on being a summoner. Also, there isn’t much penalty for dying. So if you can wrap your mind around not being bothered by dying, then any playstyle can feel casual really. It’s certainly a tough mindset to achieve for some of us though, lol.
I agree. I only mentioned it because it was recommended to me as low stress, so I thought it was just me that didn’t get it lol
Note with Stardew Valley: it is not unplayable without a controller, but if you have clumsy sausage fingers like me, the poor touch controls really took me out of the game.
Stardew valley stressed me out so much I stopped playing before even reaching that first year party. It looks like a casual fun game, but there are so many characters to make friends (even if it’s optional, it’s stressful because of the implication/expectation). And you need to tend to your garden, and even if you don’t do anything, midnight rolls around and you feel like you didn’t do anything useful and it’s overall very stressful to me. May be it gets easier once you get sprinklers and whatnot, but early game was anything but casual and fun for me.
I like “Traveler’s Rest” because the game doesn’t force you to keep regular hours at your tavern. If you want, you can spend the whole day crafting and restocking until you’re ready to deal with customers again.
Thanks for the game idea!!
I completely understand. It was very overwhelming for me at first and sometimes can still be overwhelming depending on how my computer is working lol
If you ever decide you want to try it again I highly recommend modding it (and I would be happy to send you what I use). That said it’s not a bad thing to play other games if you like them better :) games should be fun not stressful imo
Edit: removed the extra “my”
Sure, please let me know what mods you use
Alright, I found my list :) I apologize in advance for the length lol. I don’t know how familiar you are with mods, so here is some context:
I use a PC and was not successful in helping a friend get mods on her Mac, so I don’t know if these work on a Mac. Mobile mods are also much harder to get to work mainly because of OS restrictions but also because phones are different, so most of these probably won’t work on mobile. Also, if you already have an unmodded game going you should be aware that adding mods could break it. There are ways to turn them off and on but I’ve only done it once (for a multiplayer game) and it was a lot of work lol. I think it’d be easier if I had a better memory and played more often though. There are also ways to have different folders of mods if you go between single and multiplayer, so that might be helpful if the people you’re playing with have different or no mods.
I get my mods from Nexus Mods and I have the Vortex mod manager, which will tell you when each one is due for an update (with a few errors). There is at least one other mod manager but I have never used it.
These are just the mods I intentionally sought out - each one will have its own dependencies (additional mods to download) - all of them require SMAPI iirc, which is basically a way for modders to make mods work without reinventing the wheel.
The expansion mods will have the most dependences since they add so many things to the game. Also, I have not updated my list for awhile and there has been at least one big update recently, so some of these mods may not work anymore or may now be implemented into the game itself.
I added a brief description of each mod, but their Nexus page will have the best and most updated description, as well as a place for any issues/bugs that have come up.
- Tractor mod - allows you to use a tractor to plant crops, go to the mine, etc. I haven’t actually used this one but I’ve had it forever lol. The tractor costs a lot of money so you will not be able to use it right away.
- Lookup anything - this allows you to have basically an encyclopedia. Some details include when and where to fish for certain fish, what objects can be used to make other objects, etc. It also has pictures so you know what things look like.
- Chests anywhere - this allows you to access chests basically anywhere in the game instead of just when you are directly in front of them. Note that if you are playing multiplayer then only the host will have access to all of the chests if they are anywhere besides the homestead. Something to do with syncing I believe?
- Automate - this automates certain tasks, such as using the furnace or making mayonnaise, so you can spend time doing other things like finishing quests and talking to people (or just exploring).
- Farm type manager - allows you to spawn various items anywhere (like rocks, plants, monsters, etc). I don’t believe the season matters but I don’t really use this mod much.
- East Scarp - an expansion mod. It adds a new location/map as well as new characters and quests. I would consider this the middle expansion if I rank all 3 of the expansion mods I use by size/complexity.
- Swim - allows you to swim almost anywhere there’s water. Has an additional download so there can be an underwater map with quests etc. i have never downloaded the extra map. Also, you may want to change the swim button if you download the warp mod since they default to the same button. But it’s not a super big deal if you don’t change it (the button is what allows your player to swim vs prevents it, helpful if you need to do something on the shoreline or the dock and don’t want to jump in the water).
- Ridgeside Village - expansion mod. Adds a lot of characters, quests, etc. This is the biggest/most complex expansion mod that I have imo.
- Free Love - allows you to have multiple spouses without making anyone mad. I would use alongside the date night mod so you don’t get overrun by date requests! They get offended if you don’t go out with them lol.
- Destroyable bushes - allows you to cut down bushes as you would a tree for extra wood. I don’t use it much.
- Stardew valley expanded - expansion that adds more characters and quests. I would consider this the smallest one that I have, although it’s probably actually the biggest one if you actually use all of the locations/quests. There are just some things I refuse to do lol
- NPC map locations - shows where each person is currently on the map. I think it also shows player locations? Pretty sure lol. Also it works for all of the maps afaik.
- Automatic gates - gates open and close automatically
- Mikey’s Greenhouse - allows you to make a bigger greenhouse. I recommend setting this one up at the beginning because it’s a pain in the ass if your greenhouse already has stuff in it.
- Warp multiplayer - warp to like 6 different locations on the map, including a custom location, without using any equipment. Can be used on singleplayer.
- Warp multiplayer (locations) - used alongside the above mod. Not sure why you need both. But you do lol.
- Wear more rings - allows you to wear more rings than normal. Can be customized - i think i can wear up to 16 rings but not sure. At some point you don’t really need all those extra rings because you can combine them. However it is very easy to change the number of rings you can wear - it’s a slider bar in the mod menu.
- Pause time in multiplayer - allows you to pause the game (works in single player as well). IIRC a majority of the players (both if it’s 2 players) have to agree to pause before it will pause.
- Date night - allows you to choose the probability that you will go on a date with your partner. I recommend setting it very low if you have multiple partners. Otherwise two or more will ask you on a date on the same night and you will make somebody upset.
- Craftable autopetter - allows you to craft an autopetter, which will save you from the tedious task of petting your animals (you can still pet them if you want but they wont be upset if you dont)
- Event limiter - sets the number of events that will happen in a day. I must use this for another mod because i have never configured this one.
- Greenhouse sprinklers - adds an upgrade option to your greenhouse so that you dont have to water everything. I believe there are 2 upgrades but i can’t remember why.
- Show birthdays - this will tell you everyones birthday on a given day on the calendar. Extremely helpful with expansion mods.
- Deluxe grabber redux - allows the grabber to pick up pretty much everything in the area instead of whatever the game limits it to.
- Plant and fertilize all - plant or fertilize the entire area with the press of a button. Extremely helpful if you have a large area you want to do at once. Not helpful if you want to plant multiple types of things.
- PFM automate - this is another automation mod, I’m not sure which one is current so I would look at the one I listed earlier as well.
- Better chests - name, categorizes, change size, carry chests…so many things you can do
- Fruit tree honey - make honey from fruit trees instead of just flowers
- Gift taste helper - hover tip that tells what someones favorite gift is (calendar or social page)
- Skull cavern toggle - change difficulty of the skull cavern. I believe this has been added to the vanilla game since i last updated mine.
- Skull cavern elevator - adds an elevator to the skull cavern. Absolutely required to relieve the stress that is the skull cavern lol. You can thank me later 😂
- Reverse proposal - allows NPC to ask you on a date
- Lockpicks - a purchaseable item that allows you to go into peoples houses in the middle of the night (or whenever else they might be locked). Kinda creepy and i never ended up needing it lol
- Custom music - use your own background music. I got frustrated and removed it bc it turns out i really like the game’s music lol
- Convenient chests - allows you to craft and cook from nearby chests. I think better chests also does this so idk if i actually use both or not. But either way it’s nice to not have to reach into each chest and grab things. Just remember if you use this that it may use something you were trying to save, so keep that in mind.
- Simple crop label - hover tip of what each crop is. Great if you always forget what you planted (especially if you don’t play regularly)
Let me know if I can help in any way :) I hope you find this useful!
Does terraria have a chill mode?
Not sure if you saw this comment above. Looks like there are ways to change the difficulty. I’m not sure that would help me though. The monsters move fast for me.
Oh I knew that at least. I usually turn that all the way up and play on PC. I was thinking more along the lines of Minecraft passive mode or whatever they call it these days. I suppose it wouldn’t make sense in the context of terraria though. Terraria is about the fights.
That’s true. Maybe I should try it on PC. I know a lot of people really like it so I would like to give it a fair shot.
Pixel Dungeon: Roguelike, infinitely replayable. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.watabou.pixeldungeon
Auralux: A simple real time strategy game. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wardrumstudios.auralux
2048: Simple to learn, difficult to master puzzle. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androbros.puzzle2048eng
Or the well-maintained and developed derivative:
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.shatteredpixel.shatteredpixeldungeon/
The first link says not found :( maybe not available in Canada? Seems this one is a good replacement, will try it out? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.shatteredpixel.shatteredpixeldungeon
Other ones say it was made for an old version of Android or incompatible, and can’t be downloaded (I have a pixel 5 with android 14)
Short answer: yes.
Shattered Pixel dungeon is based on pixel dungeon, adds a bunch of new stuff and is reasonably actively developed.
Install from computer:
adb install --bypass-low-target-sdk-block FILENAME.apkhttps://liliputing.com/how-to-install-old-apps-on-android-14/
I’ll second Pixel Dungeon. It’s the only one I’ve played, but it perfectly fits OP’s reqs.
One time purchase:
- Peglin ✨
- Luck be a landlord ✨
- Forager
- Dicey dungeons
- Dead Cells (optional DLC)
- Bloons Tower Defense 6 (out of the way IAP) ✨
- Terraria
- 20 minutes till dawn (has a non premium option with some micro transactions)
Free:
- Antimatter dimensions (long idle-ish game) ✨
- Legends of Runeterra (just play the story modes) ✨
- Team fight tactics (cosmetics only)
- Plague inc (and probably rebel inc, but I haven’t played that yet) ✨
- Super Auto Pets (cosmetics and extra optional sets) ✨
Star on the ones I’d specifically recommend for casual play
You need to make a bulleted list because your lists came out as jumbled paragraphs. At a minimum you need to put two spaces at the end of each line to preserve line breaks.
I’ll fix it since you put in all the effort to write that up.
One time purchase:
- Peglin ✨
- Luck be a landlord ✨
- Forager
- Dicey dungeons
- Dead Cells (optional DLC)
- Bloons Tower Defense 6 (out of the way IAP) ✨
- Terraria
- 20 minutes till dawn (has a non premium option with some micro transactions)
Free:
- Antimatter dimensions (long idle-ish game) ✨
- Legends of Runeterra (just play the story modes) ✨
- Team fight tactics (cosmetics only)
- Plague inc (and probably rebel inc, but I haven’t played that yet) ✨
- Super Auto Pets (cosmetics and extra optional sets) ✨
Star on the ones I’d specifically recommend for casual play
^^ A real Bro!
Had no idea, thanks
Bro, kind and generous.
I reached Challenger on Teamfight Tactics in a couple seasons and I’ve gotta say it honestly gets a bit tiresome how often they change the game. Mortdog and Co do a great job on balance but you just can’t swap from set to set that often and expect things not to break. Plus they like to nerf the things I like the most, and that’s inexcusable.
I also didn’t really care for it as mobile game because you can’t hop in and out, you start a match you need to finish the match and they’re not short. Even the “quick” mode is like fifteen minutes long.
In other words? Great desktop game for people that don’t mind the meta changing entirely every six months. Great “mobile” game if you want to kill no less than thirty minutes.
I didn’t star it for a reason lmao, it’s a good game but not great casually
Games I know of on Android:
- Ganz Schön Clever — Digital adaptation of a board game. It’s like bingo except you roll dice and there’s actual skill involved.
- Knotwords — Crosswords but instead of word clues, each region of the board indicates what letters appear there.
- Threes — 2048 was a ripoff of 1024, and 1024 was a ripoff of Threes. Threes is the OG.
- Sagrada — Digital adaptation of a board game. Build a stained glass window by rolling dice and placing them on your board in the right pattern.
- Simon Tatham’s Puzzles — Big compilation of various puzzle types.
- Handshakes (by Pet Pumpkin) — “Solo co-op” sokoban puzzle where you try to get two guys to shake hands.
- inbento — Assemble lunch boxes by sliding tiles around to match the reference picture.
Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey are excellent
I use Privacy Friendly versions of Sudoku and Minesweeper on the F-Droid store. I also really enjoy Nonograms (aka Picross), and haven’t found a good foss app for it, but the app “nonograms.com” has been a good experience for me. I paid like $5 for the ad free version and that’s been it, nothing else.
I’m using Simon Tatham’s Puzzles for nonograms.
It’s basically this webpage in app form: https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/js/pattern.html
It doesn’t result in a pixel art picture when you solve it, if you care for that, but the solutions do have contiguous regions.
This works for me! Thanks a bunch!
I also enjoy “1010! Klooni” on F-Droid.
Will check it out. Thanks for the suggestion!
I liked egg inc for a while, if you’re looking for clicker type games.
Other than that I can recommend
- Stardew Valley
- Peglin
- Sudoku
- Nanograms
- Dungeon Village 1 & 2
Multiple of these are paid, but I’m 100% on board with paying a small amount for an app rather than paying a multiple of that for in-game Battlepasses and whatevers.
It annoys me a lot to say this, but Netflix has some excellent games in their roster. So if you have a Netflix subscription, check those out. I personally very much enjoyed
- Storyteller
- Into the Breach
But they also have ports of some very good PC games like Spiritfarer, Terra Nil or World of Goo.
Peglin is available for Mobile?? Adios
Any little casual simulators by Kairosoft, the pay to play “full versions” are pretty cheap. Manage a lil apartment building, manage a tiny sushi restaurant, manage a little Japanese village. 8 bit style, very soothing. The free versions are quite limited in scope and cut you off from further progression after a few levels, but no microtransaction reminders, either. The mention of “Dungeon Village” reminded me, is that Kairosoft?
It is indeed
Try searching on https://www.darkpattern.games It seems like a vast collection with reviews aimed at finding and naming healthy and unhealthy games
Thanks for this!
That is an excellent site. Thanks for sharing!
My recommendation l is going back to the basics: chess, especially lichess.org
You can choose a mode however you want, and it may or may not be stressful. Multiplayer with friends or random online people, choose a time between 30 seconds for a game and infinity to move.
If you don’t want to play right now, you can solve tactical exercises.
Mindustry is amazing, and free somehow
Definitely not casual or low stress, especially as you progress through the planet, but a great game nonetheless
Whoops, yeah I skimmed over that part
I had nearly given up looking for good mobile games when I remembered that emulators exist. Nintendo DS games map pretty well to a smart phone, there are some games that use entirely touch controls. I’m using the MelonDS emulator and I’ve mostly been playing advanced wars: days of ruin and puzzle quest 2. Puzzle quest is pretty excellent and chill by the way.
On android, lemuroid is pretty good for this sort of thing and you can change the arrangement of your nds/3ds screens.
@PlzGivHugs Unciv, neat open-source turn-based 4X, obliviously inspired by the Civilization series
Mini metro Mini motorways
I may or may not have opted to ignore the stress part.
YES I really need the sixth circle station in Manhattan thank you
If you like the older Pokemon games and can get the ROMs on your phone, PokeMMO is really cool. It’s an emulator that turns the first 5 generations of games into an MMO where you can take the same character across each region.
There’s a handful of changes to the base game, but most are small: Berry farming is changed, there’s an Exp Share for EVs now, Sweet Scent is used to summon a 1v5 against wild Pokemon… There’s character customization… There’s some QoL stuff like shiny encounters having a sound effect and adding a confirmation box so you don’t accidentally flee, and the stats page for your Pokemon is way more detailed.
The website https://nobsgames.stavros.io/ helps surface these, and let’s you filter out based on different things.
One that I like in particular is Gauguin. It’s a Sudoku-like with different math-y rules.
Anuto TD is a tower defense game that is also really good, but not so low stress.
Lichess, if you’re into Chess. It’s a great, no compromise, high quality app. Stressful if you get too worked up about competitive, but puzzles are at least relaxing.
