Holiday mode
Don’t jet off on your jollies without one of these top titles on your phone
HOLIDAYS are back, and this month thousands of us are jetting off to sunnier climes to spend some quality time with the family.
And while there’s nothing more relaxing than a week on the beach, it’s nice to have a distraction.
If reading isn’t your thing, you can still feed your gaming fix poolside with some great games on your phone.
Something to bear in mind is that while many of these games are free, that’s because there’s in-app purchases they want to push.
So if you’re planning on letting the kids loose on any of them, make sure you’ve locked down purchasing rights.
Words of caution over, here are some of the best mobile games to download and take away with you.
Roblox (PEGI 7) Android, iOS Price: Free
This game creation system continues to be one of the world’s most popular titles on consoles and mobiles alike.
Roblox allows you to program games and play games created by other users, and while it’s been around for a few years, that just means there is an absolute wealth of content to explore.
The danger with that is occasionally you stumble over stuff that’s more adult in nature, so if younger children want to play this, it’s worth keeping an eye on what they’re doing.
As well as microtransactions to buy items to create your own masterpieces, you can also sell virtual content to earn the site’s virtual currency, known as “Robux”, with a percentage of the revenue from purchases split between the developer and Roblox Corporation.
Brawl Stars (PEGI 7) Android, iOS Price: Free
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this game, from developer Supercell.
It’s been around for a few years now and built itself a solid fan base – and it’s not hard to see why.
This fast-paced 3v3 multiplayer and battle royale allows you to play with friends or solo across a variety of game modes.
The aim is simple, you’re dropped into an arena, where you brawl with the other characters and try to come out on top.
Game modes include one where you have to collect crystals, a bounty mode which sees you tasked with taking down specific targets, and a heist mode where you have to steal your opponents treasures.
Words For A Bird (PEGI 3) Android, iOS Free
Price:
If you want something to keep your mind sharp while you’re away, then this gorgeous little micro-puzzler could be for you.
A cute little bird sits in a tree, posing word puzzles that start easy enough, but quickly turn into head scratchers.
Letters hang from the branches of the tree, while a white box describes the word you are looking for.
Some of the letters are red herrings however, and there is a ‘lightbulb’ button to give you hints when you struggle.
Among Us (PEGI 7) Android, iOS Free
Price: You might not have played this title, but I’m sure you’ve already seen the game’s colourful little armless cartoon astronauts.
Inspired by the party game Mafia and John Carpenter’s sci-fi/horror masterpiece The Thing, Among Us sees you having to decide who is a ‘crewmate’, and who is an ‘imposter’.
At the start of a round, you are randomly assigned the role of either crew or imposter, and then set loose to complete a series of tasks.
Crewmates have to identify and vote out the Impostors, or complete all the tasks they have been set around the map.
For the Impostors, they have to covertly sabotage the mission either by killing the crewmates before they complete the tasks or trigger a disaster that can’t be resolved before the time runs out.
Heaps of colourful, cartoony fun.
Spooky Squashers
(PEGI 3) Android, iOS Price: Free
It’s August, so it’s time to start getting into the Halloween spirit with this cute little arcade game, with
a sporty twist.
This quirky title sees you playing as a pumpkin desperate to escape from a spooky castle built on an old graveyard.
Armed only with a frying pan, a squash ball and a headband, you’ll have to take on the evil chef and his other-worldly minions with your pan-wielding skills.
This title is more fun than it has any right to be.