By Back in the day, mobile gaming used to be nothing but pure joy.
Before greedy microtransactions, pay-to-elements, and gambling mechanics ruined games, we played games to unlock new levels and see how far we could progress. Those were the good old days.
This is way before Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox took over every mobile platform. I’m talking about the OG mobile games that we all played and remember to this day.
In this post, you can take a walk down memory lane to rediscover some of those popular and best mobile games from the good old days. See if you’ve played all of them.
1. Temple Run
In the early days, I wasn’t able to afford a smartphone. But I was obsessed with mobile games. So, one of the first things I did when I got hold of a smartphone, whether it was a family member or a friend, was to check if it had Temple Run.
Temple Run was the first iconic mobile game that everyone, and I mean everyone in the entire world, knew about. It quickly became the benchmarking tool for smartphones as well. If you can run it smoothly, then we knew it was a good phone.
This game also gave birth to the endless-runner genre on mobile platforms. Temple Run and now Temple Run 2 are not as popular as they used to be, but it’s a game that will forever be remembered as the GOAT!
2. Candy Crush
I wasn’t as much of a fan of Candy Crush as most other smartphone users, but I knew how addictive this game can be. In fact, there were people who went as far as to steal thousands of dollars from disabled people to spend on Candy Crush.
Candy Crush was popular for a reason. It had the perfect combination of bright visuals, sounds, and the match-three mechanics that instantly deliver dopamine hits that no one could resist.
Some mobile gamers are still addicted to Candy Crush Saga to this day. Come to think of it, this was an evil game that destroyed lives. But we can’t deny the fact that Candy Crush is the game that everyone was addicted to at some point.
3. Angry Birds
I used to love playing Angry Birds. It was one of the first few apps I installed on my first few smartphones.
The original Angry Birds game is no longer available on official platforms. Only Angry Birds 2 is available right now. The original game was much more lightweight and fun to play. It had the same joyful gameplay experience of smashing into piggies, without all the MTX and ads.
The quality of Angry Birds games deteriorated with each new title release. The last game I remember playing was Angry Birds Star Wars. It was fun but felt kind of unnecessary. Nevertheless, Angry Birds itself is an iconic game that deserves a top spot on every mobile games list.
4. Fruit Ninja
Who doesn’t love slicing fruit on their phone, right? Nobody even thought of that before this game came along.
Fruit Ninja was an instant sensation among all mobile users. It was the most addictive thing before TikTok. The main concept and the gameplay is basically slicing fruit with your finger. I know it sounds dumb, but it was pretty addictive.
Fruit Ninja was much more popular among older smartphone users, and you’d be surprised to find this game still installed on some of your grandma’s phones.
5. Subway Surfers
Right after the Temple Run sensation, many other developers flocked to take advantage of that new mobile game genre. A lot of Temple Run clones came along and never survived. Only one that survived and thrived was Subway Surfers.
Subway Surfers took the original concept of Temple Run’s endless run gameplay loop and did something fun and creative with it. And they made a brilliant move to make the game appeal to kids.
Thanks to that idea, Subway Surfers is still one of the most popular games on mobile platforms.
6. Clash of Clans
It didn’t take long for Clash of Clans to take over the world of phones with its fun strategy game mechanics and addictive gameplay.
Building and upgrading a town from scratch while attacking other players’ villages was so much fun. But things got way too serious due to its massive popularity.
Nowadays, there are even Clash of Clans leagues and competitive tournaments where teams compete for huge prizes. It’s no longer just a mobile game; it’s a global sensation.
In fact, as a result of this popularity, some players maintain multiple accounts and even use websites that sell Clash of Clans accounts to get a head start and advance faster in the game.
7. Jetpack Joyride
I would give anything to go back in time to play Jetpack Joyride for the first time again.
This game has everything that you need to keep coming back for more. I especially loved its jetpack upgrades that allow you to continue to grind to earn more coins to buy the upgrades.
I spent countless hours in this game. Unfortunately, the game hasn’t been updated in a while, and it feels outdated now.
8. Doodle Jump
At one point, I hated how popular this game really was. Everywhere I went, I saw people playing this game on their phones.
The Doodle Jump craze started off with its stupidly simple gameplay mechanic: you just jump up to reach higher and higher. That’s it! But it was weirdly satisfying to keep going up.
The game is fun, but as it got more popular, the developers started adding very weird and unnecessary content to it that made the game less fun to play.
9. Cut the Rope
Cut the Rope was one of the first few puzzle games I ever played on a phone. This game actually made puzzles feel more fun to solve.
The goal of the game is to help Omnom, the adorable character, get its candy. In each level, the task becomes tougher.
Much like other mobile games, there were several titles in the Cut the Rope series and it’s still popular among many gamers.
10. Words With Friends
We can’t forget about Words With Friends when talking about popular mobile games. This game became a sensation in the early days, especially thanks to its marketing campaigns through movies and TV shows.
Words With Friends is a fun and interactive game that you can play together with your friends or even strangers online. It’s sort of like an online multiplayer version of Scrabble.
Even though the concept sounded boring, this game was much more popular among mobile users as it challenged their thinking skills.
11. PUBG
Even though PUBG was not among the OGs of mobile games, it is still one of the most popular mobile games that brought the battle royale genre to mobile platforms.
PUBG started its journey on PC and changed the world of gaming with its unique last man standing theme. Today, its mobile port is actually more popular than the PC version.
Over the years, PUBG received so many updates and weird-looking skins, making the game feel a bit too bloated and gimmicky. But players still enjoy it.
12. Pokemon Go
When Pokemon Go first launched, it was credited for bringing gamers outside from their homes. This was among the first augmented reality mobile games ever made.
Pokemon Go allows players to explore their real-world environments to catch and train monsters hiding in their neighborhoods and even around the city using their phone.
At the time (in 2016), this was a highly innovative gameplay system. Sometimes, we saw gamers running around the streets with their phones, wreaking havoc, and it was not a pleasant experience for most folks.
