Like many people, you’ve got a daily commute that drags on and gets very boring. You need to kill time and go off into your own little world, which is where the magic of mobile gaming comes in handy.
We’re lucky to have so many amazing smartphones these days with incredible capabilities. The new iPhone 15 is technically powerful enough to be a mini gaming console, though it still has plenty of fun (and free) mobile games you can play every morning on your commute to work. We’ve picked out some of the best options to try – some of our choices are generalized games while others are specific titles. See them all below:
Any “-dle” game
You remember Wordle, right? It bloomed in popularity last year but has tapered off a bit since. As a result of its fame, we saw a spawn of other games ending in dle, which we have coined “-dle” games. Some of these include:
- Worldle
- Quordle
- Dordle
- Filmdle
They all follow the same concept as Wordle in that you get six tries to guess something. It could be a country on a map, four words instead of one, a film, or any number of things depending on which game you choose. All of these ideas are available online for free, so pick whichever ones you like to fill up your daily commute.
Marvel Snap
We could’ve listed loads of mobile card collection games here, but Marvel Snap stands out enough to be mentioned on its own. You can download it for free and start building decks of different Marvel heroes. The more you play, the more cards you unlock, meaning you can build better decks.
What do you do with your decks? You fight other players online, battling it out by using different cards and their energy/power levels to see who wins. These games are really short so they’re super easy to play and you can get through a fair few during your morning commute. When you win, you gain more XP to unlock better cards that improve your deck.
It’s very easy to play, super addictive, and you don’t have to spend a penny on anything to win. This is a rarity for a lot of mobile games like this – they usually have pay-to-win formulas where spending money gives you better cards. Ultimately, that’s one of the many reasons we singled out Marvel Snap.
Solitaire
You honestly can’t go wrong with solitaire. It’s one of those games you forget about, but the moment you start playing it sucks you in. There are so many varieties of this game to play, but freecell is probably one of the most popular. You need to try and match suits in descending order from Ace to King, but there are rules on how you can move the cards.
That’s pretty much the goal of any solitaire game, though each one has slightly different rules. The best thing is, solitaire is almost always free. You can download various apps on your phone to play these games or search for solitaire online. These games are so easy to kill time with as you get lost in the strategy.
Also, if you do manage to win a game while on your commute, you can start again and try to beat your time. The replayability means it’s something you can keep playing day after day without getting bored – which is the perfect formula for a daily commute game!
Pokemon Go
In truth, we’ve not seen a game like Pokemon Go since it was released. Cast your mind back a few years and you’ll remember the world going mad for this game. Just check out the clip below of people all running in a park to try and catch the same Pokemon.
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We’ve never seen a game do this before, and the way that Pokemon Go blended gaming with the real world was amazing. Popularity isn’t quite what it once was, yet the game remains extremely fun to play. It’s the type of game you can open up while on the bus or train and see what Pokemon are nearby. Click on rare ones or ones you don’t have in your collection and try to catch them. It’s super addictive – and if you have any gyms on your route to work, you can fight them too!
Plus, thanks to the way the game plays, it’s one of the few games you can play while walking. Those of you with a long walk to work can pass the time by catching a few Pokemon on the way.
Tetris
Tetris is a classic game that’s widely available on mobile devices. You can either play the official Tetris mobile app or choose one of the off-brand ones. They’re usually called something similar or have “puzzle block game” in the name.
Regardless, this style of game is so good when you want to pass the time. Tetris has amazing replayability and is completely timeless. The worst thing about it is getting close to your high score and realizing the train is stopping. Sometimes you toy with the idea of going an extra stop and being late for work, just to see if you can beat your best record.
Don’t actually do that, it was a joke. Pause the game and go back to it on the way home – or sneakily try to keep playing at your desk!
Crossword Puzzles
You really can’t go wrong with a crossword puzzle. Again, like all games on this list, you can play them for free. Various apps exist with crossword puzzles, and there’s even the popular NY Times Mini Crossword. This is a fun one because it’s small and relatively quick to do. Plus, there’s a new one every day so you can try to keep up your streak and do it faster every day.
There are other daily crosswords you can find for free online too – just search for them in Google and try them out. The cool thing about crossword puzzles is that you get better at them the more you do. You also learn a lot of new information, which can be used to wow people at work or college.
Brain Trainers
Finally, you will find loads of free brain trainer games on the App Store or Google Play. These games are designed to test your brain with loads of different puzzles, brain teasers, logic tests, and so on.
Most of them work on a level basis, so you have to solve one puzzle to move on to the next. If you have a very long commute, this is a proper time killer – you can spend well over an hour trying to figure out solutions in these games, they are super fun.
There’s a fantastic collection of free mobile games to try here, meaning your daily commute will never be boring again. Pick whatever type of game you like the sound of the most – or download a few and move through them all. They don’t have to be played on your commute as well; feel free to try them out whenever you have time to kill. Maybe you’re in a waiting room trying to pass the time or you’re waiting for dinner to cook. Whatever the scenario, these games stop the boredom from creeping in and sending you to sleep.
