6 free Android games I always install on every new phone

Aug 5, 2026 — 6:00 AM ET

I love games, whether they’re on mobile or PC. Android games in particular keep me busy during flights or while standing in long queues. As a result, I’ve amassed a collection of favorites over the years that I always install on every new phone I get

There are premium games that deserve your money, but when you have a limited budget, free games come in handy to pass the time. I always make sure to keep these gems in my arsenal so that I have an alternative to doomscrolling social media.

What is the most important aspect of a free Android game for you?

1. Pokémon Go

While you might assume that Pokémon Go isn’t active anymore, it still has a vibrant community going 10 years after its launch. I started playing again in 2025, and although I initially found it a literal pain to play, joining a local community greatly helped with the social aspects.

The game has also undergone some quality-of-life improvements that make it easier to hatch eggs, trade, and level up friendships with other players. In addition to this, frequent events mean that there’s always something to do or work towards. In fact, Go Fest Global 2026 just took place, with it being the first free edition of the event.

The game is completely free to join and play, although there are premium items and passes available. However, if you play your cards right, you can get a healthy amount of in-game currency without spending anything. Many Android games may keep you distracted for an hour or so, but Pokémon Go is an immersive game that keeps you playing and strategizing significantly longer.

2. OneUpPuzzleLite

When I describe OneUp, I call it “Sudoku, but harder.” The puzzle game is challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. Rather than using animations and gamification to keep you engaged, the accomplishment you feel when completing puzzles provides the rush you need.

The app is incredibly lightweight, featuring just the puzzles and rules. Like Sudoku, you need to fill out numbers in their horizontal and vertical rows. However, walls divide these rows into smaller segments that also need to be filled out. The game also includes a timer so you can see how long it takes you to solve a puzzle.

I describe OneUp as Sudoku, but harder. It's a must for logic puzzle fans.

I first got started with these puzzles on the OneUp website but wanted to get in more practice. I found the dedicated mobile app and sunk hours into solving its puzzles. I enjoyed the experience so much that I even ended up buying the premium version of the game, which includes even more puzzles.

3. Dingbats – Between the lines

Dingbats is a game where you use visual word arrangements to guess the phrase it depicts. These are common sayings depicted through visual wordplay. For example, dividing the word “promise” in two illustrates the phrase “broken promise”.

The available letters and slots you need to fill in also give you a clue about the possible phrases depicted in the puzzle. If you get stuck, you can spend coins to reveal a letter to help you out.

Dingbats is the perfect game for people who love language and puns.

While the game may be a bit minimalistic for some, it’s still an engaging time-killer. You need to finish a certain number of puzzles to proceed to the next level, but you don’t have to deal with limited lives or other time-gating.

4. Little Alchemy 2

There is something about the matching and categorizing of Little Alchemy 2 that scratches an itch in my brain that I didn’t know was there. The aim of the game is to mix different objects together to discover more ingredients, and then use those new items to create more.

You start off with a very limited set of items, but your catalog grows with your discoveries. For example, mixing earth and water creates mud. Eventually, your screen is teeming with items and possibilities, making more creative combinations available. My personal favorite is when you unlock the human and animal categories and combine them to create different final items.

There are also countless paths to arrive at the game’s items. On my latest playthrough, I was able to unlock the atomic bomb before I managed to unlock the concept of life.

Little Alchemy 2 keeps you busy for hours as you mix and match ingredients to unlock new items.

The experience is simple yet satisfying, and with over 700 items to unlock in the game, it can also keep you busy for hours.

5. Two Dots

Two Dots is probably one of the first puzzle games that held my attention for a very long time. I think of it as a minimalist take on match games. However, rather than swiveling candy, you need to link up dots vertically and horizontally. As you progress, the mechanics become more complex, introducing different types of dots and obstacles.

With so many boosts available, as you become more skilled at the game, you’ll likely collect enough resources so that you no longer need to watch ads for these boosts. I occasionally watch an ad for an extra life, but there are plenty of in-game bonuses that give you unlimited lives for a short period.

While it has leaned more into ads over time, Two Dots still provides a great free experience.

The game has its main path, as well as limited-time events and challenges to keep you busy. The main path is also updated frequently enough to keep you engaged. It has introduced a game pass. However, I focus on the free benefits. I’ve reached level 4,170 without ever spending a cent on the game.

The downside is that the game has become more monetized over time, meaning that its once optional ads have become more prominent. I used to only encounter these ads if I wanted to gain an in-game item or extra life. However, now ads appear as banners during the game. You also receive full-screen ads occasionally after completing levels. On the bright side, they’re still a lot less frequent than many other mobile games.

6. PlaySimple Cryptogram

Cryptograms are my new favorite type of puzzle games, but finding an app that balances difficulty without overloading you with ads took some time. Eventually, I settled on PlaySimple Cryptogram. Cryptograms essentially require you to decode phrases using a cipher. A few letters are provided, along with their corresponding numbers. You then use these numbers to fill in additional instances of the letters. Eventually, it becomes easier to figure out which words are included in the phrase.

PlaySimple's Crytogram game lets you feel like a code breaker without being interrupted by intrusive ads.

What I like about PlaySimple’s cryptogram app is that it doesn’t autofill all instances of a letter once decoded. I found that apps that did this made the puzzle too easy. It also supports a dark mode, and its ads aren’t intrusive. There is a point in a puzzle where you start figuring out the phrase quickly, but the path to get there is challenging and rewarding.

Wading through the Play Store to find decent Android games can be a time-consuming undertaking. And even when you find good games, they may become worse over time due to monetization strategies. However, these free games always make it into my rotation because of the way they balance features and monetization.