Mobile games have always been a fun way to pass the time since being added to phones. They haveevolved drasticallyover the years with the rise of technology and are on almost any device like smartphones and tablets. Some of the biggest game crazes have come from mobile games likeCandy CrushandPokemon Go.
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While trends in gaming can go on for a while, some tend to die down quicker than others. We have even seen games that hold the number one spot get completely taken down from the app stores. While there are many great mobile games on the market, there are quite a few that no longer have the player base they once did.
10Words With Friends
Many mobile games are based on popularboard or party games. One of them isWords With Friendswhich is similar to the classic board game Scrabble.
In this game, players try to create words based on letters on the board and the tiles they have.
What made this game stand apart was the ability to be able to play your next turn whenever you wanted. Turns were saved and up to 40 games could be played simultaneously.
Words With Friends was released in 2009 and was one of the top-ranking games. In 2017 a sequel to the game came out and took over as one of the most popular games in the United States.
9Doodle Jump
Doodle Jump is a perfectly designed game for you to spend numerous hours playing without getting tired or because you’re trying to beat your previous runs. Playing as an adorable little character known as The Doodler, your entire mission of the game is to jump from never-ending platforms.
The game does come to an end if you die by falling off the platform to the bottom of the screen, jumping on a monster, being sucked into a black hole, or being abducted by a UFO. There are a series of items that can help you accelerate up the platforms like rockets or trampolines, but anything can happen in the game.
It was originally made as a platformer but released on iOS in 2009. You can play versions of the original game, but some features are left out and have since been replaced by the sequel Doodle Jump 2.
8Crossy Road
Games like Frogger paved the way for other games to hop on the market like the popular arcade title Crossy Road. This retro-feeling game brings back the task of making your way between obstacles such as rivers, train tracks, and busy roads.
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You can pick between different characters who go on an endless adventure of crossings roads to see how far you can get. The game was so popular when it was released in 2014 that it spawned two spin-off games.
Its spin-off Disney Crossy Road shut down in 2020, but you find a giant version of the game in arcades.
7Draw Something
Thebrowser gameturned mobile game Draw Something was a hit for many different reasons. It was a fun game where you tried to guess what the other person was drawing.
This two-player game gives the player a word and the play must then draw it and wait for the other one to guess it.
When the game was released in 2012 it topped the charts with 20 million downloads. It caught the attention ofZynga, a well-known name in the gaming community, and saw its peak of 15 million active players.
A sequel known as Draw Something 2 was released in 2013 and as of December 2020, the original game was no longer available in the App Store.
6Jetpack Joyride
Jetpack Joyride was one of the big endless side-scrolling games that captivated mobile gamers for its entertaining gameplay. The controls were also simplistic which added to the appeal of the game for many.
You touch the screen and the character’s jetpack turns on and if you let go of the screen the jetpack turns off.
There were many obstacles in the game to avoid and coming into contact with them would cause an instant death. Zappers, missiles, and laser beams were the main obstacles you needed to overcome while trying to collect coins.
Its sequel was announced and pulled from App Stores in 2022.
5Plants Vs. Zombies
Plants vs. Zombiesis a massive series that spawned six different titles, comics, and a card game due to the popularity and success of the first game. This tower defense game saw you using plants to defend your character from a zombie invasion.
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The game’s popularity delivered a sequel title, Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time after many issues halted the release of it. Complications wouldn’t stop there for other planned releases in the series and a canceled movie adaptation.
While the series has continued, the original game can still be played on the app store and a variation of it in arcades, but later releases seem to be heavily favored.
4Geometry Dash
Most mobile games are usuallycasual and relaxingand can be played without much frustration, however, Geometry Dash was not one of those games. This game was fun and also downright challenging at times which only added to its popularity.
The object of the game is to get your icon over obstacles like a spike or a wall and finish the level. If you touch on the obstacles then you must start over.
That doesn’t seem too hard but the levels' difficulty progresses through each level completion, and there are other difficulties to choose from it the main 21 levels weren’t hard enough. The game spawned three spin-offs with the latest one being in 2017.
3Fruit Ninja
At one time we all watched someone aggressively swiping their finger over their phone or tablet screen and wondered what they were doing. Most likely that person was playing Fruit Ninja which became one of the biggest games in the world.
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This game threw fruits up randomly and your job was to swipe at them cutting them into pieces, but there’s more to it. The more fruit you slice in one strike you gained a better score, but you needed to be careful of the bombs placed in the fruit because swiping one of them ends the game.
Fruit Ninja was released in 2010 and had many ports for different devices.
2Angry Birds
Angry Birdsis one of the biggest franchises in the world with multiple games, movies, shows, toys, food, and merchandise. It’s not hard to see why when the game was all that anyone could talk about.
This puzzle game launched the birds into pigs which built structures around them. The gameplay was simple enough, find where you want to launch the different birds and watch them crash the structures with different abilities or hit TNT to destroy the structure.
It was entertaining, funny, and even competitive when trying to outdo your highest score. Just make sure to use destroy every pig before using your last bird otherwise the game is over.
Quitea few spin-offswere made for the game and the original became known as Angry Birds Classic.
1Flappy Bird
Many games became a hit for their simplistic yet captivating gameplay and one of those games just happens to be Flappy Bird. The game was released in 2013 but didn’t see its rise in popularity until 2014.
The game follows a small bird trying to navigate through pipes and if it touches the ground the game is over.
While it received mixed reviews between critics and players, the game was without a doubt a huge success. Many who played the game called it addicting trying to maneuver through the game.
In February 2014 the creator of Flappy Bird, Dong Nguyen, announced he would be removing the game from the app stores due to its addictive nature. He promised he would never release it but has since released a revised version of the game for theAmazonAppstore.
Many have recreated the game, but none will ever hold a place in mobile gaming history like the original Flappy Bird.
