Latest entries - 22 April, 2025:
- Fractal Space βοΈ - Puzzle
Other recent entries
-
Orzmic (itch.io) - Rhythm
-
Satryn (itch.io) - Shooter
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Octo Blast - Shooter
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To arms!! βοΈ - Deck builder
-
Drill Down β οΈ βοΈ (itch.io) - Management
-
Techmino (GitHub) β οΈ - Puzzle
-
AAAAXY β οΈ (F-droid or Play Store) - Puzzle
-
osu!(lazer) β οΈ (official website) - Rhythm
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Forge β οΈ (GitHub) - Deck builder
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Anuto TD β οΈ (F-droid) - Tower defense
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Minesweeper - Antimine β οΈ (F-droid) - Puzzle
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Zoysii - Logic game β οΈ (F-droid) - Puzzle
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2048 (Privacy Friendly) β οΈ (F-droid) - Puzzle
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Lato β οΈ (F-droid) - Casual
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Flowit β οΈ (F-droid) - Puzzle
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Dungeon Squire - Roguelike dungeon crawler
Introduction
(scroll down for the actual list)
I recently realized there are still, to this day, some actual "hidden gems" in the Play Store. Not the fake ones everyone talks about which, in a way or another, often have a catch or aren't very "hidden". I mean free games with no ads or IAPs of any kind that are fun to play.
So I was thinking maybe it's time to compile a list of them. Please suggest the ones you've found and enjoyed!
Edit: I'm now including free games (no piracy) from other sources beside the Play Store (which will be specified within brackets), such as github or F-droid. If they're also FOSS, like all F-droid games, they'll have this green checkmark β
οΈ. For the games that have both F-droid and Play Store versions, the green checkmark is for the F-droid version.
I won't try them all as I did with my premium games list, because you could simply download and try them for yourself without spending a dime. I'll simply list them.
βΌοΈAlso, please do checkout MiniReview - Game Reviews for more free games that match the following criteria (use the "Browse" tab and select the correct filters). The same app for iOS - App Store - is here.βΌοΈ
I've saved this post so to keep it updated over time, for my own reference and for your benefit. So feel free to save it and check out new entries every so often.
Entry Criteria
- FREE
- NO ADS
- STRICTLY NO IAPs (except donation buttons, but I'll have to check first)
- NO PIRACY
- it has to be a legit, full game you've played and liked. No demos, no emulators (everyone knows RetroArch anyways)
- no entire repositories. You can recommend them in the comments if you really want, but this list is for games you'd like to recommend
- if it's a Play Store game, it should be compatible with the latest Android version at the time of entry
- must include a link to the game, especially if from sources outside the Play Store. Not direct-download links, just links to the page
- sketchy sources won't be considered. Play Store, GitHub, and F-droid are welcome
[If you want to recommend paid games, without ads or predatory microtransactions, here is the list for you.]
THE LIST
Β
Legend
β οΈ - FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software)
βοΈ - includes option to donate, with or without minimal cosmetics only
~~[Game title]~~ - delisted
Β
Shooter
-
Satryn (itch.io)
-
PewPew Live (from MiniReview top chart)
Β
Stealth
Β
Platformer
Β
Rhythm
-
Orzmic (itch.io)
-
osu!(lazer) β οΈ (official website or GitHub)
Β
Arcade
Β
RPG
Β
Roguelike dungeon crawler
-
Shuttered Pixel Dungeon β οΈ (F-droid)
-
Shattered Pixel Dungeon βοΈ
-
Skillful Pixel Dungeon βοΈ
Β
Deck builder
Β
Adventure
Β
Puzzle
-
Fractal Space βοΈ (first-person puzzle, great story)
-
Techmino (GitHub) β οΈ (tetris clone)
-
AAAAXY β οΈ (F-droid or Play Store)
-
Minesweeper - Antimine β οΈ (F-droid)
-
Zoysii - Logic game β οΈ (F-droid)
-
2048 (Privacy Friendly) β οΈ (F-droid)
-
Flowit β οΈ (F-droid)
-
Gauguin β οΈ (F-droid or Play Store)
-
Simon Tatham's Puzzles β οΈ (F-droid or Play Store)
Β
Tower defense
- Anuto TD β οΈ (F-droid)
Β
Strategy
-
Unciv β οΈ (F-droid or Play Store)
Β
Management
-
Drill Down β οΈ βοΈ (itch.io)
-
Mindustry β οΈ (F-droid or Play Store)
Β
Racing
Β
Simulation
Β
Casual
-
Lato β οΈ (F-droid)
Β
Visual novel
-
one night, hot springs βοΈ
-
Magical Witch Bell βοΈ
-
Tomato Clinic βοΈ
-
tong jyun βοΈ
Β
Delisted or outdated
-
~~SuperTux (platformer)~~
-
~~SuperTux Classic (platformer)~~
-
~~Bad Trip (platformer)~~
-
Dribble (outdated platformer)
-
~~Phigros (rhythm)~~
-
~~Lofi Ping Pong (rhythm)~~
-
~~Code challenges and puzzles (puzzle)~~
-
~~Rocket League Sideswipe (sport/competition)~~
-
~~Butterfly Soup βοΈ (visual novel)~~
-
~~Butterfly Soup 2 (visual novel)~~
Β
Happy gaming ;)
ps: please let me know if there's any wrong information about the games included in this list (especially regarding the ones with free donations) so that I'll fix the post, if necessary.