These days, mobile gaming is dominated by games that require you to be online and limit your playtime with energy systems that want ever increasing amounts of money from you. This means that most smartphone games are bad for long flights, if they even let you play without internet access at all. Luckily, there are some great options out there. These are the 10 (technically 13) best mobile games to play when you’re stuck on a plane for a while.
The Battle of Polytopia
The Battle of Polytopia is a great civilization-like strategy game that you can play offline for hours. It’s free, but you can pay extra for different tribes with perks (you can also unlock these through gameplay, or with Google Play Pass). If you like turn-based strategy games, this is a must-play.
Download The Battle of Polytopia for iPhone or Android for free, and unlock all in-app purchases with Google Play Pass
The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout
The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout is the mobile version of the second The Escapists game. In Pocket Breakout you’ll be tasked with escaping from increasingly more secure prisons. Before you can break out, though, you have to follow the daily routine enough to not raise any suspicion, and you have to make enough friends to get the tools you need to break out. That, or you can just beat them up and rob them. Anyways, if you want an offline prison RPG you can play in airplane mode, this is right up your alley.
Buy The Escapists 2: Pocket Breakout for iPhone or Android for $6.99
Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition is a stripped-down version of the latest mainline entry in the Final Fantasy series. It’s the same story, but with cute, simple graphics and a dumbed-down battle system. You can’t ride around in the car wherever you want, but besides that it captures the magic of Final Fantasy XV in a mobile package. You can play offline, and it doesn’t have the most convenient saving system for short sessions, but it’s perfect for long sessions on a flight.
Download Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition for iPhone or Android for free to start, then buy the rest of the game for $19.99
Game Dev Tycoon
Game Dev Tycoon is exactly what it sounds like, a simulation game that lets you run your own game studio while taking a trip through the history of games. Game Dev Tycoon can be played entirely offline (like every game listed here), and a single save file can last you hours. If you want to get meta while stuck on a plane, this is the game for you.
Buy Game Dev Tycoon for iPhone or Android for $4.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Pocket City
Pocket City is one of the only straightforward city builders on smartphone that will not constantly ask you to spend money on microtransactions. It has a good campaign that will take you a while to get through, but also has a full-featured sandbox mode if you’d prefer to do your own thing. Pocket City is a great option for long offline sessions on an airplane.
Buy Pocket City for iPhone or Android for $4.99
Download Pocket City Free for Android for free
Rollercoaster Tycoon
Rollercoaster Tycoon is still one of the best simulation games of all time, even though it came out two decades ago. There have been multiple cash grab versions of it that have come out on mobile, but this right here is the real deal. If you want to play an all-time classic tycoon game right on your smartphone, this is the choice for you. You can get hours and hours from all the different scenarios included here.
Buy RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic for iPhone or Android for $5.99
The Sorcery! Series
The Sorcery! series are digital versions of some great gamebooks by Steve Jackson, the creator of Munchkin. Instead of bringing four choose-your-own adventure books with you on a plane, you can just download these games, and then your phone will have all the entertainment you need. Whether you want to do some old-school medieval fencing or you just want to gamble all your money away in prison, the Sorcery! series has your back.
Buy Sorcery! for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Buy Sorcery! 2 for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Buy Sorcery! 3 for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Buy Sorcery! 4 for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Ticket to Earth
Ticket to Earth might just be the best mobile game out there. It was a great game when it’s launched, and each extra chapter they’ve added has only made it better. It’s a unique puzzle RPG that is perfectly suited for mobile play, and the depth and variety within the game makes it a great choice for long play sessions.
Buy Ticket to Earth for iPhone or Android for $4.99
Stardew Valley
If you love Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon, you have to try Stardew Valley. The mobile version is just as good as the main version, it just doesn’t have multiplayer. However, this probably won’t matter for you if you’re looking to play it solo on a plane. This is one of the best farming/life simulations ever made, and it’s a perfect game to have on your smartphone at all times, but especially when you need some offline entertainment.
Download Stardew Valley for iPhone or Android for $7.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Finally, the closest thing to a full console experience on this list is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. This game shows its age compared to modern AAA RPGs, but it’s still pretty much unparalleled when it comes to smartphone RPGs. If you want a game you can play for hours on the flight and then continue for hours after that, this is the game for you.
Buy Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for iPhone or Android for $9.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
When you’re looking for mobile games to play during a long flight, you need games you can play offline with no life/energy restrictions. All of the games on this list fulfill these requirements. No matter which one you pick, I hope it makes your plane ride go by that much quicker.
