When it comes to mobile gaming, it can feel like every game out there is pay-to-win. Sure, there are plenty of great singleplayer games you can play that aren’t pay-to-win (this is often the case when you have to pay for the game in the first place), but since most multiplayer mobile games are free they often end up being pay-to-win. If you want an actual multiplayer gaming experience that comes down to skill rather than who’s spent more money, these are the best mobile games that aren’t pay-to-win. Of course, any mobile game can be easier if you do spend money, but these games give you a fighting chance whether or not you spend any money.
The current picks for the best free games that are not pay-to-win are Pixel Starships and Plato, which are both listed below. For more mobile games worth your time, check out our ever-updating list of great mobile games.
UPDATE: APRIL 2022: I originally published this over 5 years ago and a lot has changed since then. Honestly, I recommend you just look at my 2022 piece on the best free mobile games.
UPDATE: OCTOBER 2019
Gears POP!
A combination between the gameplay of Clash Royale, the world of Gears of War, and the artstyle of Funko POP!, Gears POP! is the best PvP lane game out there right now. While spending money will improve your chances, skilled gameplay still plays a role, so Gears POP! is not pay to win. Also, despite having a classic four chest system, you can unlock multiple chests at a time, so it allows for more gameplay than games that force you to unlock one chest at a time.
Download Gears POP! for Android or iPhone
SkyWeaver
SkyWeaver is an interesting new CCG that’s on the Ethereum blockchain, so cards are accounted for and tracked like physical cards, and can thus be traded. You can play it on your desktop browser, but there’s also a mobile app, which means it’s not designed solely for the mobile market and will therefore not suffer from the same monetization issues. Anyone who likes Hearthstone or games like it should check out SkyWeaver, which aims to be more like a physical CCG than any digital CCG has so far. Of course, physical CCGs are pretty pay to win themselves, but let’s just ignore that for now.
Download SkyWeaver for Android or iPhone
Extra Pick: Tennis Superstars (not free, $1.99, so I’m cheating)
Tennis Superstars is the best tennis game you can play on your phone, despite the fact that you can play it with one hand. The developer made a great game even better when they added multiplayer, and it’s fully skill-based, as there are exactly zero microtransactions in Tennis Superstars. It’s $1.99, but that’s a small price to pay considering this is a full-featured sports game you can keep in your pocket. It’s tough to find a multiplayer match at this point, but if you spread the word we can get this great game the audience it deserves.
Download Tennis Superstars for Android
UPDATE: MARCH/APRIL 2018
Mystera Legacy
Mystera Legacy is a free 2D sandbox MMORPG that you can either play on your smartphone or right in your browser. If you want to hunt to your heart’s content, you can do that. If you want to just build a nice house and tend to your farm and garden, you can do that too. Mystera Legacy is not only one of the best non-pay-to-win games out there, it’s also one of the best mobile MMORPGs I’ve had the pleasure to play. It also has a vibrant community to keep you company.
Download Mystera Legacy for Android or play it on your browser
Plato
Finally, Plato is a chat app that also lets you play a bunch of different games with your friends or strangers all over the world. The best part of Plato is that all the games are completely free, and there are no in-app purchases to be found. In other words, if you just want a trustworthy, classic experience playing something like Chess, Gin Rummy, Scrabble, or other traditional games, you can’t do better than Plato.
Download Plato for Android or iPhone
ORIGINAL SELECTIONS
Star Wars: Force Arena
We’ve been advocates of Star Wars: Force Arena since the beginning here at My Dpad, so we have to kick off this list with the great lane-control game. Force Arena is a great mobile game (and basically a handheld version of Starcraft’s Nexus Wars) that will satisfy Star Wars fans and competitive mobile gamers alike, and it avoids a few of the pitfalls that usually make competitive mobile games pay-to-win. For example, there is no energy/life system, so you can play as much as you want, which is always a good sign that a game is not pay-to-win. If you play enough Star Wars: Force Arena, you can climb your way up the leaderboards without spending any money.
Download Star Wars: Force Arena for free on your iPhone or Android
Pixel Starships
Pixel Starships is not only a killer scifi RPG and one of the best free mobile games around, it’s also one of the least pay-to-win games I’ve ever played. This is because Pixel Starships gives you ample opportunities to earn free premium currency, like ad blimps constantly flying by that you can tap on to watch an ad, or random floating currency that you can claim just by tapping on. You also don’t even really need premium currency that often in the first place. Like Star Wars: Force Arena, if you put a bit of time into Pixel Starships you can quickly become one of the stronger players in the whole game without having to open up your wallet.
Download Pixel Starships for iPhone or Android
Animation Throwdown
Animation Throwdown is definitely a bit more pay-to-win than the first two games on this list, but it is still very accessible to completely free players. Animation Throwdown is basically Hearthstone with cartoons like Futurama, Bob’s Burgers, King of the Hill, American Dad, and Family Guy. Anyways, Animation Throwdown is not that pay-to-win because the game gives you enough free stuff early on that you can build up an impressive deck without spending any money. If you’re smart, you can also save up items that will refill your lives so that you can binge for free when you have time for longer game sessions. As you get to the very top of the leaderboards, the game unfortunately becomes a bit more pay-to-win, but you can get a lot of mileage out of this game before you reach that point.
Download Animation Throwdown for iPhone or Android
Demand better mobile games!
By the way, if you’re on this page you’re probably hoping the world can start making better mobile games. Here at My Dpad, we obviously agree with you, and we’ve made some apparel to support this movement. Voice your opinion while supporting My Dpad with one of these tee shirts/tank tops/long sleeve shirts/hoodies/crewneck sweatshirts/mugs:
If you’re ready to get into a great free game for your smartphone that won’t bleed your wallet dry, one of these should do the trick. I especially recommend Pixel Starships, which is one of my personal favorites. Since these games are free and not pay-to-win, though, just go ahead and give them a try, since you won’t have to spend a dime whether you end up liking the game or not.
AFK Arena, while it does have some things you can purchase, is so easy to learn how to play and level up and get to new chapters, and they reward you for nearly everything you do in the game. Did all your dailies? Here, have gems and coins and leveling material for your heroes! Sorry we took so long on maintenance, here, have a huge amount of gems! Joined a guild? Guild hunts get you huge amounts of armor for your heroes! Honestly literally the only game I’ve never actually deleted.