Busy but love gaming ?

Wouldn't it be better if we could have all the time in the world to just play games? Well, no. There are other really good things out there and life can get busy sometimes but if you want to keep on playing while on a busy schedule, these games are for you:

By:: MMT

TL;DR​

The games were ranked based on quality, length and reliance on In-app purchases or Ads.

We looked at mobile games only. (You're busy and need games on the go)

We played all the games we're about to recommend.

3rd Place: Human Evolution (iOS & Android)

2nd Place: Idle Supermarket Tycoon (iOS & Android)

1st Place: Egg, Inc. (iOS & Android)

Pros and Cons below as well as footage for each game

"Mobile gaming isn't gaming"

First of all, stop that. Seriously. Technology has given us access to incredibly well-designed games in most platforms out there. (Except for that Soulja Boy console) and just like love is love, gaming is gaming.

There's no benefit in doing comparative gaming based on the format. If you enjoy mobile games, good for you! If you play Switch (which could be seen as an oversized phone), Xbone, PS or PC. More power to you. As long as you like games, you're one of my peeps. So please stop it with the "Is not real gaming" nonsense.

Via Giphy

Who's the fairest of them all?

We ranked the games based on the quality of the graphics, the depth of the story and the dynamics of the game itself (i.e. the quality of the game) We also looked at the time needed to progress through the game. We're assuming you are busy so you would want a game that's practical, can run by itself to an extend and is not super addictive. Let's be honest, if you're busy you shouldn't be playing an addictive game. Lastly we looked at the game's reliance on in-app purchases and Ads. That's not to say that there is something wrong with those elements, but rather whether the developers are abusing those tools. We understand that developers need to make money (Especially for free games) so we're not expecting the game to come free with no Ads or incentives for In-App purchases. Each game received a score from 1 to 10 for their: 1. Quality 2. Length 3. Cost It goes without saying that we actually played all the games we're about to mention. At the time of writing, we held no interest on or received any incentives from the studios and or developers related with these games.

3rd Place: Human Evolution (iOS & Android)

This little game caught us by surprise, it has pleasant graphics and runs smoothly on both platforms. It took us off guard because the graphics can seem a bit childish at the beginning but the game is far from it. ​ It flows very nicely and has several progression paths and you are given total freedom to choose your first and next evolution branch. You can spend several weeks playing this game and not get bored.

It does get a bit repetitive after you clear the first planet, but like we said it has different "races" to choose from so you might be doing the same actions repeatedly but the visuals change as you unlock more races and planets, which keeps it interesting. Another aspect that we appreciate is the In-game boosts. You can unlock most of them either by watching ads, completing missions (time-based) or simply by being patient and saving up gems. If you're short on supply in any of those, you can always shell out some cash.

Early Evolution Paths (Game Progression)

Image credit: GaryandCo

The In-game currency are "Crystals". The prices are what you would expect for a mobile game ($2.99 to $26.99 AUD) You also have the option to pay to remove ads. But you don't necessarily need to fork over real cash to enjoy the game to its full extent. We found some of the ads actually led us to decent games so we didn't mind that much either. We cleared the game fairly quickly, but that is mostly because of our obsessive behaviour when it comes to unlocking features. Which takes us to our next point. *Spoilers Alert* The game ended rather abruptly for us. Sort of... The game doesn't have an ending per se. You can keep on playing forever but once you unlock all the planets and evolutionary paths, the grind becomes pointless and we dropped the game shortly after that. Another factor that might work against the game (depending on how busy you are) is that it requires constant interactions to unlock new races. You accrue money as you play the game, but you also need to interact with the "creatures" to unlock new ones. So is not something you can just check once in a while, set-and-forget type of thing. If you want to advance quicker through the game, you can spend gems to buy new creatures or you can watch adds to double your income, increase the "Piggy Bank" money or unlock one creature once in a while. Overall, the ads weren't intrusive and were mostly gaming related. Disclaimer, we work hard to try and minimise ads tracking so you might get a different set of ads. That being said, the number of ads were not excessive or were placed in devious places. The game is free to play and is available on both the Apple store and Google Play. Links further down at the end of the article.

In-Game Boosts supported by Ads

Human Evolution Gameplay Screenshot

Image credit: GaryandCo

Image credit: GaryandCo

This video contains some spoilers

2nd Place: Idle Supermarket tycoon. (iOS & Android)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to open a supermarket in the moon? This game will be as close as you'll ever be to finding out (Unless you work with SpaceX) What we loved the most about Idle Supermarket Tycoon were the graphics; well designed, neat and dynamic. The color palette was great, the supermarket sections were lush with details and colors.

You start the game with a produce stand which you can upgrade to increase income and offer more products. You can also add other departments to your supermarket such as seafood, electronics, jewellery and even a real estate.

The game also has a "piggy bank" feature and you too get to double its earnings by watching adds or using Gems. These beautiful yellow rocks are the in-game currency. Prices are in general steep and push users to opt for the bigger gem packages e.g. AUD 159.99 for 14,000.

Having said that, we were able to unlock 95% of the game through rewards for watching ads or just by grinding the old school way. It is nice that even though there's an option to buy gems, the game isn't Pay to Win.

Image credit: GaryandCo

This game will give you weeks of entertainment and it doesn't require that much interaction. It is ideal if you're remarkably busy and just have time to check on it during your commute or your coffee break. It does get repetitive over time and the grind becomes meaningless once you unlock all the locations; similar to Human Evolution. That's why it only achieved #2 in our list, you can retire this app fairly quickly if you're a dedicated gamer.



Other than that, a fun app with great graphics and game mechanics. Best of all, it is free to play.

Car Dealership Upgraded

One of the unlockable locations

Image credit: GaryandCo

Image credit: GaryandCo

This video contains some spoilers

1st Place: Egg, Inc. (iOS & Android)

At face value, this game seems simplistic. You're a farmer tasked with hatching chickens so they can lay eggs for you to sell. The game has simple graphics but simple in a nice way, not in a Simple Jack way. As you grow your flock, you can upgrade the hen's housing, the shipping depot and do research to improve your farm. The research has two branches Common and Epic. The former is unlocked as you research lower tier items (i.e. you start with 3 tier 1 items to research, once you finish them, you unlock tier 2 items) Epic research is available as soon as you start the game but it uses golden eggs (GE) which is the In-game currency. ​

Egg, Inc. Farm Snapshot

You can get through most of the game without epic research, but it does make life waaaay easier. It is also important to note that your piggybank grows every time you research something. Our recommendation is to build up yours to something close to 1M GE before cracking it. Just to ensure you have enough to research all the epic skills. The game is engaging and is constantly updated, which is what we liked the most. Even if you researched all the eggs (of which there's plenty) "Contracts" get released from time to time.

Image credit: GaryandCo

These are co-op multiplayer events that offer rewards for reaching 3 different output goals. There are some very generous old school players out there. If you are just getting started but would like to take on as many contracts as you can then head to Discord or Reddit to find co-op codes to join or to share yours. The community for this game is very active despite being close to 3 years old. Another nice touch is that the game gives you the option to turn off ads. That also means you won't be able to double your income or to get special rewards for watching ads. Nevertheless, an extremely kind gesture by the developers given that this game is free to download.

The developers of Egg Inc, Auxbrain, are also the legends behind Zombie Highway 1 and 2. If you have some time to kill, we definitely recommend you check those games out too. ​ In general, this is a hugely entertaining game with ok graphics, addicting but not so much that you need to play it all the time. The developers give you the option not to see ads, in a free to play game. That on itself for a game of this caliber is huge. They also have a great track record following ZH1 & 2.

We strongly recommend that you either break your piggybank or buy the silo permit to step up your game and more importantly to support the Developers.

Co-Op Contracts

Image credit: GaryandCo

Paid Silo Upgrade

Image credit: GaryandCo

This video contains some spoilers