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Android Games | As
Android phones and tablets have increased in popularity, the number of apps available for the platform has rocketed.
And that means more
free Android games. There's a lot of junk out there but, fortunately, there are
android games among the junk.
We've worked our way through a whole load of
Android games to reveal the ones you should download to your phone.
So without delay, here is our pick of the
best free Android games news available. and you can see
android versions
Angry Birds
The amazingly popular iOS game moved to Android a while ago, earning over two million downloads during its first weekend of availability.
For free. Angry Birds for Android was first available to download from app store GetJar but is now available through Google Play.
Red Stone
There's an awful lot of square-shuffling games on Android and Red Stone is one of the best. It's hard to accurately describe a puzzle game in the written word, but seriously, it's a good game.
Angry Birds Star Wars
The Angry physics phenomenon took a turn for the weird late in 2012, with Rovio acquiring the rights to blend Star Wars characters with its popular Angry Birds play mechanics. Angry Birds Star Wars is actually pretty nice, with players using Star Wars weaponry to smash down scenery alongside the usual destructive physics action.
Drop
Some might call Drop a game, others might classify it as a tech demo that illustrates the accuracy of the Android platform's accelerometer, thanks to how playing it simply involves tilting your phone while making a little bouncy ball falls between gaps in the platforms.
Frozen Bubble
Another key theme of the independent Android gaming scene is (ports of) clones of popular titles. Like Frozen Bubble, which is based around the ancient and many-times-copied concept of firing gems up a screen to make little groups of similarly coloured clusters.
Replica Island
Replica Island is an extremely polished platform game that pulls off the shock result of being very playable on an Android trackball. Then there's jumping, bottom-bouncing, collecting and all the other usual platform formalities.
The game itself has you micro-managing the raw materials you find, upgrading your digging powers and buying bigger and better tools and maps. Looks great, plays well on Android's limited button array.
ConnecToo
Another coloured-square-based puzzle game, only ConnecToo has you joining them up.
Titres
Once you're successfully rewired your brain's 25 years of playing Tetris in a certain way with certain buttons and got used to tapping the screen to rotate your blocks, it's... Tetris.
If you're good at it, it's a superb Tetris clone. UPDATE: While Titres seems to have been removed from Google Play, there's now an official Tetris app available to download.
Trap!
You draw lines to box in moving spheres, gaining points for cordoning off chunks of the screen.
Jewels
Coloured gems again, and this time your job is to switch pairs to make larger groups which then disappear.
Abduction!
is a sweet little platform jumping game, presented in a similarly quirky and hand-drawn style as the super-fashionable Doodle Jump. You can't argue with cute cows and penguins with parachutes, or a game that's easy to play with one hand thanks to its super accessible accelerometer controls.
Air Control
One of the other common themes on the Android gaming scene is clones of games based around pretending to be an air traffic controller, where you guide planes to landing strips with a swish of your finger.
GalaxIR
GalaxIR is a futuristic strategy game with an abstract look, where players micro-manage an attacking alien fleet. There's not much structure to the game as yet, but that's what you get when you're on the bleeding-edge of free, independent Android gaming development.
Graviturn
Graviturn is an accelerometer based maze game, where the aim is to roll a red ball out of a maze by tilting your phone around. Seems embarrassingly easy at first, until increasing numbers of green balls appear on screen. If any green balls roll off the screen you die and have to try again. The Google Play stats say this is on well over 1,000,000 downloads, so it's doing something right.
Dropwords
Dropwords is laid out like your standard Android block-based puzzle game, the difference here is we're not dealing with gems - you make blocks disappear by spelling out words from the jumbled heap of letters. We're having trouble locating this on Google Play at time of writing - either a glitch or the inevitable legal troubles.
UPDATE: Tetronimo seems to have been removed from Google Play, but there's now an official Tetris app available to download.
Wordfeud
Wordfeud is a superb little clone of Scrabble, with a big, clear screen and online play options that actually work. The game's been offered for free with some hefty advertising over it thanks to the developer being based in Norway - which only received paid-for app sales support recently. A paid version may arrive soon, but Wordfeud remains free right now.
Friction Mobile
Friction Mobile is a very odd concept that makes no sense in still images. You fire a ball into the screen, then try to hit that ball with other balls until it explodes. Sounds rubbish, but works well.
Geared
Geared is a weird little thing finally converted over to Android from iPhone. Then, as is video game tradition, it gets harder and harder.
Meganoid
A stunning little retro game, Meganoid plays and looks like something that ought to be running on a Nintendo emulator. It's a speed-based challenge, using on-screen or accelerometer controls to jump and bounce through ever-hardening levels. 33. Cordy
A standard and traditional platform game. Cordy is a speed-based affair, with players running, jumping and collecting their way through its pretty green levels, using an electrical cable to jump, swing over obstacles and grab energy. Uses on-screen buttons so can be a bit tough to play, but comes with 12 free levels to get you going.
Angry Birds Rio
Yet more Angry Birds for fans of the simplistic trial and error physics game. Angry Birds Rio is another chapter-based effort as well, with developer Rovio leaving tempting empty slots on the menu screen for periodic updates of new levels. 35. Grave Defense Holidays
As with Angry Birds, the maker of this superb tower defence game has spun out a separate version it fills with seasonal levels. Recently updated with an Easter map, this free version of the game also includes Valentine, Christmas and St Patrick's Day themed maps.
Words with Friends Free
The popular iPhone Scrabble-alike is now on Android, with an ad-supported version up on Google Play for free. Words with Friends Free should actually be called Words for People Without Any Friends, as once installed it lets users play with complete strangers online - or pick specific people from your contacts list. It's turn-based, so several ongoing games can be strung out for days.
Angry Birds Friends
It's Angry Birds business as usual; only with Angry Birds Friends you get a social-themed makeover that adds challenges, Facebook integration galore and scoreboard tools to make the simple physics game more of a multiplayer experience.
Beats, Advanced Rhythm Game
A standard rhythm action, button pressing music game for Android. Beats manages to outdo the official music games by including a Download Song tab, where it's possible to install new song files created by users. Runs perfectly on an HTC Desire, too, so there's no blaming glitches for not doing very well.
Pinball Deluxe
Pinball Deluxe is an actually decent pinball sim for Android, and it's free. It's ad-supported. You play the part of a gentleman, out for an evening walk. Very simple, but a perfect little high score challenge game for the touchscreen era.
Colosseum Heroes
Publisher Gamevil takes a break from churning out the role-playing games to give dumb action a go here.
Stardash Free
Developer Orange Pixel has a knack of creating excellent retro titles, with Stardash a fine example.
Designed to look like a Game Boy game from before many of you younger readers were born, Stardash is clearly a bit of a Mario homage - but it's done exceptionally well and is endlessly replayable. If you like it, and you probably will, there's an alternate paid version that removes the adverts.
Scramble With Friends Free
Zynga's latest puzzler Scramble With Friends Free is technically a free game, but in order to get the most out of it and play as it's meant to be played you'll need to use the in-app purchasing system to buy "tokens" to let you access games quicker. As with many of today's Android titles, there's the option to pay for stuff within the game to unlock features and remove ads - but you don't have to.
Stick Cricket
Stick Cricket is a fantastically simple little game that reduces cricket to its core values - you just smash every ball as hard as you can.
Draw Something Free
Draw Something Free is the new phenomenon that's taking the world by storm (at the time of writing, at least). Syncs with Facebook, too, for easy cross-platform play. If you like the free trial, there's a paid accompaniment with more content.
Fragger
The popular web-based Flash game Fragger is now on Android. It's pretty much a clone of Angry Birds, mind, offering simple physics-based challenges based around chucking grenades all over the place to make stuff blow up. Super Bit Dash is a retro-style 2D platform game, with controls as simple as its pixel art design. The game runs at a constant pace, so all the player has to do is jump and super-special-jump at the right time in order to avoid smashing into the scenery.
Chrono&Cash Free
Chrono&Cash Free is very hard and sweet little one-screen platform game, where players jump about collecting bags of cash while avoiding enemies. Looks cool, is a tiny download and a great laugh to play.
Autumn Walk
A weird little gem, Autumn Walk sees players controlling a man and his dog as they stroll through a Victorian park landscape. It's basically a high score challenge, to see how long you can stand the weird experience.
Meganoid 2
Meganoid 2 is an insanely difficult 2D scrolling platform game, once again presented in developer Orange Pixel's awesome pixel art style. Might be your favourite game of the year. Close call.
Pitfall
Developer Activision has updated one of its oldest and most fondly remembered classics, turning the ancient platform game into a posh, 3D infinite running thing. Bad Piggies is a clever building game, which dumps you at the beginning of a big map with a pile of component parts. A really nice, original little idea from the physics game specialists.
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