Even in the modern age of constant internet connection, there are times when you simply can’t connect to the wifi. Whether you’re traveling, too far from civilization or you just want to disconnect, don’t worry, there’s still some games out there to keep you entertained even when there’s no signal.
As someone who spends a lot of time 30,000 feet up in the air, I’ve become pretty good at finding offline games to occupy my time when flying and I’m not one for gatekeeping, so I’m going to share those I’ve found with you.
1. Plague Inc
There’s no two ways about it: Plague Inc is the perfect game to play when you’re stressed out from traveling and would love to watch the world fall to pieces around you, even though you wouldn’t wish harm on anyone, realistically speaking.
In case you’ve not played before, the aim of Plague Inc is to create a deadly illness and eradicate life on Earth through adding contagious symptoms and transmission methods. This game can admittedly be pretty dark, but if you’d rather be the hero and save the world from a bacterial or viral threat, you can play Cure mode and race the infection to, well, cure the afflicted.
2. Dumb Ways To Die
Dumb Ways To Die is a phenomenon which began as a clever advertising campaign, reminding people to stay safe around trains, for Metro in Melbourne way back in 2012. Now there are 11 Dumb games in total, but the first remains the most entertaining for long play sessions.
The aim of Dumb Ways To Die is to, well, avoid dying a particularly dumb death. Whether you’re helping a bean avoid being eaten by a bear because they’re poking the beast with a stick, or helping a different bean avoid having their unmentionables bitten off because they decided to use them as piranha bait, there’s no denying that Dumb Ways To Die is still a hilarious and bizarre way to pass the time between Wi-Fi connections.
3. Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley is an amazing time killer regardless of which platform you choose to play on. You can spend hours clearing your farm, building friendships and exploring the world around you. One benefit of playing on mobile is that you can take it wherever you go, and you don’t need an internet connection to progress your story.
One amazing thing about Stardew Valley is that if you’re logged into the Google Play Store or App Store on more than one device, you only need to pay for it once. Once you’ve purchased it, you can install it on as many devices as you like. Sadly, your save files won’t transfer onto other devices, but this does mean that you can do things in different ways, like going the Joja route. Heathen.
4. Fallout Shelter
If you love Fallout and have always wanted to be the Overseer of a Vault, then Fallout Shelter is the perfect game to kill some time while in waiting rooms or flying through the skies. Control your own Vault, build it however you like and even perform your own experiments if you want, there’s no limit to what you can do to your Vault dwellers. You can send them out on expeditions to explore the wastes, give them jobs within the Vault, and you even get to name their many, many children.
There are a host of familiar faces within Fallout Shelter, with the most recent additions being characters from the TV series, including Lucy and The Ghoul.
5. Papers, Please
Papers, Please, the border-control phenomenon by Lucas Pope, was released on PC back in 2013 and if you’ve ever wanted to take it with you, it’s available on both Android and iOS. I have to admit, it’s ironic to play Papers, Please while waiting in line at TSA, but it definitely helps to pass the time.
While the gameplay doesn’t feel quite as smooth as it does on PC because you have to keep switching between documents, the story, characters, and now-iconic sounds of Papers, Please are all very much present in the mobile version.
6. Crossy Road
As someone who grew up in the ’90s, I’m pretty familiar with Frogger. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that I’m pretty good at the traffic jumping game. However, Crossy Road seems to exist purely to prove me wrong and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve ended up splattered against the side of a lorry because I misjudged the timing of a jump.
You start the game with a chicken whose only aim is to cross the road, although you don’t get any answers as to why, sadly. Progressing through the game rewards coins which can be spent on other animals and maps to navigate. During my travels between the US and UK, my Crossy Road skill has come on in leaps and bounds. (I’ll see myself out.)
7. Two Dots
If you’re not up for the stress of avoiding traffic, don’t want to end the world, or simply want to relax, Two Dots is probably the best choice on this list. It’s a simple game of connecting the dots in straight lines (but not diagonally) to clear levels. You can spend hours trying to beat your own personal best score on any level, attempting to beat a level using as few moves as possible and, if you get bored of joining the dots, there are other things on offer in Two Dots as well, such as painting challenges.
One of the huge plus sides to Two Dots is the colorblind mode, for those who struggle to tell the colors of the dots apart. The accessibility option puts symbols onto each dot, allowing you to differentiate between them even if the colors are hard to tell apart.
8. Best Fiends
In the same vein as Two Dots, Best Fiends is a matching game which goes one step further and allows you to connect items diagonally. Through clearing botanical themed items, you help the bugs take down the evil slugs, and each bug has their own corresponding color. Clearing items of this color allows the bugs to do more damage to the slugs. You can also upgrade your Fiends and unlock new ones, including some epic Fiends, along the way.
You only have limited moves per level and running out of moves means losing a life, but lives regenerate at a rate of one every twenty minutes so even if you do lose one, you’ll get it back soon enough. There’s nothing more satisfying than creating a huge chain of items before quickly jumping to the end of a level to take down the big, bad slug boss.
9. Pocket City 2
If you like city building games, I cannot recommend Pocket City 2 enough. The possibilities are endless and you can build anything from a small town to a huge, sprawling metropolis. If you’re traveling through cities, you can take inspiration from the things you see to design your own dream location, become the all-powerful ruler of your domain and build up the population.
Not only do you get to build your city, but once you’ve placed down a few buildings, you can enter free-roaming mode and explore the city from the perspective of a resident.
10. Once Upon a Tower
If you’ve got an image in your head of a defenseless princess, locked in a tower, waiting for a prince to rescue her from the terrible dragon holding her captive, then think again. Once Upon a Tower sees you playing as the princess herself, who wields a sledgehammer and uses it to descend the tower through breakable floors.
You’ll also use your sledgehammer to defeat enemies on the way down and collect fireflies, which accumulate over time and can be exchanged for rewards. It’s very easy to make mistakes in Once Upon a Tower, but you can always start again and begin smashing your way through the levels.
