We all appreciate a big-budget PC or console game, but the beauty of the modern world is that we always have a tiny gaming device in our pocket or purse too. Mobile games carry a different appeal than traditional TV or monitor games, emphasizing the importance of quick, compelling gameplay that can also sustain itself long-term if needed. It’s a careful balancing act that requires a lot of artistry and craft, and these are the best mobile games of 2025 that we felt struck that sweet spot.
Our favorite mobile games are an ideal way to spend a few minutes on the go, whether you’re waiting in line for a coffee order or stuck at an airport for hours. As with all of our best of 2025 lists, anything from the past year is eligible for inclusion, along with live-service games that have remained based on the strength of their continued updates over the past year. And for even more of this year’s best, check out our picks for the 10 best games of 2025.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Cygames, the studio behind the hugely successful Granblue Fantasy mobile game, has finally created the one thing that may put an end to the horse racing industry. What if you could continue to have the satisfying thrill of watching horses race around a track with zero cruelty? And what if those horses were anime girls?
Umamusume puts you in the shoes of an anime horse girl trainer at the prestigious Tracen Academy. Via a gacha game loop, you’ll train, entertain, and nurture Uma–horse girls emboldened with the spirit of real-life racehorses–overseeing their ambitions of reaching the loftiest heights of the URA Finale competition. At the culmination of each stage of the league, there’s an adorable music performance from the winning Uma.
Each Uma’s story and goals differ–Vodka wants to win the Japanese Derby after being motivated by her father, and she’ll only accomplish that if you train her properly, landing you with a sense of responsibility. Deny Vodka her dreams? Unthinkable. You’re limited by a set number of turns, the stamina your Uma has, and a series of ailments that require spending turns in order to remedy them.
Umamusume is a gacha game, but calling it such almost discredits it. The voice acting, animations, music, and mechanics are all exemplary, but it’s the adrenaline rush from the hyped-up commentators observing a nail-bitingly close race that makes Umamusume a must-play, even if you’re not one for gacha games. — Cheri Faulkner
Puzzmo
Puzzmo is not a new game in 2025, though the release of a dedicated mobile app certainly makes it more convenient to play. What makes Puzzmo every bit as good as (or better than) any other mobile game released this year is both the continued rollout of tantalizing new daily puzzles and challenges for its existing games, and the addition of new things to do–namely, Circuits.
Circuits is a word game in which you fill in the blanks with a single word that connects two or more adjacent tiles, so that each two-tile combo functions as a known phrase. For instance, “all else being [blank]” and “[blank] sign” can be answered with “equal” to satisfy both expressions. “Equal” then becomes part of the next blank spot for you to fill in, and that connects to the next, which might need to satisfy a phrase in four different directions. It can be a lot to wrap your head around, as you come up with a word that works in one or two but not all directions, forcing you to continue digging for that correct alternative that eludes you.
Were Circuits released on its own, it could have made this list–it’s a great way to spend 30 seconds (or 10 minutes, depending on how well your mind grapes are working) each day. Packaged within the greater Puzzmo ecosystem, which continues to grow and encompasses daily versions of some of the best mobile games ever (like SpellTower and Really Bad Chess), it makes for a game that demands a permanent slot on your phone or tablet’s home screen. — Chris Pereira
Spooky Express
Spooky Express is a puzzle game in which you lay the tracks for a train that must navigate a small stage, picking up passengers (usually monsters) and delivering them where they need to go. It sounds simple, and initially it is, but the increasing complexity–such as humans who can be converted into vampires, limited passenger capacity, monster-specific drop-off points, and an inability to traverse the same tile twice–makes it an exceedingly challenging game as you progress further.
Although it’s available elsewhere, mobile is an ideal platform for the bite-sized levels. Provided you can come up with the solution, levels can be completed quickly, though expect to end up wracking your brain for longer and longer as you reach higher levels. The action is well-suited to a touchscreen, and the size of each map fits nicely even on a phone screen. And throughout, the escalating challenge leads to some wonderful moments of clarity. You piece together different failed attempts and begin to think the level is impossible, and that the developer has surely made a mistake with a puzzle that can’t be solved. That eventually gives way to a feeling that is a mixture of exasperation, incredulity, and relief–but mostly satisfaction and a desire to see how this simple formula can be further remixed in the next level. — Chris Pereira
Is This Seat Taken?
A relatable awkward social situation is the core of this clever puzzler. A group of adorable little shape-based characters are looking to share a space like a movie theater, a bus, or a classroom, and your job is to handle the seating arrangements. But to make them all happy, you’ll need to carefully note their preferences.
One person might not like strong smells, so make sure they’re sitting far away from the one who needs a shower. Another wants to sit near their backpack or their parent. One might get too cold near an open window, or too warm near a heater. Another might want to take a little nap, which can be a problem when others are gregarious and talkative. And on and on.
Juggling all of these preferences to make everybody satisfied with their seats takes a lot of trial and error, but it’s supremely satisfying when you’ve finally found the perfect arrangement and you hit the done button, watching all the pips pile up with happy people. Stages can be completed in just a few minutes, making it ideal for puzzling on the go. — Steve Watts
Fortnite
For a game that’s reinvented itself as many times as Fortnite already has since 2018, it’s incredible that the well of transformative new ideas still hasn’t run dry. In 2025, Fortnite returned to iOS around the world, and with it came one heck of a new game mode that launched it into the discussion of the year’s best mobile games.
Fortnite Blitz Royale is Fortnite battle royale, condensed to five minutes at a time. You’ll drop into a new, much smaller map built for 32 players, the storm is almost always pushing you toward the center–encouraging conflict with other players–and before your lunch is done microwaving in the work break room, the round has ended. It’s a brilliant idea, allowing the new and returning pool of mobile players to enjoy Fortnite’s premier mode in a way that’s conducive to the small breaks in one’s daily routine–bus rides, train trips, maybe even on the toilet for a round or two.
Fortnite Blitz Royale debuted as a limited-time mode, but it’s since been made a seemingly permanent staple, and it’s already received many new updates, including an all-Stranger Things map, as well as a newer one meant to tie into the ongoing Chapter 7 Season 1’s West Coast theme. It looks like Blitz is here to stay, which means there’s yet another route for Fortnite to take in its constant quest to stay on top of video games forever. — Mark Delaney
