15 best puzzle games for Android

Puzzle games used to be a simple genre with a simple idea. You solve puzzles for time-killing enjoyment. However, the genre ballooned in a big way on mobile. It’s one of the most popular genres on the entire platform. It started with simple viral games like 2048 and evolved into genuinely enjoyable experiences like Monument Valley.

These days, you can find some seriously good puzzle games on Android in terms of both graphics and gameplay. Gone are the days of super simple mechanics and graphics with goofy ideas, with intense and complex apps with creative stories and good graphics. This list changes fast as new puzzle champions emerge. Here are the best puzzle games for Android.

We’d like to give an honorable mention to Bridge Constructor Portal (Google Play). It hasn’t been updated since 2021, but it’s still one of the best puzzle games.

The best puzzle games for Android

Baba Is You

Price: $6.99

Baba Is You is one of the more interesting puzzle games on Android. The graphics aren’t all that special, but its low-fi style helps the developers do all sorts of wonky things. The game lets you change the rules of the game itself by moving around programming blocks. You use these programming blocks to change the rules in such a way that you solve the puzzle. Each change has interactions with the other changes to create all kinds of unexpected reactions.

It’s truly one of the most unique puzzle games, right up there with ones like Monument Valley. This should be more popular than it is.

The Eyes of Ara

Price: $4.99

The Eyes of Ara is one of the newer puzzle games on the list. It reminds us a lot of classic puzzle-adventure games like Myst. Players explore a world looking for clues, unlocking secrets, and gathering the story from snippets found in the game world. It plays in a 3D world with exploration and surprisingly decent graphics. The developers round out the experience with achievements, support for about a dozen languages, and a minimal game UI that puts the game world first and foremost. There isn’t a whole lot wrong with this one, but the controls are occasionally wonky.

Hitman GO

Price: $5.99

Hitman GO is a puzzle game where you plan assassinations. It’s a turn-based game. You select your move and the NPCs take theirs. You use their movements against them as you infiltrate the area and take out your targets. The goal is to take them out without arousing any suspicion. The diorama-style graphics work well here, and there are multiple ways to solve many of the puzzles. You also get things like disguises to get past guards. We like this one because it’s a premium game, it feels good to play, and the difficulty scaling is pretty good.

Linelight

Price: $1.99

Linelight is a puzzle game where you navigate a level to its end while avoiding the other colored lights. The game boasts over 200 puzzles across six worlds. The graphics won’t win any awards, but we think the game still looks nice. The only control is movement so you move along the lines, avoid the other lights, and make your way through each level. There is a storyline to play through as well, although it is a little basic. Despite its Google Play description, you do need to time your movements well, and it’s not all that relaxing of an experience. It’s cheap, the puzzles are fun, and there are no in-app purchases to get in the way.

The same developer also made Lara Croft GO (Google Play), a similar diorama-style puzzler to Tomb Raider’s protagonist.

Linia Super

Price: Free

Linia Super is another minimal puzzle game, and this one is the second game in the Linia franchise. It boasts over 200 levels with varying levels of difficulty. The game itself is pretty simple. You use rhythm and timing to draw lines and hit the various shapes that the game tells you to hit. You can play any chapter at your leisure, so there’s non-linear progression. It’s another free-to-play game with plenty of levels and good puzzle mechanics.

Machinarium

Price: Free demo / $1.99

Machinarium is one of the classic mobile puzzle games. You play the role of Josef, a robot trying to save his girlfriend from a gang of bad robots. You traverse the game world, solve puzzles, and progress the story until you reach the end. We like this game. The graphics fit well with the atmosphere, and the puzzles are abstract enough to feel fun, although you may need to look at the hint book more often than you’d like. The game also features achievements and cloud saves. It’s not the longest game on the list, but it’s worth its price tag. The developer, Amanita Design, has some other good puzzle games on Android as well.

Monument Valley 1 and 2

Price: $3.99 each

Monument Valley 1 and 2 are some of the most popular puzzle games on mobile. They use MC Escher-inspired puzzle mechanics. You twist and turn portions of the level to progress. The games aren’t difficult. They boast a more relaxing experience rather than a challenging one. The Monument Valley games do look fantastic, though. The art style is definitely to be applauded. The first game includes a handful of levels along with the Forgotten Shores DLC ($1.99 extra). The second game is a bit longer but not by much. These are classics.

One Hand Clapping

Price: $9.99

One Hand Clapping is one of the more unique puzzle games on this list. It’s a puzzle platformer where you jump around and progress the game as usual. However, the main mechanic when solving puzzles is your voice. You sing into the game to do things like build bridges, raise platforms, and do other things. We’re suckers for unique game mechanics like this. The game also features controller support for the platformer portion of the game. It’s cutesy, and it’s fun to play since you’re using your voice as well as your fingers to solve puzzles. We think the game is a tad expensive for what you get, and that’s probably our only real gripe with it.

Papers, Please

Price: $4.99

Papers, Please is a simulation-puzzle game. You play the role of an immigration officer and your role is to check the passports of the incoming flow of people from Kolechia into Arstotzkan. You’ll need to check each passport for factual accuracy and deny those with fraudulent passports. You earn money for your family for each person you let through, but if you let the wrong person through, bad things happen and it’s your fault. The game is a little stressful at times but in a satisfying way. You’ll need to pay attention and memorize a few things to do well. This was out on PC a long time ago, but the Android version officially launched in 2022.

The Past Within

Price: $2.99

The Past Within is a cooperative multiplayer puzzle game. One person plays in the future and the other in the past. You use clues from each other’s eras to solve puzzles. Both players experience their side of the game uniquely, so there is some replay value if you want to play the past and also the future. It’s also cross-platform with PC, Mac, iOS, and eventually, the Nintendo Switch as well. The game is rather short at only about two or three hours. However, you do have to play the game twice to see everything, so four to six hours overall. It’s entertaining, and one of the few good cooperative puzzle games on Android.

Quadline

Price: Free 

Quadline is our third minimal-style puzzle game on this list. Players move the environment around until the desired effect is achieved. For instance, one side of a box may have a thicker line. Your goal is to move that thicker line somewhere where it achieves some sort of symmetry. The earlier levels are pretty simple, but these puzzles get pretty complicated later. The game boasts over 175 levels, no timers, a dark mode, a colorblind mode, and more. There also isn’t any text so some controls you’ll need to figure out on your own.

The Room series

Price: $0.99 / $1.99 / $3.99 / $4.99

The Room franchise is one of the oldest and most successful puzzle game franchises on mobile. There are four games in the series at the time of this writing. The first two are classic puzzle games. You figure out puzzles to progress until you finish the game. The third game in the series introduced multiple endings and a slightly heavier narrative. Finally, the most recent game, New Sins, takes place in a dollhouse.

All four games have some similar elements, including outstanding graphics, escape room elements, and clever puzzle designs. They are also fairly short games. However, the inclusion of multiple endings gives the later titles some replay value. These are classics in the puzzle game space on mobile and are must-plays for puzzle fans. The games range from $0.99 to $4.99 each. They also don’t need to be played in sequential order, so you can pick which one you want.

Slayaway Camp: Free 2 Slay

Price: Free 

Slayaway Camp: Free 2 Slay is a horror puzzle game. You play the role of SkullFace, a slasher movie villain, who is intent on slaughtering everyone in his path. That’s basically what you do. You progress through levels by slaying everybody. The simple, blocky graphics take a lot of the intensity out of the violence, but even so, this isn’t a game we recommend for kids. There are also some extras like a mini-game, multiple killers to unlock, and more. 

Vodobanka

Price: Free / $2.49

Vodobanka is one of the more unique puzzle games on Android. The player takes control of a SWAT team. The goal is to breach a structure and get the hostile people before they execute the hostages. It has a bunch of levels, including some added as recently as 2021. It doesn’t have the best graphics, but the concept is pretty neat as players clear rooms on their way to the objective. The premium version is also inexpensive with most of the content being available in the free version.

Zenge

Price: $0.99

Zenge is a relaxing puzzle game with simple graphics, but good mechanics. Your goal is to complete each puzzle, most of which are geometric. The completed puzzles tell a story that you progress the game to see. The developers wanted this to be a relaxing experience. Thus, players experience no stars, tutorials, energy counters, or anything like that. You just pop in, play the game, and stop when you’re done. It’s certainly not the longest game, but it’s still pretty good.

If we missed any of the best puzzle games for Android, tell us about them in the comments. You can also check out our most recent app and game lists by clicking here.