Best Android Apps

6. Best Games

Ready for some real fun? In addition to the utility of its more “serious” applications, the Android operating system has quickly become a serious gaming platform, offering a wide selection of quality games in any genre you can think of. This chapter showcases the most addictive time-wasters available in the Android market.

Warm up with simple games to test the speed of your thumbs, and move on to fast-paced matching games with balls, jewels, and tiles. Volley back and forth with basement favorites like air hockey and ping pong. Play multiplayer marbles with online friends, or roll a marble through a labyrinth.

Race to victory or to the death with highly graphical 3D racing games that take advantage of your phone’s built-in accelerometer to steer cars, light cycles, and futuristic hovercrafts. And of course, get behind your guns in the best first-person shooter.

If you’re in a retro mood, go back in time with a Nintendo emulator, classic tower defense scenarios, and role-playing games. Finally, challenge your mental ability with games that require strategy or smarts, from cards and board games to word games and brain testers. And then? Get back to work.