We’ve rounded up some of our favourites here – in no particular order – and happily most of them are free. Just tap on the name and it’ll take you straight to the game in the Appstore. Also check out the essential apps to download on your Fire tablet.
Hill Climb Racing 2
Even better than the original, Hill Climb Racing 2 is a wonderful 2D physics racer. Except, unlike in the original where you had to drive as far as you could along a level, there are now timed races where you compete against other players. It’s not real-time, as it simply uses other players’ times for you to beat, but it’s great fun.
Roblox
Much like Minecraft, millions of players come together to build and play in 3D worlds built by the community. Only your imagination limits what you can create.
Flow Free
This is a puzzler which allows you to make your life as difficult or easy as you like. The aim is to join each pair of coloured dots with lines using all available squares in as few moves as possible. As grid sizes increase and lines are allowed to cross, it becomes more challenging. But as with all good puzzle games, this only makes you want to play it more.
Bad Piggies HD Free
A spin-off from Angry Birds, Bad Piggies stars – unsurprisingly – the pigs from the original series of games. It isn’t the same game at all, though. It’s an addictive and challenging puzzle game in which you have to build a contraption that will get your pig to the end of the level. It’s easy to begin with, but the levels get harder and your contraptions more complex. But this only adds to the fun: the music and cartoonish graphics mean it’s just as compelling for kids as adults.
Threes
£1.26 Threes exploded onto the mobile gaming scene in 2014 where it proved an instant hit and was instantly cloned by others (which called their games 2048). It’s simple to learn the rules but, like chess, tricky to master. As you swipe, the numbers move around, merging pairs (or 1s and 2s) and introducing new tiles to the board. It’s one of those games you’ll end up spending hours playing, making it well worth the small cost.
Jetpack Joyride
Can we call Jetpack Joyride a classic? It originally came out in 2011 and is available on just about every type of mobile device there is, including Fire tablets. It’s an endless side-scroller which has been updated over time to add more interest. The premise is basic: you have a jetpack which you use to move up and down to avoid obstacles including electric zappers and missiles. There are coins to collect en-route and many power-ups to help you get further than ever before. Achievements and challenges keep things interesting, and completing them helps you level up and gain more rewards.
Badland
Another side scroller, although unlike Jetpack Joyride, Badland is more cerebral. There’s still a time element involved, but it’s remarkably involving considering the control mechanism involves nothing more than tapping the screen, just like Jetpack. Your job is to get your creature – a forest dweller – to the end of the level by avoiding all the obstacles. It can become larger or smaller as you pick up more dwellers, and you’ll need to do so to complete certain levels. The graphics and soundtrack are fantastic, too.
Crossy Road
Even if you didn’t play Frogger as a kid, there’s still plenty to like in Crossy Road. It’s more of a time-waster than a game which makes you think, but the ever-changing level designs keep it interesting. The further you get and the more you play, the more coins you’ll accrue to buy new characters. Plus, of course, you can buy more with in-app purchases.
Candy Crush Saga
The differences are more nuanced than that, though. Instead of randomised gems appearing on the board, you get a specifically designed layout for each level and you complete each level to progress through the game. And it is, of course, just as addictive as Bejeweled.
8 Ball Pool
Unlike most of the games here, 8 Ball Pool is a multiplayer game that you play online against a real opponent. And that means you need an internet connection. It’s a great pool game, too, and once you start to get good you’ll win more coins when you beat other players. As well as one-on-one games, you can also play in tournaments where you can win trophies and more coins to buy things, like a new cue, from the shop.
Minecraft
£4.99 No games roundup would be complete without the phenomenon that is Minecraft. And of course it’s available on your Fire tablet. It may cost a fiver, but for the many hours of creative play, it’s well worth it. For the uninitiated, Minecraft is a ‘sandbox’ game with blocky graphics where players have to build their own world and shelter. The latter is needed for the monsters which appear at night. It takes a while to get into, and is at the opposite end of the spectrum to Crossy Road, but it’s just as addictive.
Slither.io
Slither.io is much like the beloved Snake game on old Nokia phones. Except the challenge isn’t to avoid the ‘walls’ around the edges of the screen but other snakes, which are also constantly growing. With great graphics, it’s one of those games you’ll keep coming back to day after day.
Monument Valley II
£4.99 If you haven’t played the original Monument Valley, that is also a great game to check out. If you have, then you must get Monument Valley II. Both games are frustratingly short, but brilliantly executed. You must find a way to get a mother and her child through each level to the ‘exit’. The geometry isn’t always what it seems, and you’ll find they can make impossible journeys, just as in Escher paintings.
The Room
£0.79 The Room is filled with beautiful graphics and tricky puzzles to solve. The aim is to use all of the controls available to you (which you have to find) to figure out how to solve the overall puzzle. If there’s a drawback, it’s that there aren’t that many puzzle to solve. But then you can buy The Room 2 and The Room 3!
Real Racing 3
Of the two big-name mobile racers, we prefer Real Racing. Now on its third iteration, it’s better than ever. And as the name suggests, it uses real cars and real circuits: really it’s a mini Forza or Gran Turismo. The somewhat limited graphical power of the Fire tablets means it doesn’t look as good and on the latest iPad, but you can’t complain about the price: it’s free.
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
