12 mobile games that defined my childhood (and maybe yours too)

Summary

Mobile games like “Temple Run” and “Angry Birds” revolutionized the industry with their addictive gameplay.
Physics-based titles such as “Paper Toss” offer simple yet satisfying gameplay experiences.
Puzzle-oriented games like “Cut the Rope” and “Where’s My Water?” challenge players with unique mechanics and levels.

I look back on the day I received my very first smart device with great fondness — it was a 4th generation iPod Touch, and it was gifted to me in the late spring of 2011. After setting it up, I was immediately enamored by the device and its multi-touch display, its access to the App Store, and its skeuomorphic iOS operating system.

While I certainly used my iPod Touch for media consumption, web browsing, and photography, the biggest selling point for me was access to an emerging market of mobile gaming titles. This era saw the rise of all-time classics, and it was also a time before microtransactions, pay-to-win schemes, subscription models, and other inconveniences that have since put a damper on the modern mobile gaming scene.

Here are twelve early-era mobile games that I’ve clocked dozens or even hundreds of hours on, and that hold a special place in my heart to this very day. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that these titles helped play a role in shaping my childhood as a whole.

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1 Paper Toss

Crumpling up paper has never been more satisfying

Paper Toss

Paper Toss is a physics-based touchscreen game that has the player attempt to throw crumpled paper into a wastebasket, with a fan draft tossed in for good measure.

Paper toss is a charming title that has you throwing crumpled pieces of paper into a garbage can. In doing so, you’ll also have to correct for drafts of air flowing from inconveniently placed desk fans. The game makes excellent use of capacitive touch screen tech, which was novel at the time of release; multi-touch was only just beginning to emerge as a staple feature of the mobile smart device experience.

Unfortunately, the developer of Paper Toss closed shop back in 2019, and the game has since been delisted from mobile app stores. Older APK files can still be downloaded from sites like APKMirror, but they won’t work on newer versions of Android due to platform incompatibilities.

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2 Temple Run

One of the original endless runners on mobile

Temple Run

Temple Run is an endless runner-style mobile game that has the player swiping on the touchscreen to avoid obstacles and catch collectibles.

There are plenty of excellent endless runner-style games available on mobile, including the iconic Subway Surfers. That being said, it’s Temple Run that I have the most nostalgia for. The game employs an Indiana Jones-esque theme, and tasks you with avoiding incoming obstacles and collecting items while on the move. To succeed, you’ll need to have quick reflexes in order to swipe in various directions to control the protagonist.

A sequel, Temple Run 2, was later released, which improved on many aspects of the original title. Nonetheless, the original version remains iconic in my eyes, despite its somewhat rough graphical appearance by today’s standards.

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3 Fruit Ninja

Hack and slash your way through a fruit-filled dojo

Fruit Ninja

Fruit Ninja is a mobile game that has the player swipe on the touchscreen to slash at incoming fruit, with the obstacle of avoiding bombs and hitting every fruit that appears on-screen.

Fruit Ninja is an iconic mobile game that has you slashing and swiping on your screen to slice various types of fruit. This quickly becomes a challenge when bombs enter the mix, and as fruit gets thrown on screen at an increasingly fast pace. Fruit Ninja is such a fun title, that it later persuaded me to purchase an iPad in order to experience the title on a bigger display.

Fruit Ninja has received several updates over the years, and the game isn’t quite the same as it was back in its heyday. To experience a faithful representation of the game in its earlier state, check out Fruit Ninja Classic, which is available on mobile app stores.

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4 Jetpack Joyride

2D sidescrollers and endless runners are a match made in heaven

Jetpack Joyride

Jetpack Joyride is a 2D sidescrolling endless runner title that has the player tapping on screen to elevate and lower the protagonist while avoiding incoming obstacles.

Made by the same team as Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride is a 2D endless sidescroller that controls via tapping on screen to control ascent and descent. The game is wacky, with tons of unique power-ups and a compelling art style to boot. While easy enough to get started with, the title quickly becomes challenging and rather addictive.

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5 Plants vs. Zombies

Plants make for a great last line of defense

Plants vs. Zombies

Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense mobile game that has the player defending their home by strategically placing plants on screen to take out zombies.

Plants vs. Zombies is a classic mobile game that has you placing defensive plants on screen to fight against incoming zombie attackers. The gameplay loop is addictive in nature, with strategic elements playing a role in how you go about defending your home terf. Arguably one of the most iconic tower defense games of the 2010s, this game went on to spawn several console spin-offs that, while fun, failed to capture the original’s unique charm.

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6 Doodle Jump

Tilt ‘n’ tumble your way to the ceiling and beyond

Doodle Jump

Doodle Jump is a mobile game that makes use of accelerometer tech, and that has player tilting their device to advance upward through a series of platforms while avoiding enemies.

If I remember correctly, Doodle Jump may have been the very first mobile game I downloaded onto my original iPod Touch 4th generation. Serving as a tech demo for the accelerometer being increasingly built into mobile devices, the game tasks you with tilting your screen back and forth to control the movement of the protagonist. I love the understated aesthetic of Doodle Jump, and the difficulty ramp-up is smooth and well-thought-out.

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7 Crossy Road

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Crossy Road

Crossy Road is a Frogger-style mobile game that has the player advance through an obstacle course by tapping and swiping on screen, avoiding incoming traffic in the process.

Crossy Road isn’t an entirely new concept — its gameplay roots date back to the arcade hit Frogger, which later appeared on home consoles like the Atari 2600. Nevertheless, this modern spin on the gameplay formula is lovingly crafted, with uniquely blocky graphics, a tap-to-move gameplay style that works perfectly on mobile, and an excellent balance between accessibility and challenge factor.

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8 Hill Climb Racing

Wonky physics and tough terrain make driving a blast

Hill Climb Racing

Hill Climb Racing is a physics-based mobile game that has the player attempting to traverse various rocky terrains while keeping tabs on gas level, acceleration, obstacles, and more.

Out of all the mobile games I’ve played over the years, I think I’ve clocked the most total amount of hours into Hill Climb Racing. The game tasks you with controlling a sidescrolling vehicle via dedicated gas and brake pedals, but the challenge lies in the head-scratching physics at play. The game features tons of biomes to traverse through, and some of them (like the moon) rev up the broken physics to 11.

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9 Angry Birds

One of the first breakout hits on mobile

Angry Birds (Red’s First Flight)

Angry Birds is a mobile game in which the player slingshots several powered-up birds, in an attempt to destroy evil pigs and knock down their elaborate structures.

If there ever was a quintessential mobile game, it would be the original Angry Birds. The title has you stretching a catapult using the touch screen in order to send birds hurling across the playing field. Each type of bird has a unique play style and powers of its own, but the goal remains the same: attack the evil green pigs, and knock down their haphazardly built structures in the process.

While a number of spin-off Angry Birds titles are readily available for download, the original game that started it all has been delisted by its publisher. A faithful remake, known as Red’s First Flight, has been made available on the Apple App Store, but it’s currently not listed on the Google Play Store. Rather, you’ll have to head to a site like APKMirror to find the original Android version.

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10 Cut the Rope

Feed Om Nom his candy, one swipe at a time

Cut the Rope

Cut the Rope is a puzzle-oriented mobile title that has the player slash various ropes via the touchscreen in an attempt to feed candy to the protagonist character.

Cut the Rope is a slower-paced title that features more of a puzzle-like game design. The objective is to feed the green monster protagonist candy, which is hung on screen by several ropes at any given time. You have to be strategic in which order you swipe away the rope, in order to ensure that the candy reaches the lovable monster and doesn’t fall off-screen.

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11 Where’s My Water?

The power to control the flow of water is in your hands

Where’s My Water?

Where’s My Water? is a puzzle-style mobile game that asks the player to carve out tunnels in order to manipulate the flow of water and have it drain into a central location.

As with Cut the Rope, Where’s My Water? is more of a puzzle title than an action-based one. The goal is to use your finger to dig a tunnel and thereby manipulate the flow of water on screen. The cute alligator protagonist is in need of water in order to take a bath, but the sequence of events needed to deliver him with the liquid becomes increasingly challenging.

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12 Flappy Bird

The illusive 8-bit sidescroller lives on in infamy

Flappy Bird

Flappy Bird is a mobile game that tasks the player with controlling a pixelated bird through pipe-filled terrain, doing so by tapping on screen and getting familiar with the wonky physics at play.

Flappy Bird was a flash-in-a-pan title — it hit the scene and became an overnight smash hit, only to then be delisted from the App Store not long after. Inspired by the 8-bit graphical style of the mid 1980s, the game tasks you with controlling a pixelated bird as it navigates through tightly packed Super Mario warp pipes. Each tap of the screen translates to a slight upward jolt, making for a learning curve in getting the protagonist to fly smoothly.

Thankfully, it’s still possible to download and install Flappy Bird, albeit not through the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. So long as you have an older Android-based device kicking around, you can download and run the original game via APK Mirror. Alternatively, you can find an open-source clone of the original game over on GitHub, which works like a charm on newer hardware.