March came and went, bringing most of America some pretty unpredictable weather. Some mornings Mother Nature decided to tease us with the taste of spring, flaunting sunlight and warmth around us as we awoke in surprise. We foolishly began to hope that spring had finally arrived; that our many months of cold and dreary torment had truly ended. The next day almost always brought misfortune, with angry thunderstorms or frigid winds greeting us. March has been unpredictable regarding weather, but the same can also be said for March’s new mobile games. Every day I played new games, ranging from laughably poor to wonderfully entertaining. Since I can’t pick out all of March’s fair-weather days and deliver them directly to you, showcasing the best of March’s mobile games will have to do. Mobile games are a lot cooler than making weather small talk, anyway.

10. SwipeRogue

SwipeRogue is a vertical roguelike RPG that features charming pixel art graphics and retro music. The game offers a unique streamlined gameplay style by letting players navigate their hero through 5×7 grid levels using simple swipe controls. Swipe up, and the character moves up one square. Swipe right, and the character moves right. Swipe left, and…well, you get the picture. Don’t let the game’s straightforward mechanics fool you. SwipeRogue offers a surprising level of depth. Every movement the character makes consumes food, and defeating the monsters and animals requires collecting weapons. Resource management is a critical element of SwipeRogue, and it turns a game of adventure and combat into a game of strategy. Players can use the gold they collect from killing enemies to upgrade skills and generally enhance their characters.

This is my favorite sort of mobile game, in that it is perfectly suitable for its handheld medium. SwipeRogue is clearly designed with the player’s convenience in mind, making it incredibly easy to pick up, play, put down, and pick up again, all without any disorientation. This is the kind of mobile game that is ideal for playing while you chat with a friend, wait in doctor’s office, or even sit on a toilet. The best part is that it manages not to compromise its fantastical adventure-like feel in the name of simplicity. You still get to control a magical hero, fight bad guys, and escape in the nick of time.

SwipeRogue is available for free on iOS and Android devices.

9. Pondlife – Relaxing Fish Game

Pondlife is a relaxing simulation game that immerses players in a rich underwater environment. Players are welcomed by an adorable otter, who encourages them to hatch fish eggs and feed baby fish to adulthood. From there the player collects new fish types, from Ember Tetras and Rummy-nose Tetras to amphibians like the Spring Peeper and even rare plant life. The game is simultaneously fun and educational, taking moments every now and then to deliver interesting trivia about the aquatic life players collect.  As they progress, players discover and unlock additional pond environments and decorations with varying aesthetics. This makes each player’s pond unique and reflective of their individual preferences. 

Playing this game filled me with an almost immediate sense of calm. Its muted shades of green and blue in combination with the game’s gentle music and water-warped sound effects all work together to create a sense of serene seclusion. Thats not to say that the player is alone in the game, by any means. Pondlife is full of splashes of color and movement in the form of fishes and flowing plant-life. Through it all, the player has a cheerful otter companion who wears a pretty flower behind her ear. I enjoyed watching her and the other aquatic life explore my little pond, moving when I tapped in their direction and swimming eagerly toward food. It provided me with the same sense of quiet curiosity I feel when I watch a fish tank in real life. It’s a private world full of different lifeforms existing in tangent, and the player gets to hold it all in the palm of their hand.

Pondlife – Relaxing Fish Game is available for free on iOS and Android devices.

8. Possessions: Puzzle Vistas

Possessions: Puzzle Vistas is a colorful minimalist 3D puzzle game that has players manipulate the perspectives of various rooms in order to align objects correctly within specific environments. It utilizes spatial awareness and visual perception in a fun and challenging manner, all while conveying a heartfelt story about a young family and their personal highs and lows. Each level in Possessions features one or multiple objects that float in the air, from tennis-shoes to television sets. The player is challenged with aligning these objects to their correct position by rotating the scene until the locate a precise location. When all of the objects are placed properly and subsequently held in place, a cohesive environment comes together, and the narrative is pushed forward.

Possessions is one of those games that instantly captured my attention and got me hooked. There is something so satisfying about its minimalist 3d environments and getting to move everything with the flick of a finger. Everything ends up where it needs to be, and it’s all because the player is able to manipulate the environments. Have you ever wanted to move a chair slightly to the right or pull a window closer to you without moving at all? With this game, you can. Perspective is a superpower that you wield, and in doing so you get to experience a narrative that ranges from heartwarming to emotionally crushing as it progresses.

Possessions: Puzzle Vistas is available on iOS devices as a free trial, with a one-time in-app purchase of $4.99 to unlock the full game.

7. Backyard Baseball ’97

Originally released in 1997, Backyard Baseball ’97 is the mobile remastered version of a cult classic that transports its players back in time in the best possible way. This version of the 90’s game stays true to the original in nearly every way, featuring classic gameplay modes like pick-up games, full seasons, and batting practice. In the game’s story mode, players are tasked with gathering a team of neighborhood kids with which to compete in backyard-style baseball games. All of the possible players are unique characters with quirky personalities and special abilities. In addition to selecting every member of their team, players also get to customize team names, colors, and set their own specific rules. The actual gameplay is surprisingly intuitive, involving real-time batting and pitching mechanics.

This game is truly an homage to 90’s kids, and I was all for it. Playing Backyard Baseball ’97 is the perfect nostalgia trip, and it brought me right back to my childhood when I was quite literally playing baseball in my backyard. When you’re a competitive kid playing with other competitive kids, the emotions quickly get intense. Scraped knees and grass-stained jeans are a small price to pay for victory, and this game captures that feeling of pure motivation perfectly.

Backyard Baseball ’97 is available on iOS and Android devices for $4.99.

6. PBJ – The Musical

​PBJ – The Musical is a beautiful handcrafted musical game that recreates Shakespeare’s classic, Romeo and Juliet, with a few unusual changes. The game presents itself as a musical, telling a story that the player is able to participate in, guiding the characters along through their inevitable destiny. The narrative centers around Peanut Boy and Strawberry Girl, are both dissatisfied with the fates allotted to them as sweet and salty snacks. They each work to escape their worlds, tragically longing for each other’s destiny. The narrative unfolds over ten acts, featuring delightfully quirky songs composed and performed by Lorraine Bowen, a former guest on Britain’s Got Talent. The game’s artwork is formed from real-life paper collages, including images from eclectic source materials like vintage cookbooks and antiquated manuals.

Words cannot describe how this experience made me feel. Words cannot properly describe this mobile game at all. Its absurdly beautiful art, adorable voice acting, quirky characters, and comically tragic plotline all join together to make something special, much like peanut butter and jelly combine to make the glorious ​PB&J. I would have listed this game higher if it weren’t for the fact that its narrative is admittedly brief. It does have replay potential in a unique sense, however, as remixes of various songs can be unlocked while playing and accessed later.

PBJ – The Musical is available on iOS devices for $3.99.

5. Quilts and Cats of Calico

​Quilts and Cats of Calico is a mobile adaptation of an actual award-winning boardgame called Calico. This digital version combines strategic puzzle elements with adorable cats who often interact directly with game’s pieces. As with Calico, Quilts and Cats of Calico has players aim to compete to make the most attractive looking and high-scoring quilt by placing hexagonal fabric patches in strategic locations. This involves matching colors and patterns to attract cats to specific areas of said quilts. The game’s multiplayer mode offers cross-platform play between real players, friends or otherwise. What makes ​Quilts and Cats of Calico really special is its story mode, which lets players work as a talented quilter in a cozy in a city that literally worships cats. The goal is to climb the city’s social ladder and confront various challenges, all while engaging in various quilting matches.

The moment I saw this game I knew I would love it. What’s cozier than a bunch of cuddly kittens rolling around you while you create a comfortable quilt? I feel like that sentence alone contained nearly fatal levels of cuteness. The game takes place in my own personal utopia where cats roam the streets and are praised as sacred creatures. Although the game’s story mode does feature some heavier elements, such as the threat of warfare and industrialization threatening the peaceful cat-loving community, it is largely a relaxing, comforting experience. I think a lot of people could benefit from this sort of gentle game in a world of video games that typically favor violence and fast-paced action.

Quilts and Cats of Calico is available on iOS devices for $9.99.

4. The Valley of the Architects

The Valley of the Architects is a distinct puzzle-adventure game, that follows a character named Liz as she journeys through Africa to discover secrets belonging to a mysterious long-lost architect. Liz works as an architectural writer and believes that uncovering the architect’s mysteries will make a one-of-a-kind piece. Players must help Liz progress through her precarious journey by solving an increasing complex series of elevator-based puzzles. Each level of the narrative is represented as articles in the fictional Architectural Abstract magazine. This acts as a game menu when players start the game or pause their progress.

As someone who typically struggles with puzzle games, I naturally struggled a bit with this one. The difference with The Valley of the Architects and other strategy oriented mobile games, is that in this case my struggle only made the process more enjoyable. Instead of tossing my phone away in frustration, I found myself leaning in even closer to the screen, gripping my case tightly. That feeling when everything starts to come together, and you see your hard work payoff, is well worth a bit of wait. In addition to an exhilarating and unusual puzzle system, The Valley of the Architects also pulled me along with its captivating mystery, which progresses with each level the player completes.

The Valley of the Architects is available on iOS devices for $4.99.

 3. Your House: A Hidden Truth

Your House: A Hidden Truth is a narrative-puzzle game designed like a virtual mystery novel that players are able to interact with. The game follows an 18-year-old student named Debbie after she is expelled from school, cheated on by her (former) best friend, and involved in an awful vehicular accident. She receives a mysterious envelope on the night of her birthday, containing an odd key, a vague postcard, and an unknown address. With her former life in shambles, Debbie decides to check out what is supposedly her “new home.” The address leads her to a decadent mansion unlike any home she has ever seen. The house involves her in a mess of secrets that play with her perception of reality.

For me there’s nothing quite like cozying up on a couch and reading a good mystery novel, or any novel, for that matter. The only trouble with books in the traditional sense is that they set an inherent barrier between the reader and the story. The reader is a viewer of sorts, tagging along with the protagonist as they uncover secrets and fight evil. This is all fine and well most of the time, as passivity is to be expected novels, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who has wished they could jump into their book and influence the novel themselves. This is exactly what Your House lets players do, and it was everything I had ever hoped for. I got to make choices, solve mysteries, and become a part of the mystery.

Your House: A Hidden Truth is available for free on Android devices and available on iOS devices as a free trial, with a one-time in-app purchase of $5.99 to unlock the full game.

2. ALTTL: Cupboards & Drawers

ALTTL: Cupboards & Drawers is a downloadable expansion for the highly acclaimed puzzle game A Little to the Left, and now a standalone mobile title. Cupboards & Drawers provides players with 25 puzzles that involve organizing and sorting household items inside of–you guessed it–cupboards and drawers. The puzzles are surprisingly charming and intimate, with objects as simple as rubber bands and paperclips taking on a sort of artfulness as players place them with care. Each level first appears hectic, with items spread inside of their drawers haphazardly. As the puzzles progress however, players experience an increasing sense of satisfaction as the inevitable layout becomes apparent.

As someone who despises cleaning in real life, I was surprised by how wonderfully satisfying I found this game. After playing for a long time (longer than I probably should have) I realized the game feels good to play because it sets everything up for you to succeed. The mess seems completely chaotic at first glance, but somewhere on the screen the perfect place for the perfect object lies in wait. “A place for everything and everything in its place,” as my dad used to say. There’s no fear that you won’t have enough room in the drawer for the objects, or that an odd gap will be left in the center of it all. The player learns to trust the game: to have faith that all will end in a satisfying little display of organization.

ALTTL: Cupboards & Drawers is available on iOS for $2.99.

1. The Electric State: Kid Cosmo

The Electric State: Kid Cosmo is available on iOS and Android devices with a Netflix subscription.