Mobile gaming and touch-screen gaming, especially in 2021, is big business. Whether you are sitting on the bus on your way to or from work, or just taking a "quick" bathroom break, chances are you have a phone or mobile device in hand.

Mobile gaming, especially in recent years, has really taken off to extreme highs. It is one of the largest gaming platforms in the world, if not the largest. Mobile gaming has had massive growth throughout the world, especially in southern Asian countries. Even North America has seen substantial growth throughout the past several years.

The ease of access and relative affordability of mobile devices make them an attractive go-to for game players of all ages and backgrounds. If mobile gaming just really isn't your thing, fret not, because you can always check out Canadian real money casinos if you wish.

Just in 2020 alone, mobile gaming was a near $100 billion industry, an increase of a staggering 18% over 2019. Mobile games were downloaded at least 80 billion times throughout 2020, with that number expected to be higher once 2021 comes to an end. Of those billions of downloads, casual gaming accounted for 78%, core games were around 20%, and casino titles were 2%. I full expect casino titles to grow in share through the coming years thanks to the ever-growing popularity of online casinos.

That said, let's take a little look at some of the hottest mobile games that either came out this year or some of the popular touch-enabled games that are still popular that may have come out earlier.


Among Us
Among Us is a very easy game to pick up and play. All you need to understand is a little bit of social deception and you'll be well on your way to fooling your friends and strangers. Each round begins with players assigned various tasks around a ship that they must complete. Standing in their way will be the dreaded Imposter who is out to sabotage those tasks and eliminate all the other players. When a body is discovered, a group meeting is called to determine who should be thrown out the airlock. Use your quick wits to cast doubt against you being the Imposter. Despite being released in 2018, Among Us really gained in popularity in 2020, largely due to the global pandemic. Though interest in the game is on a slight decline, it's still easy to get a group together for a few rounds of fun.


Wordscapes
Looking for something a little more relaxing while also giving your brain a little workout, then Wordscapes is for you. Released in 2017, Wordscapes is a puzzle game that has already seen over 14 million downloads across mobile devices. This is a word puzzle game that tasks you with finding every word that can be created using the letters provided in each level. Words can be anywhere from three to seven letters long. It seems easy at first glance, but there will be times where you will rack your brain trying to figure out the last word that fits in the remaining spaces. Think of Wordscapes as a blend of Boggle and crossword puzzles. It's free to download and does have some optional in-app purchases, including one that disables ads if you find yourself getting really addicted to it.


Monument Valley 2
This is the sequel to the just as fantastic 2014 title, Monument Valley. This sequel is also presented in an isometric style and contains several M.C. Escher-inspired puzzles. The goal is to guide Ro and her daughter through a series of levels by simply altering your perspective or adjusting obstacles to create new pathways. The game is very visually striking without going overboard with details. If you have yet to try the first game, be sure to pick that up and then give the sequel a go.


The Room
The Room is the name of the first game in a series of titles from Fireproof Games. There is one VR title for The Room that is not available on iOS or Android, but the first four titles are available and ready for you to put your puzzle solving skills to the ultimate test. The Room, along with its sequels, is a 3D puzzle game. The story, though minimal, is unraveled as you progress through the puzzles within the game. The goal with The Room is to fully unlock each puzzle box to unravel more of the mystery. All these games are steeped in a dark and foreboding atmosphere, which really adds to the tension as you struggle to figure out those last little clues you're missing to progress.


To the Moon
To the Moon is a rich, story-driven adventure focusing on two doctors that travel back through a dying man's memories to artificially fulfill his last wish. The two protagonists, Dr. Rosalene and Dr. Watts give their patients another shot at "living" even if that means it's all in their patients' minds. Ever wish you could go back and do things differently? That's what this game is about. To the Moon is a deeply emotional story focusing on the life of Johnny, who's dying wish is to go to the moon. This game is short, but it will leave you with a story and feelings that last forever.


Downwell
Need a little break from puzzle solving and all of those emotions brough on by To the Moon? Then look no further than Downwell. This roguelike is a stylistic action title that tasks you with just one simple thing: Go down. As you progress further down into the depths of the well, you will have to dodge or eliminate enemies, while also clearing a path through destructible obstacles. It's a great game that you can pick up and play for as long or as short as you want to, because you'll always be making some sort of progress. Such is the beauty of roguelikes and games like them.


Another Eden
This free-to-play RPG invokes both the Xenogears and Chrono series of role-playing games. That's probably because it was written and composed by Masato Kato and Yasunori Mitsuda whom worked on both of those franchises in the past. Another Eden will send players through various points in time as they work their way through the dozens of story chapters. Gameplay is a blend of side-scrolling JRPG with some 3D elements and movement thrown in to spice things up. Battles are the tried and true turn-based system that fans of old JRPG games have come to know and love. Players will assume the role of a boy named Aldo as he attempts to rescue his sister, Feinne, from the Beast King, a ruler wishing to use Feinne's abilities to eradicate humans from the world. During his initial rescue attempt things go awry, resulting in a tear in space-time pulling Aldo 800 years into the future.

These are just a few of the great titles you can play right now on your iOS or Android devices. More and more amazing games are being released every year, and it's just so difficult trying to keep up with all of them. Sure, there will always be a lot of throw-away titles released for a quick cash grab, but the titles listed here and others like them show that the mobile platform can and will continue to offer plenty of great and rich gaming experiences.