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Some of Android's Most Interesting Games Aren't on the Play Store

3 days ago by PerfectDark to c/games

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I just thought it might be fun to write up a very little article recommending three of the free and open-source games I tried and loved from F-droid!

Not only do I spend a ton of time on Android systems because I review retro handhelds, but I also enjoy exploring the more unusual corners of the platform, especially when they involve open-source software and games. I'm a daily user of F-droid (and have convinced my whole family to do the same), and turning my attention to the gaming side of things seemed a fun idea for an article.

In this one I try and show off three games:

  • Breakout 71
  • Shattered Pixel Dungeon
  • AAAAXY

Read on if you're looking for fun F-droid games you can control easily (which itself is a damn miracle) with the on-screen touch controls.

https://gardinerbryant.com/...

And if you've got any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

gl38 46 points 3 days ago

Sorry to be that guy, but the 3 games you listed are all on the Play Store.

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PerfectDark 6 points 2 days ago

Oh no, you're totally fine. And you're not the only one of 'that guy' who let me know! I hope you'll forgive me pasting a comment from above explaining my unexplainable stupidity on this one:

because yes…I was a complete idiot and didn’t realize these were in fact on Play Store. That is unforgivable because research for articles is like my thing, but I just never use Play Store, outside of being for emulation on retro handhelds I review.

Sorry for the confusion! I did add the callout at the bottom of my intro to explain my idiocy

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2fm 2 points 3 days ago

Shattered, for one. Thought that was a bit odd.

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B0NK3RS 17 points 3 days ago

Shattered Pixel Dungeon looks like a fun one.

I've never been interested in playing games on my phone but over the last 2 months I've actually been playing more and more. Mostly PSP emulation but also some Balatro and Don't Starve.

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infinitevalence 6 points 3 days ago

The reply value is exceptional.

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BCsven 3 points 2 days ago

Shattered pixel dungeon is addictive--beware

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raspberriesareyummy 2 points 3 days ago

it's both awesome and quite addictive :)

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ColeSloth 1 point 2 days ago

The learning curve is steep. There's a lot of subtle little bits to pick up on and you will die a ton. Very addictive and worth playing. Very good game.

if memory serves, I lost 48 times before winning my first game. Then it started to become more like a win every 2 or 3 games. Game has been around since like 2014 and still gets balance updates and tweaks.

Game is a lot nicer to play with a touch pen instead of your finger, IMO.

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grinning_serpent 16 points 2 days ago

Author's note:

I've had plenty of people let me know that these games are in fact available on Google's own Play Store. Oh the irony. Rather than edit the whole angle of this article, I'll just say that this is quite funny. Since Google's Play Store is such a little part of my life (I never use it outside of emulation/retro handheld reviews), that totally passed me by.

All my apologies for not checking things better before posting this one! That is 100% on me. Instead try to read over it with an angle of "...you're better to play these from F-droid than Play Store"..!

Oh, okay. So basically this was just something they shit out and published without due diligence.

Why share this, then?

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PerfectDark -8 points 2 days ago

So funny to see your name pop up here! I was just looking at a few reports for your comment in the mod-queue where you made the reference to Magda Goebbels when discussing the death of the co-founder of Ubisoft. Seems people weren't thrilled with that! And here you slide, still just as nasty.

Why share this, then?

Because it is a subject I care about? Oh I'm so sorry, did I make an error then apologize for it? Gardiner, myself and occasionally a couple others write articles about things we love, or believe to be important, or care about. We're not a organization, we're not a major site. I don't get paid. We don't run ads. It literally costs money to have people read the things we write, but we write things like this because we love them. I am just explaining this because you seem to think there needs to be a reason to write an article on a topic I enjoy.

Have you got some articles you have written, so you can show me how it is done?

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Bazoogle 6 points a day ago

I don't really agree with the original comment, but your response is worse than what you're responding to. What does what you saw in the modlog have to do with this comment? He really wasn't that mean, and raises a valid point at least. You could've just said "We should've checked but it's still a fun topic" or something that acknowledges the mistake but moves on anyway.

Also, if it costs money for people reading it, why would you share it? I assume you shared it because the cost is worth the price of sharing something you enjoy, but if that's true why bring up cost at all?

Btw, it's a bit cliche to respond to criticism with the sentiment of "I'd like to see you do better" rather than accept it for what it is (assuming there is validity to it).

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grinning_serpent 3 points 2 days ago

Yeah people really hate it when you show them the obvious flaws in their reasoning. We don't teach people in how to accept correction and learn from it in schools and it really shows. People lash out instead of just taking a moment to check their ego and process.

I'll try to keep #2 in mind.

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TheparishofChigwell 6 points 2 days ago

I wish people would show me obvious flaws in my reasoning all the time, and am also part of the people

Generalisation is weak

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grinning_serpent 2 points 2 days ago

Meaning what? Generalization is how things work when you're talking about populations and not individuals.

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iamthetot 12 points 3 days ago

I just looked up each of these games... On google play store. They are all on there.

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unemployedclaquer 9 points 2 days ago

Unciv - civ 5 clone

Slice and Dice - weird dice game, bit of a learning curve but it's neat

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jacksilver 7 points 2 days ago

Slice and Dice is an amazing game. I love the amount of variety in game types.

Sadly I feel like most games that are any good are PC ports:

  • Peglin
  • Willfrost
  • Balatoro
  • Slay the Spire
  • Gambonanza
  • PawnBarian
  • Baba is You
  • Monster Train
  • Shotgun King
  • Throne fall
  • Wargroove 2
  • Dicey Dungeons

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thingsiplay 8 points 2 days ago

I don't think that Balatro and Slay the Spire are available on Android outside the Play Store. Also these games aren't Open Source. I have absolutely nothing against good game recommendations or proprietary games, but this post is about F-Droid (Open Source).

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Ertain 9 points 3 days ago

@PerfectDark Here are some that I've found on F-Droid. I don't know if they're on the Play Store, though.

* Vector Pinball: an oldy, but a goody.
* PipePanic: a Pipe Dreams clone.
* FlowIt!: color in all the squares. It's harder than it sound.
* Ball2Box: get the ball through the obstacles, and into the box.
* IED: Minesweeper, but in 3D. Made with the Godot Engine.
* Gurgle: a Wordle clone.
* Roboyard: Move the robots around a maze to where they need to go.

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realitaetsverlust 7 points 3 days ago

Shattered Pixel Dungeon is SO good. It's horrendously difficult early on because you don't know what you're doing, but once you got a grasp it's so fun.

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Hiro8811 6 points 2 days ago

Mindustry is really cool

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thingsiplay 6 points 2 days ago

The title of this post on Lemmy is wrong! The "Just" part is missing. Original blog post title is "Some of Android's Most Interesting Games Aren't Just on the Play Store". My guess is, it was edited after posting here? That's why some people pointed out the games are available on Play Store as well.

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PerfectDark 3 points 2 days ago

My guess is, it was edited after posting here? That’s why some people pointed out the games are available on Play Store as well.

This was news to me, too! Gardiner edited it overnight (it is morning here in Australia now), because yes...I was a complete idiot and didn't realize these were in fact on Play Store. That is unforgivable because research for articles is like my thing, but I just never use Play Store, outside of being for emulation on retro handhelds I review.

Sorry for the confusion! I did add the callout at the bottom of my intro to explain my idiocy, but the title was definitely a late edit.

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thingsiplay 4 points 2 days ago

Ah, no need to be that harsh. I like your articles. I wouldn't say it wasn't entirely "your fault", because one would assume the original title and blog post is correct. So let's say you was "fooled" by the original title at the time of posting here. He realized the wrong title too and corrected it and you noticed it at next day. These are normal "human" mistakes that happen and no need to blame anyone. I replied here not to blame your or Gardiner, just to inform to eliminate the confusion.

In short, everything fine, no one is an idiot, just because you are a human and made a human mistake. :-) my2cents

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PerfectDark 3 points 2 days ago

You're very kind, but I still think I am an idiot for not making sure of that!!!

:)

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bryndos 6 points 2 days ago

unciv and mindustry maybe the most polished i've played on f-droid. they're probably on play store too idk.

pixel wheels is ok, but controls finicky - there's one lap record that i just cant get, but i'm sure on a keyboard i could.

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dom 1 point a day ago

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warmaster 5 points 3 days ago

What a wonderful, original and well written post, a truly great read, thanks a lot for writing and sharing it.

I use Lemuroid, it's freaking great. I'll try Mindustry, which seems to be also available for Linux on Flathub (very convenient).

Which begs the question... would you consider writing a post about FOSS games on PC?

Flathub is chock-full of great games that would greatly benefit from a little exposure, and it's so vast and diverse that there's a guaranteed varied selection for any genre.

It could even span 2 posts: the most popular ones & hidden gems. If they do well, there's also game tools & launchers for games that nobody knows that are playable on the Steam Deck / Steam Machine / Linux.

With the imminent release of the Machine, I think these kind of posts would do well. After all, we're talking about free games, 1 click away.

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tynansdtm 4 points 3 days ago

Hoped to find some cool new suggestions, instead I learned about three games I've already got installed. Breakout 71 is absolutely incredible, and at 492 kB(!!) you should install it to your phone, tablet, and floppy disk right now. It's also on the Play store, so you can recommend it to people less concerned with privacy.

I think I've played another variant on the open source Pixel Dungeon but after not playing it for many years I uninstalled it because Shattered Pixel Dungeon was actively being developed and it wasn't. I continued to not play it. And I've never opened AAAXY so no opinions there.

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Noja 3 points 2 days ago

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raspberriesareyummy 2 points 3 days ago

Not sure if exclusive, but Andor's Trail is on F-Droid and really good.

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mesamunefire 2 points 3 days ago

Space trader is pretty fun. It was origionally for the plam pilot but got ported to andriod.

Egyption mouse pounce is a fun card game based on real rules from when i was a kid.

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randint 2 points 3 days ago

I love AAAAXY! Favorite game available on Android.

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gukleszl4hs48ughgxhr5xgd 1 point 3 days ago

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pasdechance 1 point 3 days ago

Breakout 71 and Shattered Pixel Dungeon are super addictive

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Korhaka 1 point 3 days ago

Ahh nice, could do with some decent games. CDDA is a fun one, small screen isn't ideal but its playable on mobile. A keyboard helps.

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Bazoogle 1 point 3 days ago

I wish there was more, honestly. Not exclusive to FDroid, but Mindustry is probably the best open source game I've played. I enjoyed Breakout71, but once you are just trying to unlock jew apps it gets repetitive and too luck based with getting the upgrades you need

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