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The best iOS and Android games of May 2018: Tiny Bubbles, Pocket-Run Pool, Axe.io and more

Looking back on a month in mobile gaming

The best iOS and Android games of May 2018: Tiny Bubbles, Pocket-Run Pool, Axe.io and more
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I don't know how May was for you, but here in my corner of the UK it's been a mixture of uncomfortably humid, beautifully sunny, and depressingly grey.

Fortunately, the mobile gaming scene has been far more consistent than the weather. There's been a fairly even line of quality titles throughout the month.

We've had a nice spread of styles too, from shiny casual puzzlers to moving narrative adventures and full-blooded action games.

Have you been playing anything else in May? Let us know in the comments below.

Tiny Bubbles
By Pine Street Codeworks - buy on iOS/buy on Android

Tiny Bubbles is a thoroughly charming casual puzzler that does surprisingly diverse and interesting things with the match-three genre. It's kind of like the gaming equivalent of a day spa.

Pocket-Run Pool
By Zach Gage - download on iOS

Zach Gage is back to inject new life into a well established physical game, this time pool. The twist here is a rotating score multiplier mechanic and a mode that throws in multiple gameplay modifiers.

Scalak
By Michal Pawlowski - buy on iOS/buy on Android

A rare puzzler that makes the discovery of its diverse shape-fitting mechanics part of the broader puzzler. It's a game that doesn't lead you by the hand, but nor is it overly punitive.

Zero/Sum
By Sean Kearney - buy on iOS

A novel game that combines maths problems with cheesy dialogue cut scenes. It's all good fun, and given that half the profits go to cancer charities, there really is every incentive to jump in.

My Child Lebensborn
By Sarepta Studio - buy on iOS/buy on Android

My Child Lebensborn is an interesting twist on the virtual pet genre, in that you're actually looking after a child. It's a game with a lot of heart and a pretty powerful message.

Super Hydorah
By Abylight - buy on iOS

Fans of classic side-scrolling shmups like R-Type will be right at home with Super Hydorah, which wears its retro fixation on its pixel-art sleeve.

MissileDancer
By Terarin Games - buy on iOS/buy on Android

Another game that owes a debt to classic arcade shooters, MissileDancer introduces something a little different with an automated but short-range super-weapon that encourages you to get in close.

Homo Machina
By ARTE Experience - buy on iOS/buy on Android

Homo Machina is a quirky puzzler set inside the human body. Essentially, that means operating a huge multi-segmented machine with taps, swipes and plenty of careful thought.

Among the Stars
By Cublo - buy on iOS/buy on Android

This digital card-based board game adaptation has you building a space station. Its sci-fi trappings are wonderfully evocative.

Axe.io
By Crescent Moon Games - download on iOS/download on Android

One of the better .io games we've played of late, Axe.io has you running around tight arenas lobbing axes at your fellow combatants.

Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.