The best mobile board games with short play times
Snappy
Sometimes you don't want to spend hours on end playing a digital board game. Sometimes you want to jump in, have some fun, and then go back to whatever awful thing you were doing in the real world.
And that's where this list comes in. In it we're going to tell you what we think are the best quick-fire board games you can grab right now for mobile.
These aren't shallow experiences, but they're designed to fit into the short play times that mobile gaming is perfect for.
If you think we've missed any out, then feel free to drop your own suggestions in the comments section at the bottom of the article.
And make sure you come back and check out all the other awesome, daily content on TableTap.
1
Mind Cards
It's been a few months since this one game out, and most nights I'm still plugging away trying to get the final achievement and put it to bed. The weird thing is, I'll probably be a bit sad when I have, because Mind Cards is subtly brilliant.
It's got a more arcade design than most other card games, and the speed with which you can get through a single round is pretty damn quick.
This is the perfect board game for having a sneaky play when you've got a spare couple of minutes. So long as you understand that eventually those minutes will add up to hours caught up in the game's simple but engaging mechanics.
Click here to read our Mind Cards review
2
Onitama: The Board Game
A new release, but one that's well worth checking out. It's essentially a game of kung fu chess, played on a smaller board and with cards controlling your moves. But it's pretty brilliant.
Not only are the single player games here short, you can put a time limit on the multiplayer games. That means you're never going to spend more than a certain amount of time playing online.
It's a clever system, and it perfectly suits the speedy nature of the game. Yes, you've got win-or-lose decisions to make, but there aren't that many of them. Making them still feels like it's got some weight behind it too.
Click here to read our Onitama: The Board Game review
3
Eight-Minute Empire
You can't fit a massive strategy game into less than ten minutes, right? Wrong. Eight-Minute Empire takes the empire-creating subgenre and turns it on its head, letting you play out years of history in a few short minutes.
But it doesn't sacrifice much of the depth of the genre in doing it. Your choices and the cards you play still matter, and making a wrong move can still put you on the back foot. It's just that you're not going to be on that back foot for long.
Even if you're not a fan of strategy games, the way Eight-Minute Empire races along is more than likely going to appeal.
Click here to read our Eight-Minute Empire review