Brawl Stars

Brawl Stars arrived in 2018 as Supercell's answer to the by-then established MOBA and battle royale genres, condensed into fast 3-vs-3 arena matches or smaller combat modes. Players choose one of dozens of characters with their own abilities and attacks and fight in short, intense rounds that often fit into two to three minutes. This format was tailor-made for mobile – a match can be played out in a waiting room or on a tram without the player losing the feeling of tactical decision-making, and the quick turnaround means a loss never stings for long.

Controls rely on a virtual stick for movement and dragging a finger to aim and shoot, which proved to be a surprisingly functional solution for an action game on a touchscreen. The free-to-play model combines unlocking characters, upgrading them, and cosmetic add-ons, with Supercell adjusting its monetization approach several times over the years toward a less random system than what's typical of pure gacha.

Brawl Stars quickly built its own community and esports scene and became further proof that Supercell can package completely different game genres for the mobile audience with the same dexterity. The variety of game modes – from a classic team battle through resource collection to an elimination variant inspired by battle royale – also gives players a reason to keep coming back even after mastering the basic loop.

Why play it: For players who want fast, team-based action matches suited to short breaks, with more reasonable monetization than many competing free-to-play titles.