If you support Google Play in its goal to encourage innovation and are willing to experiment with mobile gaming instead of playing Candy Crush over and over again, you may be curious about the NFT games that are already listed on the Android game marketplace. These games may not exactly match the term "profitable" but you will enjoy the gaming experience as much as watching funny cat videos.
Read also: 5 Cross Platform MMORPG NFT Games to Play Instead of World of Warcraft 2
Casual games can be the right place to start your mobile NFT gaming adventure, and this article will provide you with information to help you get your game ready to play.
NFT experience in mobile games like Candy Crush
If you have never played or even watched others playing casual games, make sure you understand what to expect, especially with titles that feature cryptocurrencies or NFTs.
Many of them are cross platform games, like minimalist Google Memory Game and Weddle Game or more advanced Wilds.io or Shell Shockers, and they can be launched directly from the browser no matter whether you are using an Android or iOS device.
In contrast, a user plays standalone mobile games after downloading and installing them. Some of them are cross platform games too, which means they were built using the technologies that support the creation of a single application runnable on both popular mobile operating systems. Others are dedicated exclusively either to Android or iOS. Some of the popular standalone Android casual games are Nerdle Game and Perfection Game.
After installing one of these apps on your phone, you will not need access to any platforms for browser gaming like Kevin Games or GamePix.
What are casual games for Android with NFTs and crypto?
The term "casual games" is often used to describe games whose mechanics are designed to match the preferences and skills of different types of players, including those who do not consider themselves gamers.
To achieve this goal, game developers ensure that their software has simple gameplay and easy-to-understand controls that require little time to master. Also, the game sessions are pretty short, which makes it easy for users to literally play on the go since they can basically jump from level to level. Meanwhile, the hardware requirements not only match the capabilities of the latest device models but also ensure compatibility with devices from the latest Android zone.
Games like Bejeweled, Fruit Ninja, Flappy Bird 3, and the Angry Birds pig game series can all be considered casual games, but none of them includes cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The iconic matching sequel Candy Crush is undeniably considered the quintessential game of the casual genre.
What are hyper casual games?
Note that some of the games are also classified as hyper casual games. The difference between hyper casual games and casual games is not always obvious. However, there are some distinct differences.
Hyper casual games tend to be even simpler than casual games and sometimes require only a single gesture from players. For instance, a gamer links matching dots by tapping on the board. Additionally, unlike casual games, hyper casual games feature an exceptionally clean, and minimalistic design with fairly simple graphics that do not distract players from the actual gameplay experience.
Furthermore, hyper casual game monetization often expects players to watch ads, while casual games may include in-app purchases and subscriptions.
Some hyper casual game ideas for you to better understand the genre include Color Switch, Helix Stack Jump, and Paper.io 3D.
Note that Flappy Bird 3 is also often considered an example of hyper casual games.
NFT casual games - play with a purpose
Whether it is worth playing NFT casual games or not is not obvious. Many casual games are actually puzzles, which seem to be a pleasant and useful form of entertainment that relaxes your head and makes it think at the same time. On the other hand, many of these puzzles are not particularly challenging, so their actual value for training cognitive skills is questionable.
However, if you do love casual games, why not play with a purpose? NFT and crypto casual games offer players the opportunity to earn rewards or use the play n trade feature. A popular option in NFT free-to-play games is the collection of assets which can then be sold on the in-house marketplace. Another typical earning option is receiving cryptocurrency once you pass a level.
Such blockchain-powered features add a new flavor to minimalistic casual gaming, including play-to-earn functionality with NFT and cryptocurrency rewards, real ownership of game items, or player-driven marketplaces.
Even though you usually have to spend half of your day playing to earn anything, which does not make NFT games a particularly profitable business, many gamers prefer mobile NFT games because any earnings are still better than nothing.
Now that you know what hyper casual games and conventional casual games are, you can either spend days trying to understand how many Candy Crush levels are there, or you can spend that time collecting NFTs or earning at least a few bucks while enjoying an exciting gameplay of NFT casual games. Below you will find some ideas for such entertainment.
Read also: Android NFT Strategy games like Clash of Clans and more
THNDR Games - earn Bitcoin without in app purchases
THNDR Games has unveiled a quite impressive selection of Bitcoin games. At the time of publication, the collection included Tetro Tiles, Bitcoin Bounce, Turbo 84, Bitcoin Snake, Bitcoin Bay, and Club Bitcoin: Solitaire. Not all of these games are purely casual games, for example, Turbo 84 is a racing simulator, while Club Bitcoin: Solitaire is a quintessential card game. However, this list also includes typical casual games, for instance, Tetro Tiles and Bitcoin Bay.
THNDR NFTs and cryptocurrency
The games mentioned above do not have their own cryptocurrency yet. The NFT component is not particularly specified for the THNDR games either, though in June the THNDR team introduced its own avatars that will be available for minting.
"We are experimenting with the Taproot Asset Protocol for users to mint their favorite avatar combinations," the team stated in its blog post, inviting all interested players to sign up to receive notifications when avatar minting goes live. THNDR promises that the top fifty referrers will receive the avatars they choose for free.
Meanwhile, most of the THNDR games use two currencies: Bitcoin and THNDR.
Note that the rewards are granted in Bitcoin and this is the currency that winners can cash out, while THNDR is a virtual currency rather than a cryptocurrency and is used for participation in the prize draws.
The THNDR developers recommend such Lightning-enabled wallets for Bitcoin withdrawals as WOS (Wallet of Satoshi), Muun, Phoenix Wallet, OBW, Breez, Blue Wallet, and Zeus Wallet. The team claims that its games do not have withdrawal limits or a waiting period. No deposits or in-app purchases are required to play the casual games from THNDR and get a chance to win Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Bay: Bitcoin Pop (F2W)
Bitcoin Bay is a play-to-earn proposal from THNDR for all fans of bubble shooter games. In fact, this app will turn you into a bubble shooter pro, since it will bring you financial rewards.
You will team up with the cat called Spark which is obsessed with Bitcoin, and shoot some bubbles on the beautiful land with a beach. The better you perform, the more THNDR tickets you collect. Those will give you more chances to win Bitcoin in daily raffles.
The Bitcoin Bay developers claim that by the time of this writing, players had already won over 500,000 prizes by playing THNDR games.
The download size of Bitcoin Bay was 123 MB at press time.
Bitcoin Bay reviews
So far, Bitcoin Bay has been downloaded over 100,000 times and received around 3,690 reviews from players.
The game scored 4.4 stars on Google Play. Most players are enthusiastic about the gameplay and graphics. Many users claim that the application actually allows players to earn and cash out Bitcoin, however, some players complain that the payments are unreasonably low, especially when it comes to the highest-scoring gamers.
Tetro Tiles
Whether you love playing the Tetris Echalk version on the educational game platform or prefer the Tetris GameBoy version or any other variation of this iconic game, you might be interested in trying out Tetro Tiles, THNDR’s Tetris that earns its players Bitcoin.
Similarly to Bitcoin Bay, this game appears to be one of your favorite casual puzzle apps with a simple but beautiful design. The more you play the game, the more THNDR tickets you collect. With these tickets, you can participate in daily Bitcoin draw events.
Tetro Tiles reviews
At press time, Tetro Tiles was downloaded over 10,000 times and rated around 1,800 times. The game received 4.5 stars.
Some of the players emphasized that Tetro Tiles is one of the most addictive crypto games currently available on Google Play. However, as is typical for this type of game, the amount of money you can earn with Tetro Tiles is not always adequate for the time you spend playing.
Bitcoin Snake: recreating the same colour and design of the iconic game
Although many modern gamers know Snake as a fun mobile game that requires decent skills to move a snake on the screen in the right direction, it has been rocking the world since 1976, when arcades ruled mass entertainment. The original game was known as Blockade, and it developed into an entire subgenre that includes some of the most entertaining games.
Now, thanks to such developers as THNDR, you will be able to earn real Bitcoin while you push your snake on the playing map to make it grow, avoid getting stuck, and keep its life as long as possible. Remember, this is a race for rewards and a high score on the game will get you more THNDR tickets and chances to succeed while fighting against your friends and other players.
One thing that is particularly noteworthy about Bitcoin Snake - the THNDR team has done its best to make the game not only entertaining, but also to preserve the visual aesthetics of the classic mobile Snake and, especially to adopt its color scheme.
Bitcoin Snake reviews
So far THNDR's Snake has been downloaded over 50,000 times and rated around 2,080 times. It has received 4.8 stars on Google Play, which is a pretty high rating.
The fact that THNDR has decided to create a way to earn money by participating in the raffle events, of course, is seen as the biggest advantage of this game, but many players also particularly enjoy the gaming experience itself.
Meanwhile, some reviews mentioned technical problems with ads that cannot be closed without leaving the game.
Realis NFT matching and merge games
If you like playing free merge games online, we have a few suggestions for you. Realis, the developer that specializes in software with tokenized game currency, has created a series of similar interconnected games that allow their players to earn the same token.
Note that these titles are definitely not games like Merge Mansion. Thus, you should not expect any similar experience to the exciting process of acquiring the Xmas Wreath Merge Mansion fireplace or the Merge Mansion planted flower. However, you might like the titles on the list below if you are looking for casual dragon games. You may also get hooked if you are a fan of cute cartoon graphics that remind a bit of Digimon characters and you do not mind a baby fox drawing or an anime cat clipart appearing during your play.
It is impossible to say whether Realis games are the best merge games with crypto and NFTs, as this would be too subjective. Some players find the gameplay exciting, mainly because of the possibility of earning more as you level up. Others, on the contrary, think it is boring and find Realis apps more similar to matching games than merge games.
In any case, trying out Realis apps can be an interesting experience, especially if you are looking for a pastime and like the aesthetics of games like Digimon ReArise or Pokemon Insurgence.
Pay attention to the data safety information in the reviews of each game in the series, as there are differences in the way personal data is used in the Realis games.
Realis Network and tokens
The games discussed below were rolled out through the Realis platform, which, according to the official documentation, is "the world's first platform for launching mobile games using blockchain technologies for a mass audience based on the NEAR protocol."
All games in the series use the same cryptocurrency LIS.
"The LIS token will serve as a fuel to all processes in the Realis economy, it will connect and redistribute assets between different parts of the ecosystem for organic interaction," the team explains the token’s utility.
While LIS is used for all in-game operations, it is also a governance token for the Realis project. Thus, by staking the token, players can participate in the management of the network and voting. To make staking profitable, the Realis team promises weekly rewards "based on the amount of LIS, spent in games, and a portion of the reserved tokens."
As indicated by CoinMarketCap, LIS was trading at $0.01243 at the time of publication, while the coin’s market cap was $9,233,420 and daily trading volume was around $105,467. The total cryptocurrency supply is 3 billion.
Game NFTs
As mentioned earlier, the Realis merge games incorporate NFTs. The official documentation states that "all in-game assets will be implemented and created on the blockchain and will exist as NFT tokens." Some examples of Realis NFTs include unique skins, limited edition items, tournament tickets, Battle Passes, and Lootboxes. In addition, a combination of three NFTs can create one more NFT.
To support NFT trading, Realis is offering its own in-game marketplace. The team claims the marketplace is free from gas and other transaction fees and has a particularly user-friendly UI /UX design.
"When buying or selling each unique item, we will determine which account is linked to that unique NFT ID, this will allow any user to withdraw any in-game NFT asset to their personal wallet after buying," Realis explains.
At press time, there were over 500 NFTs on the marketplace with one of four levels of rarity including Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Supreme. The prices of assets ranged between 4 USDT to 99,999 USDT. Most of the NFTs offered on the Realis marketplace were related to the latest game Elemental Wars, which invites players to participate in PvP and PvE adventures with mythical creatures Meowgons.
Crypto Fox
What does the fox say?
The Realis Network developers promise that "Crypto Fox is an addictive merge game" with "over 100 unique fox species that will bring you valuable rewards."
The NFT play-2-earn game Crypto Fox can captivate you with its simple gameplay and cute animals while earning you real in-game money. You will start the adventure with level 1 foxes, which should be located on a racing track. Each time they make it to the checkpoint, a game coin is generated and stocked.
By merging foxes, you will level them up, which will also increase the game's speed. This, in turn, will allow you to earn more tokens faster.
Besides collecting unique foxes, you can also win rewards and free spins to enhance the gaming experience. Crypto Fox also offers its players the option to buy additional spins. The in-app purchases start at $0.99, with the most expensive of them selling for $229.99 each.
Make sure you are game ready as there is a boss fight against a giant fox waiting for you at the end of every level. You have to win it to unlock the next level.
The game's graphics will give you a special aesthetic pleasure, thanks to the especially cute animal drawings.
Note that Crypto Fox is a fairly new game released in April. At press time, its download size was 90 MB.
Data safety
The developer claims that the data used by the game is transferred securely. The game may collect data on the app activity, your email address, and your device and other IDs, but, according to Realis, this data is not shared with third parties.
Crypto Fox reviews
At the time of publication, Crypto Fox was downloaded from Google Play over 10,000 times and rated around 1,230 times. The game received 4.8 stars.
Players who enjoyed their gaming experience with Crypto Fox praised the opportunity to withdraw cryptocurrency without any issues, while others emphasized the excitement and thrill of playing this game.
Meanwhile, some of the negative game reviews accused it of fraud because purchasing the game membership did not work properly and led to the loss of money. Players also complained about modest earnings, which they mostly had to spend on in-app purchases.
Crypto Cats
Fans of funny cat videos have the opportunity to earn the LIS token and collect NFTs while playing the Realis merge game dedicated specifically to their favorite animal. Dozens of unique NFTs representing various cute animal drawings, including ones resembling a cat pokemon, are available for collection while merging NFTs will get you even more powerful cats.
Playing with your anime cat gives you a similar experience to the game Crypto Fox.
The download size of this game at the time of publication was 102 MB, while the price range for in-app purchases was the same as on Crypto Fox.
Crypto Cats reviews
Players liked Crypto Cats for its aesthetics and the possibility to earn money, although these amounts are pretty modest.
Still, some players found the gameplay too repetitive. Some players also mentioned that the earnings from paid game items were inadequate for their price. For example, the player James Taylor complained that he earned only two cents from gold capsules worth about $5 each. However, these complaints were made in 2021, and the game might have undergone updates that fixed this problem.
Crypto Cats data security
Note that, unlike Crypto Fox, Crypto Cats does not encrypt the collected user data. This data includes financial information, app activity, crash logs, and the device ID. There is also no feature to request the deletion of data.
Crypto DOGE
Crypto DOGE is the latest addition to the Realis series of merge games free apps. This time, from all the cute animal drawings, Realis designers have chosen popular Shiba Inu memes.
Note that this is not another DOGE clicker app. Crypto Doge has the traditional gameplay and mechanics of this series. Moreover, it uses LIS tokens instead of the DOGE cryptocurrency.
"Crypto DOGE is the most awaited game for the crypto community. Over 150 awesome DOGEs," Realis' website states.
Crypto DOGE reviews
At the moment of publication, Crypto DOGE was downloaded over 5,000 times and rated 222 times. During its short existence on the Google Play market, it received 4.3 stars.
Many Crypto DOGE users especially appreciate the possibility of earning cryptocurrency while playing, as well as the fact that the application does not contain advertisements, while the negative reviews mention the technical problems that lead to the loss of game progress.
Crypto DOGE data security
Realis claims that Crypto DOGE encrypts data during transmission and allows app users to request the deletion of data.
Crypto Dragons
If you prefer casual dragon games to cute animal drawings, you might find Crypto Dragons, one more game of the series, more attractive.
The game's aesthetics use the same style for a dragon drawing as it does for cats, foxes, and dogs. In total, there are about a hundred unique dragons with different special features and appearances, including a golden dragon, a white dragon, a Japanese dragon, and many others.
The gameplay is very similar to the games mentioned above. You receive drop boxes that contain dragon eggs. Your baby dragon hatched from an egg will bring you the LIS tokens while merging these mythical creatures will make them more powerful. Over time, you will also unlock new levels and have boss fights, similarly to other games in the series.
The prices for in-game purchases are the same as on other games in the series, but the download file is slightly larger. At press time, it was about 108 MB in size.
Crypto Dragons reviews
At the time of writing, Crypto Dragons was downloaded over 1 million times and reviewed more than 122,000 times. The game received 4.2 stars on Google Play.
Crypto Dragons players especially appreciate the efficient and helpful customer service. Although they find the game very similar to Crypto Cats, they believe that it is worth playing for the additional opportunity to earn the same cryptocurrency.
Many negative reviews of the game were particularly related to the updates that have redesigned the application too much, making its UI more confusing and the graphics less appealing.
Data safety
Crypto Dragons can collect your name and financial information on purchases in addition to the standard data on the device ID, email, and crash logs. More importantly, at the time of publication, Realis did not encrypt the personal data used by Crypto Dragons and did not provide any methods to request its removal.
Read also: Top 5 GameFi projects to watch in 2022
Bottom line
The genre of casual games is very broad and includes a wide variety of apps with different features. In some, you will have to match similar items, in others, you will have control over moving objects while there is also software that includes minimalistic battle mechanics allowing players to engage in fighting against a real opponent.
Although you will not find a sophisticated Sims-like character, rich city or world maps, and a complex storyline like in many other Android games, such as Stardew Valley, NFT's casual games can turn into business tools that will not only entertain you for free but also generate passive income.
