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List of "pick up and play" video games

I don't have enough time and willingness for most story-driven games (unless they are incredibly good), and certainly zero patience for IAP-ridden dross. I prefer simpler, "pick-up-and-play" games that can be played in short intervals; bonus points for lightweight games that can run on just about anything. Here's a list of such games that I like:

Sudoku

So portable, it even runs on paper. Digitally speaking, sudoku.coach is currently the best out there

Bejeweled 3

The original PC version is an incredible time sink. Not sure how the mobile versions are doing nowadays; last I remember they were IAP-infested

Tetris

  • 1st place: Tetris DS. The GOAT
  • 2nd place: Apotris. Highly customizable clone that has been ported to everything
  • 3rd place: Tetris DX. It just feels right
  • Honorable mention(s): Tetris Effect

Modern roguelites

  • Brotato
  • Vampire Survivors

Football games

PS1 era

  • Winning Eleven 2002
    • The very last PS1 WE
    • Has a decent English translation patch and well supported by modders

PS2 era

  • Winning Eleven 8: Liveware Evolution
    • The last (and best) version of WE8 with improved AI, animations, refereeing
    • I feel that WE8LE plays the smoothest out of all PS2-era WE/PES games
    • There are no database editing tools. You are gonna have to live a half-bad default database inside its only English translation (that was used as the base for all modding)
  • Pro Evolution Soccer/Winning Eleven 2008
    • A well-balanced PES6 with physicality and pace toned down
    • Has the best AI out of all PS2-era WEs
    • There are some patches floating around on the Internet for it
    • Has an annoying bug with player salaries in Master League mode
  • Winning Eleven 10
    • Gameplay feels in between WE9/PES5 and PES6
    • Insanely popular in Brazil and there are too many patches for it, mostly of low quality
    • Almost all modding tools for WE/PES support this version

PS3/Xbox 360 era

  • Pro Evolution Soccer 2013
    • There has never been a football game that can describe player individuality as well as PES2013 did and probably there will never be anything like it again

PS4 era

  • FIFA 16 (Ignite engine version on PC/PS4/Xbox One)
    • It feels balanced and the least bland out of all modern (PS3-era onwards) FIFAs
    • Great PC modding scene
  • PES 2020 (+ 2021 Season Update)
    • After so many years of trying, failing, trying again, Konami managed to make a great modern football game, only to fuck it all up with that "eFootball" crap
    • Insane PC modding scene