Rampant piracy may cause for headaches for thousands of Android developers month in month out, but – bear with us – it does have an upside. The fact that it's become so easy to pick up an Android game illegally has meant that canny developers have focused on free-to-play titles to stay competitive.
As a result, Google Play is flooded with high-quality free Android game releases – games that, on rival platforms, can often set you back a bit of cash. If only there was someone in the know who was on hand to sort out the wheat from the chaff, recommending the best free Android games you can download right now. It's just as well we're in a good mood, isn't it?
1. CLASH ROYAL
There was always a fair chance that the studio that bought us Clash of Clans and Boom Beach - two of the biggest free-to-play fiestas from the last few years - was always going to save something special for any follow up. Clash Royale has managed to win over millions in just a couple of months on Google Play, even converting those who cast scorn on Supercell's previous releases.
The long and short of it? Clash Royale is a card-battling tower-defense tussle that takes place within the Clash of Clans universe. Even better, with no pesky energy system to speak of, you can also play for as long and as often as you like.
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2. TOP ELEVEN 2016
For far too long, football statisticians have had to pay out either for SEGA's Football Manager or Championship Manager to live out their managerial ambitions. Nordeus' free Top Eleven series, however, has upset the apple cart, ticking many of the same boxes without charging you for it.
Interestingly, rather than launching a brand new game every twelve months, the team behind the game have also opted to update the existing app once a year, meaning dedicated fans of the series always have the latest version of the title on their handset. What lovely people!
3. ALTO'S ADVENTURE
Good things come to those who wait... For a port. While iPhone owners have been enjoying Alto's Adventure – a charming and addictive endless runner set on the mountain slopes – for some time now, it's only just made the jump to Android. But the one benefit for those who have enviously been looking over the shoulders of their iOS adversaries is that in the process of making the transition, it's also lost its price tag.
Now you can enjoy Alto's slip and slide down the hills as he races to capture his escaped llamas without ever parting with a bean.
4. COLOR SWITCH
Had enough of Flappy Bird? Want something that tests your timing to a similar degree but doesn't revolve around smashing avians into huge metal pipes? Color Switch is all about keeping a ball bouncing in the air until its colour tallies up with some revolving obstacles. Each one you successfully match up allows your ball to pass through to the next stage, with survival being your one and only goal.
It's the kind of game that relies on you having friends also playing to generate a little bit of high score envy, however, so make sure they play ball. Literally.
5. TOTAL WAR BATTLES: KINGDOM
Once home to little more than blue hedgehogs and the even bluer skies of countless coin-ops, SEGA has spent the last decade and a half diversifying, with Creative Assembly of Total War fame one of its most astute purchases.
So potent is Total War that this Battle's spin off on mobile now has a fanbase all of its own, and the latest release – Kingdom – is already proving popular. Moving beyond just mere battles, the idea is to create and manage your own empire, playing as God as you conquer new territory. If you fancy running an entire world in your pocket, this is your first port of call.
6. RAYMAN ADVENTURES
Total War's not the only big screen franchise that's made a successful transition to the world of mobile. Ubisoft's great gangly mascot Rayman has also fashioned a career for himself on smartphones, and Rayman Adventures is the latest in Ubisoft's series of automatic runners.
As in previous releases, jumping between platforms at quick pace is the order of the day. However, unlike Jungle Run and follow up Fiesta Run, however, you can now actually change direction! Who said mobile games were limited, eh?
7. FADING LIGHT
Ever found yourself lost in a maze and felt like you were going to pass out from panic? That's the basic concept behind Fading Light, although instead of a typical hedgerow affair, it's a 2D digital maze, and instead of passing out, the little dot of light you control runs out of energy.
Managing to get said dot to the level's end before his light fades – picking up little packs of energy as you go – is your sole aim, though the deep and dark stages you run into naturally make this more than a little tricky.
8. CALL OF CHAMPIONS
Who fancies taking on a MOBA that isn't weighed down by a ridiculously complicated set of rules and an upgrade system only the most dedicated can understand? Call of Champions' take on the genre – that's a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, if you didn't already know – serves as a competitive but welcoming introduction.
With just a handful of different characters at your disposal and a tight and tense arena, the idea is to take down a rival team's base whilst protecting your own, pushing a ball along a pre-defined ramp into enemy territory. The fact battles only last a few minutes also means that even if you're on the losing side, your misery is mercifully short-lived.
9. SANDSTORM: PIRATE WARS
There are three things that are always guaranteed to sell a video game - zombies, ninjas, or pirates. Ubisoft may be better known for specialising in assassins of late, but its take on pirate warfare was always likely to be popular thanks to the aforementioned rule.
Although the big surprise is that play doesn't actually take place on the high seas. Instead, you take part in real-time battles controlling ships flying above the sand, building up your war machine so it can take out targets as you travel. What's more, there's not a parrot or peg leg in sight.
10. POCKET MORTYS
You can always count on Adult Swim to serve up something a little different, at least in terms of pitching. As its name suggests, Pocket Mortys is based on the one time Back to the Future parody Rick and Morty cartoon, meaning it comes wrapped in some madcap humour.
Its format, is actually rather familiar, with critics labelling it as Pokemon for the Cartoon Network generation. The idea is to collect alternate dimension versions of Morty and battle them against each other in turn-based encounters, tapping into the monster-battling model without making full-grown adults feel quite as embarrassed for playing it.
