Just got a new tablet for Christmas, or a new smartphone? Looking for something a little more engaging to play than Flappy Bird? Something more challenging than the endless grind of Clash of Clans? And a bit more grown-up than Angry Birds? Then you're in the right place, here are our favourite Android games of all time, the ones that have really made us believe that mobile gaming can live up to the big console releases. No, they're largely not free, but then you pay for what you get in this life, and these are worth splashing out a few quid on.
Hearthstone - Free with in-app purchases
The only free-to-play game on this list, as the vast majority are either simplistic diversions or devilish creations that sacrifice balance and skilful progression on the altar of profit. Hearthstone is a head-to-head card game enjoyed by millions around the world, based around the popular World of Warcraft game. You need have no experience of that game, or of its spiritual forefather Magic the Gathering, to play Hearthstone though as its mechanics are slick and streamlined. 'Minutes to learn but a lifetime to master' has never been more true. You can spend real cash buying more cards, but the free basic card sets are good and the daily quests will quickly earn you enough to get the key cards for any of the nine character classes. A brilliant game and one that could keep you entertained forever. There are two downsides,you must have an internet connection to play, and it will only run on 6in or bigger tablets.
Read our full Hearthstone review.
XCOM: Enemy Within - £9.89
Quite simply the best, accessible strategy game of recent years. Yes, we know you've defended the earth from alien invasions many, many times before, but here you have to capture alien subjects, research new weapons, keep your allies onside to fund your personal army and then direct them in the field in a series of tense turn-based battles. It's brilliant stuff with a real, developing story to play through as you find out more about the invaders. This 'Enemy Within' version of the original 'Enemy Unknown' comes complete with loads of extra, including mechanised suits and genetic enhancements for your men. A brilliant game, and one you can take at your own pace.
Read our full XCOM: Enemy Unknown review.
Plants vs Zombies - Free
Forget its capable but free-to-play sequel, this first outing is now free (or confusingly 50p depending on which version you buy) and has all the PvZ action you need. Essentially a tower defence game, you must defend your home from the shuffling dead, who approach in rows. You do this by planting kick-ass plants in your lawn, who then lay down a hail of peas and other projectiles. It's fast-paced action where you have to think on your feet, the game scales up nicely, adding new environmental challenges, new enemies and new plants. It's great fun from beginning to end, and there is a definite end too, which we like.
Read our full Plants vs Zombies review.
The Room and The Room 2 - 69p and £2
The Room (and its sequel) does something simply brilliant, it presents you with a puzzle box and lets you get on with discovering its mysteries. What's really impressive is how physical, how tactile the box itself feels as you spin it around, push hidden buttons, twist cogs and slide open secret nooks. Everything is beautfully rendered and you can take our time exploring its intracacies and discovering the secret hidden deep inside. An incredible bargain at just 69p.
Desert Golfing - £1.19
Desert Golfing is a very simple game. The ball appears on the left, there's a hole on the right and you set power and angle using your finger to try and get the ball in the hole. The screen then shifts over to reveal the next hole and you repeat the process. Forever. The courses are randonly generated, we've seen one piece of scenery, a cactus, in nearly 600 holes, it just goes on and on and on. There's a score for the total number of shots and it keeps count of the number of holes completed, but there's nothing else, no par, no awards, and no way to start again bar uninstalling the game. It's incredibly minimal, but the height on the shots, the physics of the ball bouncing and sticking to the sand is so good you won't care.
Sorcery 1 & 2 - £3.00 each
Sorcery is a classic Eighties gamebook series, arguably the jewel in the crown of the Fighting Fantasy books, a multi-part epic fantasy adventure with darking and mysterious overtones, we love it. And now it's better than ever, thanks to this masterful convertsion by interactive storyteller Inkle. The game plays out through the usual book passages, but combat has been redesigned entirely and there's a map so you can follow your progress across the land. The first book is great, but the second is brilliant, and if fantasy isn't your thing then also check out 80 Days, a similarly-structured steampunk take on Around the World ...
World of Goo - £2.99
World of Goo is a brilliantly innovative puzzle game, in which you have to build structures, such as bridges, in order to traverse its levels. Your only building blocks are blobs of stretchy, sticky goo, which you drop down to create some pretty cool and clever structures. The physics are excellent, there are special types of goo as you progress, and the challenges are brain teasing at times. Amazingly though there's actually a rather bizzarre and surreal, yet touching, story behind all this and the art is nothing short of brilliant. A must play title.
Read our full World of Goo review.
Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition - £6.99
Baldur's Gate took the Dungeons and Dragons pen and paper game and evolved it into a tightly paced, incredibly vivid PC game that looks just as good on an Android tablet as it did on our CRT monitors back in 1998.
You could buy what is arguably one of the greatest RPGs of all time by itself, but really the Baldur's Gate saga comes into its own in the sequel, Shadows of Amn. You can then import your character from the first game and pick up where you left off in the Sword Coast.
Read our full Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition review.
The Walking Dead - First episode free, £3 per episode
Making the best of a bad situation is never easy, but it's even more difficult when you're trying to guide a rag-tag band of survivors through the zombie apocalypse. Based on Robert Kirkman's comic book series of the same name, TellTale's The Walking Dead is a point-and-click adventure that forces you to make tough moral choices as you try and head to safety. The story adapts to your choices, too, so there's plenty of replay value. With one of the best-written cast of characters you're ever likely to meet on Android, The Walking Dead is a must play – just be warned that it's not for the faint of heart.