If you thought mobile games were all about slowly, but efficiently draining money from your wallet, you’d be wrong. There are a number of mobile games that are exceptionally good, even if they don’t have the best modern graphics. The real trick is, as far as the mobile landscape is concerned, steering clear of the garbage for the gems.

These are the top mobile games available right now. They aren’t “free to play,” don’t ask for additional cash, and are well worth a look.

Civilization VI

The Civilization franchise is long running, coming courtesy of legendary company Firaxis. Most that play the Civilization games praise the focus on strategy, turn based rounds, and the unbelievable degrees of variety.

As would be expected, Civilization VI focuses on building up a race of humans from the Stone Age. By the end of the game the humans will have reached into the far future, essentially letting the player conquer the entire human timeline. Fun, addictive, and deeply thought provoking, this is an excellent mobile game.

Device 6

Astonishingly creative, deeply engaging, and endlessly entertaining, we have Device 6. Having said all that, it may be difficult to believe that the game plays out entirely in text. Well, it does, but not in the anticipated way.

Device 6 is essentially a noir detective mystery, but with the text displayed in endlessly creative ways. This isn’t reading a book, this is an interactive story that uses text as an added layer of entertainment.

Inside

Next time you’re looking up soccer betting odds on your phone, head over to the appropriate game store afterwards and pick up Inside. You won’t regret it, guaranteed. Inside, from the word go, is incredibly ambient, extremely compelling, and overwhelmingly unsettling.

The player controls an unnamed character moving across a familiar, yet twisted landscape. Various physics puzzles are solved in order to progress, which seems straightforward enough. But what makes Inside so unique is that, despite no dialogue ever being spoken, a story is being told. Strange things are clearly going on around the character, including disgusting viruses, zombified humans, and twisted experiments. All set in a dystopian urban-fantasy world.

It is better that Inside is experienced, rather than read about, so check it out yourself. But fair warning, Inside gets more than a little disturbing.

The Room

No, not a game based on the infamous movie, but rather a game about escaping a space. The Room uses touchscreens to their full potential, allowing players to prod, poke, or otherwise manipulate objects. Eventually the poking and prodding will make things happen, opening up increasingly more intricate puzzles. The experience is endlessly fascinating, especially given that just touching objects alone won’t solve puzzles. Swiping, twirling, and sometimes even a device’s microphone may be required.

The Room has been followed up with a series of sequels, all as good, if not better, than the breakout first. As far as mobile games go it doesn’t get much more fun, or better suited for portable devices, than this.