15 best sports games you can play on Android
Sports apps present an interesting dilemma for game developers, who must choose between skilled adaptation or faithful depictions of real-world games. Fortunately, this versatile genre of app can cater to a bunch of different gameplay loops, be it slow and contemplative experiences or fast-paced tests of reaction time. Whether you want something subdued and stylized or a thrill ride that putsyour sleek Android gaming phoneto the test, sports games don’t disappoint.
Fans ofthese great appshave many options vying for the spotlight, so AP is stepping in to help narrow it down. Check out our favorites in this roundup of the best sports games available on the Play Store right now.
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What qualifies as an Android Sports game?
Android sports games are titles that convert any real-world sports to the mobile platform. The nature of game design also allows for more abstract experimentation with real-world sports, fiddling with the rules or expectations. These apps have to adapt the rules and inputs of the respective sport into a touch interface, such as dragging back a pool cue with your finger or repositioning a table tennis paddle. The skills required to succeed in sports games very commonly mimic the skills required in the sport they are converting from attention to skateboard inclines to soccer player positioning. Sports games are fantastic for fans or enthusiasts of a particular real-world game and can be both fun pastimes and interesting spins on the sport you know and love.
15The Ramp
Good skateboarding games are getting rarer and rarer, and while Tony Hawk revivalists and EA’s Skate fans certainly have games to play and look forward to, mobile is a bit more of a wasteland. That was until The Ramp was released in October 2021. This is not only a great little bowl and ramp riding game; it’s free, and there are no ads or in-app purchases to be seen. Yes, the touch controls will take some practice, but since the game supports physical controllers, you have the option to play with something much more tactile than a glass screen. Don’t sleep on this one, folks; it’s the best skateboarding game on Android.
14Golf On Mars
For those looking to get down to the basics, Golf on Mars (Desert Golfing’s sequel) is a great title that’s a joy to play. Despite the simple look and gameplay, it’s pretty dang challenging. Much like the game that came before it, you’ll spend your time shooting golf balls to try and get them to each course’s goal.
The thing is, it grows increasingly difficult as the holes reach stranger and stranger spots. The game requires puzzle-like thinking to figure out how to shoot the ball to a location in as few shots as possible. Sure, the game is pretty minimal when it comes to graphics. Still, this does mean you could run it on just about anything, making the game highly versatile no matter what Android devices you own.
138 Ball Pool
8 Ball Pool is a simulation game focused on the titular sport. The gameplay pits you against the CPU and online opponents in top-down pool games, and you’ll use touch controls to manipulate your cues position and your shot’s strength. 8 Ball Pool utilizes a leaderboard system, which coincides with your current level and determines the gameplay difficulty, which can be increased by winning matches. The higher you rise in the leaderboard, the more skilled your opponents will be.
The game’s matches are perfectly responsive and functional, accurately simulating real games of pool. Winning both one-on-one and tournaments yields coins that can be used to enter matches and brackets of higher skill and stakes, as well as for purchasing customization items. Ultimately, your enjoyment will be largely determined by how much the low-fi and more passively strategic tone of the pool appeals to you. Check it out if you like the sport but want to avoid angry opponents with big sticks.
12Table Tennis Touch
The gameplay in Table Tennis Touch is fairly straightforward and may remind you of Wii sports. You control a mysterious (possibly haunted) floating paddle and move it with your finger to strike the ball back when it comes your way. The hit detection and weightiness of the ball are not quite realistic, having hit detection that borders on overgenerous and a seemingly statically maintained swing speed which can make the game feel a bit too easy.
Since this is an offline experience, Table Tennis Touch doesn’t offer any PvP. Still, it compensates with various modes, such as half table and skittles, which puts a bit of color back into the experience and presents an alternative if you somehow get bored with table tennis. The game does trip up slightly with unnecessarily pushy tutorials that can’t be bypassed, not letting you play the actual matches until you’ve done them all. But aside from that, Table Tennis Touch is adequate for a mobile table tennis game, especially if you just like the idea of being good at the sport. A perfect little time waster once that annoying tutorial robot gets lost.
11Retro Bowl
If you prefer something a little more old-school or are simply looking to relive your days playing Tecmo Bowl, you should check out Retro Bowl. This game offers similar 8-bit graphics, but what sets it apart is strategic gameplay and team management, offering more depth than its inspiration.
The game is free, with a credit system in play. You’ll upgrade certain features, like your stadium or training facilities, and in-app purchases are included, with a $0.99 unlock for unlimited gameplay. Also, there are optional credit packs for those looking to advance quickly. Still, seeing that this is a single-player game, what players spend won’t affect anyone else. So as far as fairly-priced mobile football games go, Retro Bowl is easily a top contender thanks to its deceptively deep gameplay and fair pricing model.
10Virtua Tennis Challenge
Believe it or not, Virtua Tennis Challenge dates back to 2012 as a mobile release and was brought back to life as a Sega Forever game in 2017. You might not know it, but Sega used to hammer out quality tennis games back in the day. Virtua Tennis Challenge is the culmination of that effort, seeing that it’s the last game in the series. So, you can expect polished gameplay, and even though the game is old, the graphics are plenty good enough.
Now, Virtua Tennis Challenge offers touch controls, and they work fine in a pinch. However, the game shines when playing with a controller, so it’s the way to go if you have one handy. Like all Sega Forever titles, you can play the entire game free with ads. If you’d like to remove the ads, you can do so for $2. For a full-fledged tennis game that offers multiple modes to play through, ranging from singles to doubles, you can’t go wrong with this one.
9Grand Mountain Adventure
I’ve been beating my drum over Grand Mountain Adventure for years now. Seeing that the game was recently released on consoles and PC, mobile is still a perfectly viable platform to play the game if you’ve yet to check it out. It’s great in bite-sized bursts, thanks to its short challenges. Plus, controller support means you sit down for extended sessions, just like a proper console game. The graphics are on point, there is a ton of content to explore spread across several mountains, and you can even play with friends locally across devices.
The first mountain is free, and if you like what you see, you could unlock the full title for $10.99, including all the extra mountains added previously as DLC. Since the game retails on PC and consoles for $20, you’re still getting quite the deal on mobile, especially when controller support is packed in.
There are tons of golf games on Android, ranging from Hot Shots knock-offs filled with awful monetization to minimal games that are tough as nails. OK, Golf sits somewhere in the middle, offering arcade-like gameplay spread across a wide selection of low-poly courses. This isn’t putt-putt; it is full-fledged courses with simple controls just about anyone can pick up within a few minutes. Essentially, it’s a stylish game built for fun instead of maximum profit, which is how it easily stands out in the crowd.
OK, Golf is a premium release that retails for $2.99, and there are no in-app purchases or s. Thanks to the simple graphics, just about any device can run it, and with simple controls, just about anyone can play it. It’s an accessible title that suits mobile well. If you’re big into golf games, it’s a must-play for sure.
7Bottom of the 9th
When you think of board games, one of the last genres you’d think of would be sports. Yet, Bottom of the 9th is not only a well-reviewed physical board game that dates back to 2015, but it’s also a digital mobile game that goes by the same name. This interpretation is easily one of the better baseball games on the Play Store, thanks to fair pricing and time-tested gameplay. And don’t let the fact that this was originally a board game scare you away; the mechanics are taught through a Spring Training tutorial for batting and pitching, so all bases are covered.
What’s great is that you don’t have to jump into multiplayer immediately. The game has a solo-play mode that you can familiarize yourself with before taking on live opponents. The gameplay is limited to two players if you want to battle your friends, so this is less a party game and more something two people can enjoy together. Best of all, this is a premium release that clocks in at $1, which is cheap enough that just about anyone can afford it. Pair that pricing with accessible gameplay, and you have a winner.
6Trail Boss BMX
Noodlecake has brought a similar game called Descenders to Android as a port, but performance is middling. While Trail Boss looks and plays similarly, it performs much better. It’s your job to make your way down hills in the most stylish way possible, performing tricks at every opportunity. This allows your creativity to shine as you find the best runs for each hill. So if you were a fan of doing the same in games like the Pumped BMX series, then you’ll more than likely enjoy what Trail Boss BMX has to offer.
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