Mobile gaming is still on the rise, and in the UK, it reached an all-time high in 2020/2021, when it hit a penetration of 39%, up from 23% in 2019. Naturally, this was mainly due to government-imposed stay-at-home measures. But the boost this sphere got five years ago has maintained decently, as evident by the fact that in 2025, its penetration stood at 34%. Below, we give you ten games from this genre that have captivated UK gamers the most.
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1. Coin Master
Coin Master is a chance-based game where users earn credits to upgrade items, build villages, etc. Developed by Moon Active, an Israel-based company, Coin Master has been downloaded over three hundred million times on Google Play since its launch in 2015. In 2019, data showed that in the first four years after its release, this app generated over $260 million in the US market and $79 million in the UK. Many consider it a cultural phenomenon, and its rise has been massively aided by its Facebook integration capabilities.
2. Block Blast
What we have here is a puzzle game akin to Tetris. However, Block Blast by HungryStudio, the creators of Sudoku and Solitaire Master, lets players clear both horizontal and vertical lines, and this pick allows players to drag blocks at their own pace. It rose to prominence in 2024 and has overtaken genre stalwarts like Candy Crush Saga in the UK thanks to its friend leader boards and team challenges.
3. MONOPOLY GO!
Various online iterations of this classic board game exist, utilizing its recognizable visual style and gameplay elements. This Scopely reimagining of this game became public in April 2023, with a single-player focus where players roll virtual dice to move across themed boards, starting with ownership of all properties. They upgrade these into landmarks using in-game currency earned through rent and mini-games. The social aspect comes through asynchronous PvP modes, like raids.
4. Subway Surfers
Created by two Danish cartoon enthusiasts, Bodie Jahn-Mulliner and Sylvester Rishøj Jensen, amidst their animation education, this is an endless running game for mobile gamers that originally got unleashed in 2012. To date, it remains the most successful running title for mobile phones. In it, users assume the identity of graffiti artists, and they run across cities collecting coins, power-ups, and various items while dodging collisions with trains and other objects. Subway Surfers has millions of active players in the UK who look to rank high globally on leader boards and among friends, sharing their high scores on social media.
5. Candy Crush Saga
Here is a tile-matching option for smartphone users that even those not into mobile gaming have likely heard of, as it was initially created for Facebook. There is still a browser variant, so this game, which utilizes the freemium model, is also available for desktop gamers. Its gameplay consists of players swapping candies to clear levels, and its social features are friend challenges and guilds. In 2017, Candy Crush Saga was named the most popular UK game ever
6. Reel Master
This is technically not a single game, but a set of weekly and monthly Reel Masters Tournaments run by OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos.org, a well-respected site that analyses various games-of-chance platforms on the Web. Its competitions are open to gamers worldwide and are organized on reel-spinning products like those found in multiple UK pubs. They are all free to enter, requiring no fee, but they supply prizes in Bitcoin, which differ in size depending on the tournament in question, including third-party mobile games from top providers.
7. Pokémon GO
During the height of the COVID-19 hysteria, Pokémon GO was all the rage, grossing over $6 billion in revenue by the end of 2020. At the start of the global pandemic, Pokémon GO activity dropped quite sizably due to stay-at-home restrictions until its developer, Niantic, implemented new features that drove monthly activity up by 45% in half a year. Today, team-based gym battles, trading, and Community Day events foster real-world meetups for lovers of this augmented reality product, where users chase after fictional creatures in real-world settings.
8. Roblox
Created by Erik Cassel and David Baszucki in 2004, Roblox got set loose to mass audiences in 2006. As of early 2025, it has around eighty-five million active users daily, many of whom come from the United Kingdom. This is not a game but an online platform that functions as a game creation system, and it has a virtual economy centered around a native virtual currency. Anyone can make a 3D game using Roblox and share it with millions, which has made it especially popular with those under sixteen.
9. Clash of Clans
In the mid to late 2010s, TV audiences in the US got bombarded with Clash of Clans ads, which were quite well-done and featured popular celebrities like Liam Neeson. This is a classic strategy where players build villages and wage clan wars. The app has a social guild system and PvP battles that require quality communication and coordination.
10. Among Us
Among Us showed up in 2018 as the brainchild of Innersloth, inspired by the 1982 horror remake of The Thing and somewhat by the party game Mafia. It is a puzzle deduction pick where players try to identify impostors on a spaceship. Casual gamers love this multiplayer social gaming choice, which peaked in late 2020 but still rakes in around ten thousand simultaneous players today.
