Which genres actually suit a five-minute break

Mobile is the one platform where you genuinely might only get five minutes at a time, and not every genre handles that well. Arcade games and light puzzles are the obvious winners — a run of Volcane Spins or a board of Gridlock Garden slots neatly into a short gap.

RPGs are trickier. We love a good one, but a game that needs ten minutes just to get back into a dungeon fights against how most people play on a phone. The best mobile RPGs let you save mid-fight and pick straight back up.

Strategy sits somewhere in between. A turn-based map can wait patiently for you, but a real-time one punishes you for putting the phone down. Think about how you actually play before you commit to a long campaign.

Our advice: match the genre to your routine, not the other way round. The best game for you is the one you'll actually keep opening.