20 best Android tablet games

Tablets seem almost tailor made to play Android games. Their larger screen sizes allow you to enjoy the graphics more and it allows the controls and mechanics to spread out over a wider area which gives you more control. There are a variety of games that are great on both tablets and phones, but there are others that are just plain better on tablets. Let’s take a look at the best Android tablet games!

Board games also make fantastic tablet games! Check out the best Android board games!
Or grab one of the best emulators for Android and play some old school classics!

Anomaly 2

[Price: $4.99]
When it comes to gaming on a larger screen, Anomaly 2 has it all. Great graphics, a good story, and controls that translate well to the big screen. If your tablet happens to be packing a Tegra K1 (Nexus 9, Shield Tablet) then you’ll have an even better graphical experience. Anomaly 2 is a hybrid tower offense / tower defense game with online multiplayer capabilities and a highly regarded single player mode. There is a lot of content with a decent price tag and no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!

Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate II, and Icewind Dale

[Price: $9.99 each]
We grouped these three games together because they were all released by the same developer (Beamdog). All three titles are huge, immersive RPGs that were ported from PC to Android in 2014. They feature very long stories with complex game play and are sure to keep you busy for months upon months. The control schemes are also quite complex and the larger tablet screens makes that much easier to deal with. Each game is $9.99 and are complete ports of the original games.
Get it now on Google Play!

The Bard’s Tale

[Price: $1.99 with in app purchases]
This witty RPG brought back from long ago has above average graphics, a long story, and it plays amazingly on a tablet. This is one that’s perfectly enjoyable on a smartphone but just feels better playing on a tablet.The game itself is a classic RPG with around 20 hours of story telling, Google Play Games services, and more. It also has third party controller support if you happen to be packing one of those. It’s one of the best RPGs on Android and it’s relatively inexpensive.
Get it now on Google Play!

Fallout Shelter

[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Fallout Shelter is a builder-sim where you must build a shelter for all of the Dwellers who want to live and survive there. Unlike most builder-sims, this one has quite a bit of depth to it and you’ll be able to build communities, have babies, explore the wastelands to find items, engage with crafting items, and a whole lot more. It was one of the most highly anticipated games of 2015 and your tablet is the perfect place to create your shelter. It is a free-to-play game with some of the same pitfalls as other ones, but Bethesda seems to have done Freemium right with this one.
Get it now on Google Play!

Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions

[Price: $9.99]
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions is the latest game in the Geometry Wars series and this one is pretty intense. Instead of a 2D plane where you make colors explode like fireworks, you’ll be operating on a 3D plane for most of this game. The graphics are sharp, colorful, and they look beautiful on tablet screens. The game includes over 100 levels, 12 battle modes, 15 3D grids, companion drones, and more. It’s a bit expensive, but there are no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!

Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas, and Liberty City Stories

[Price: $4.99 – $6.99]
Rockstar has had great success in porting their Grand Theft Auto series to mobile. In fact, San Andreas won our best game of 2013 award. These games are huge and provide dozens of hours of game play. The larger touch screens of tablets make controls much easier as you have more space and larger buttons. Each game easily provides dozens of hours of game play which makes them easily worth the money. There is also a made-for-mobile GTA called Liberty City Stories that is also pretty good.
Get it now on Google Play!

Heartstone Heroes of Warcraft

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Hearthstone seems to have been tailor made for tablets. Actually, it literally was because it was originally made for tablets and phone support came later on. This is a card collector game that has you building decks, dueling other players, and there are even some single player missions to get you into the mix. Everything is synced to a Battle.net account so you can play between your tablet and computer if you want to which is a nice touch. It’s wildly popular, especially with the Twitch crowd and there are always plenty of people to duel against!
Get it now on Google Play!

Injustice: Gods Among Us

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Injustice: Gods Among Us is among the best fighting games available on Android. It features an extensive cast of DC comics heroes that you use to duke it out against other DC comics heroes. The game play is simple enough to understand. You collect character cards and build teams of three. You then duke it out in an epic 3v3 battle royal between your fighters and the opponent’s fighters. It’s a good game with graphics that really shine on tablet screens and it’s probably the best DC property on Android.
Get it now on Google Play!

Limbo

[Price: $4.99]
Limbo hit the ground running when it was released in 2015 and it’s was one of the most enjoyed and talked about games of the year. You play as a kid looking for his sister in the creepy, monochrome world of Limbo. The throwback black and white design fits the atmosphere perfectly and this is easily one of the best designed games of 2015. The story is okay, but the game play mechanics are enjoyable and it even currently rocks an outstanding 4.7 out of 5 rating in the Google Play Store with over 26000 reviews in total.
Get it now on Google Play!

Minecraft: Pocket Edition

[Price: $6.99]
Minecraft: Pocket Edition is the phone and tablet version of Minecraft. It’s not quite what the PC or console version is right now, but it’s slowly getting there. You still have a ton of stuff to do, blocks to mine, enemies to slay, buildings to build, and crafts to craft. This is another game that feels cramped on phones and a little more roomy on tablets. With this game, your only limit is your imagination. It is a tad expensive, but developers have been adding new features and there are no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!

Real Racing 3

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Here by popular demand from our readers is Real Racing 3. This is a racing title that features some pretty fantastic graphics, over 100 cars from Ford, Aston Martin, and other manufacturers, and extremely detailed tracks. This game is pure eye candy but the game play is simple enough to understand and the game has that “easy to play, difficult to master” mechanic that makes it fun for casual gamers and hardcore gamers alike. There is even an active online multiplayer scene. It does have a few issues here and there, but nothing too bad and it’s definitely worth a shot.
Get it now on Google Play!

République

[Price: $2.99 with in app purchases]
République is a room-escape puzzle game that has you helping a girl named Hope by taking control of cameras and showing her where you to go in order to escape her captors. It’s an entertaining stealth game with amazing graphics and an in-depth, engaging storyline to top things off. It’s an episodic adventure so you’ll have to buy the final four episodes separately as in-app purchases, but the first episode is only a few bucks so it’s worth trying out.
Get it now on Google Play!

Riptide GP2

[Price: $2.99 with in app purchases]
Riptide GP2 is a wave runner racing game where you must do tricks, use boost, and battle the rocky waters to win races. It uses the accelerometer for control although there is support for touch screen controls and even third party controllers if you prefer. The graphics are fantastic and the mechanics are easy to understand and use even on tablets. There are also various online multiplayer modes that let you race against your friends along with cloud saves and achievements via Google Play Games services. It’s a favorite around the Android Authority news room.
Get it now on Google Play!

The Room 3

[Price: $4.99]
The Room 3 is the latest game in The Room series. This one features great graphics along with the franchise’s trademark uniqueness when it comes to puzzles. Most objects are puzzles that also have other puzzles inside of them and the game’s arcane story line adds a bit of atmopshere to the title. It is a little bit short, but there are multiple endings to help give the game replay value. It also comes with cloud saving support so you can play between your phone and tablet. Best of all, there are no in-app purchases.
Get it now on Google Play!

The Sims FreePlay

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
The Sims FreePlay is another one of those games where it’s actually better to play it on a bigger screen than a smaller screen. As with most Sims games, there are a lot of things to tap and a lot of things to build and control. The more screen space you have, the more precise you move. The game features a lot of content that the developers have continuously been adding to for years. It’s a great game for simulation fans, even if the in-app purchases are a little intense.
Get it now on Google Play!

Square Enix collection (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, Chaos Rings, Deus Ex)

[Price: Varies]
Square Enix has released a lot of games on Android and remain one of the few “big name” developers to show an actual interest in the platform. They have released a ton of games on Android, including several Final Fantasy titles, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, a series of Hitman games, Lara Croft GO, Tomb Raider, the Chaos Rings trilogy, the Deus Ex games, and many, many more. These games all play pretty wonderfully on tablets. Most of them have decent storylines, lots of game play content, and tend to look pretty good. The only caveat is that some of them can be a little expensive. Click the button below to check out Square Enix’s collection fo games!
Get it now on Google Play!

Telltale Games

[Price: Varies with in-app purchases]
Telltale Games is a developer studio with a really amazing selection of games. They specialize in point-and-click adventure games with puzzle elements to them. You can find Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead seasons one and two along with Michonne, Tales From the Borderlands, The Wolf Among Us, and Minecraft: Story Mode. Each game remains faithful to its IP and they all provide fantastic audio and visual experiences with decent graphics, top-notch voice acting, and plenty of content. Each game is an episodic adventure so you’ll have to buy the games piece by piece, but otherwise they’re really good.
Get it now on Google Play!

This War of Mine

[Price: $14.99]
This War of Mine was one of the undisputed champions of 2015. It’s a horror-survival game where you must survive a war that’s happening around you. This causes you to make some pretty brutal decisions when it comes to who gets to live and who gets to die. You can also craft various items, manage your shelter, and you get a totally randomized cast of characters every time you start. It’s a dark game, but it’s also really good.
Get it now on Google Play!

Unkilled

[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Unkilled is a zombie FPS game with some of the best graphics you’ve ever seen on mobile. In it, you take on hundreds of missions where your goal is to eliminate, or at least survive, various zombie threats. It features a ton of zombie types, boss battles, more than 50 weapons to collect and upgrade, and around 300 total missions to complete. It also has extra graphics features built-in if you happen to be rocking a Tegra X1 device. There are also various game modes to keep you occupied. There is a lot of content here and most of it is just fantastic.
Get it now on Google Play!

XCOM: Enemy Within

[Price: $9.99]
XCOM: Enemy Within may be fairly expensive at $9.99 but few who have purchased the game regret its larger price tag. It’s a deep, immersive strategy game where you must play a game of proverbial chess with the bad guys and take them out. You play as the humans defending the world against an alien invasion. You must upgrade your weapons and equipment, recruit troops, and there is even multiplayer modes for gamers to enjoy. It’s based on the 2012 title XCOM: Enemy Unknown except with more content, a longer story, and more upgrades. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart and is truly one of the best “console level” gaming experiences on Android.
Get it now on Google Play!

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If we missed any great Android tablet games, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.