My 13 hour flight just got delayed 7 hours, I'm stuck at my second airport, and I dont think I'm gonna make it. I have some movies and audio books on my phone, but really only anticipated having to burn the flight time via napping and some media, not 7 hours leading up to it, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna mentally burn out on passive media.
I have media on my phone - movies, shows and audio books, but I can only do about 2-3 hours at a stretch before I burn out on those things.
I have wifi and power both on the ground and on the plane, although I'm sure the connection once we get going isn't going to be performance enough for online games.
I have a phone and headset but didn't bring a laptop because it was just extra bulk I didn't think I'd need. I don't have a switch or steam deck or anything neat.
I have access to the airport lounge, so drinks are free, and I get free drinks on the plane. I don't want to get wasted or have to pee constantly, so my plan is to jim lahey it.
I'm intrigued by mobile games, but every one I've tried has felt too gimmicky with gambling or freemium BS mechanics. Also tried started valley but it never got me hooked either. I have an android and will buy games if they're worth it.
I'm open to any other ideas that could somehow mentally (or physically while on the ground) stimulate me.
I'm a dude in my 30s with a family and kids, but I'm currently traveling solo.
I've already killed 2 hours on a plane and 2 more on the ground (my planned connection time) doing nothing, I was saving my media trying to avoid burning out on shit before I get on the plane.
Just in the Android games thing, a couple of recommendations:
Golf Blitz - very fun crazy golf game which does have IAPs but they're not at all necessary to progress a long way in the game (in the very upper levels, it gets a bit slow as you need to build XP, but I've been playing it more than a year and never felt tempted to buy my way up the ladder. It'll certainly provide entertainment for a few hours. Does need an online connection though.
Antiyoy - very simple strategy game that starts easy and gets very tricky. It's fun and no connection needed. Over 170 official levels, plus a whole bunch of user levels of varying quality. No IAPs at all as far as I remember.
+1 for antiyoy. Been playing for years. I still play it all the time. I think I've donated either in this game or one of his other ones but I haven't seen IAP in any of them.
Did you ever beat level 90? It's the first level that I simply could not find a way to win. Been trying it on and off for probably a couple of years. Eventually had to skip it and just go to 91 (which I'm also struggling with!)
I've never went back to campaign actually, I lost my progress at one point and not sure how far I made it. Now I just play master level sandbox, max AI players, huge map.