17 Recommended Smartphone Game Apps: Indie Apps for Android and iPhone, by Genre
Published 2026/10/25 / by MASHIMARO produce
Here are the smartphone game apps distributed by indie game developer "Masimaro". They include roguelike RPGs, puzzle, idle, horror and management simulation games, from quick plays to slow-burn raising games, so you can choose to match your mood. They're distributed on Google Play for Android and the App Store for iPhone. App names are our English translations of the Japanese titles.
Note: prices, in-app purchases and supported devices can change. Check the latest information on each store page before downloading. Availability may vary by country.
Key points
- 17 indie smartphone game apps, introduced by genre
- 6 apps can be played on both Android and iPhone
- Distributed on Google Play for Android and the App Store for iPhone (check price and purchases in the store)
- Some can be tried first in the browser version
Quick table: Android and iPhone availability
- Both Android and iPhone (6): Isekai Henteko Dungeon, Meteor Merge, Midnight Road Drive, Seeker Guild, Puzzle Box Escape, Card Craft
- iPhone only (5): Dungeon Shop, The Mole and the Lantern, Stage Light, Fossil Dig Clicker, Mine Digging 2048
- Android only (6): Isekai Idle RPG: Hero of the Star Shards, Isekai Nostalgia Hero, Creature Reincarnation, Tetropolis, Village Sweeper, Kowloon Cavern
For details by OS, see Android game app recommendations and iPhone game app recommendations.
For people who like roguelikes and RPGs
- Isekai Henteko Dungeon: A turn-based roguelike RPG where you dive with a single pickaxe. The terrain changes every dive, and whenever you take a step the monsters take one too. Dig through walls to make paths and craft with materials to develop your town. (Google Play / App Store)
- Kowloon Cavern: Solitaire RPG: A board-game-style dungeon RPG where you fight monsters through Klondike solitaire and take on the black dragon with a 52-card deck. (Google Play)
- Isekai Idle RPG: Hero of the Star Shards: Isekai reincarnation x idle RPG. A hack-and-slash adventure where you gather gear, raise your hero and search for seven star shards. (Google Play)
- Isekai Nostalgia Hero: Fantasy RPG: A high school student summoned to another world sets out with companions on a five-chapter journey. A classic retro RPG with job changes and pixel art. (Google Play)
- Dungeon Shop: Isekai Shopkeeper RPG: A voxel-art shop-management RPG where, as a shopkeeper who can use neither sword nor magic, you grow a stall at a dungeon entrance into a large trading company. You run the gather, process and sell cycle while automating it. (App Store)
It's also a good idea to experience the fun of roguelikes first with Slime Roguelike RPG, free in your browser. For more, see free RPG recommendations.
For people who like puzzles
- Meteor Merge: Planet Merge Puzzle: A physics puzzle where you pull the screen back and release to fire meteors like a slingshot, using the sun's gravity to merge planets. You grow a meteor into the Moon, Mars, Earth and on to Jupiter. It has five modes. (Google Play / App Store)
- Mine Digging 2048: Ore Match-3 Puzzle: A mining puzzle that mixes match-3 with 2048: swap adjacent ores to line up three, and the ore is refined and its number doubles. You grow 14 tiers of ore, from coal to rainbow crystal. (App Store)
- Tetropolis: City Growth Puzzle: A city-development puzzle where you fit together four-square pieces to grow a small village into a world city. (Google Play)
- Village Sweeper: Frontier Puzzle: Open up unknown land using number and color hints. A deduction x nation-building puzzle where your town grows and civilization advances. (Google Play)
- Puzzle Box Escape: A 3D escape puzzle where you turn an intricate three-dimensional puzzle box and solve the mechanisms hidden on its six faces in the right order. Four boxes are included. (Google Play / App Store)
For people who like finding things, horror and escape
- Midnight Road Drive: Strange-Phenomena Horror Game: A horror game where a car drives itself along a night road and you only choose left or right at forks. "If you see it, go the other way." You compare the road a sign points to with the anomaly you saw, and choose. (Google Play / App Store)
- Seeker Guild: Item-Hunting Fantasy: A game where, using the portrait on a request sheet as a clue, you find a person in a town crowd within a time limit. Confusing look-alikes are mixed in, but if you compare carefully you can always reach the answer. Ten stages are included. (Google Play / App Store)
Browser escape games are covered in free escape game recommendations.
For people who like idle, raising and crafting
- Card Craft: Craft & Survive With Cards: A one-handed, portrait craft-and-survival game where you tap a 5x7 = 35-card layout to gather materials and craft 87 kinds of items to survive. You travel through eight worlds with day and night cycles. (Google Play / App Store)
- Fossil Dig Clicker: Idle Mining Incremental: An excavation incremental where you tap rocks to break them, and when you find a raw stone, carefully carve out the fossil. Hitting the fossil lowers its preservation, which directly affects its buyback price. (App Store)
- The Mole and the Lantern: A mining game where you dig underground relying on lantern oil that keeps dropping even while you dig. Ore also works as fuel. If you smash the core crystal and escape, you take home all the ore you mined. (App Store)
- Stage Light: An idol raising x agency management simulation where you lead a small talent agency to the top in 260 weeks (five years). Each week's "choice" moves the story. (App Store)
- Creature Reincarnation: Life Simulation: You're reincarnated by a lottery weighted by the number of lives on Earth. A reincarnation simulation where you live out the lives of 51 species, from bacteria to elephants, dinosaurs and humans. (Google Play)
The browser version of Card Craft is free to play with no installation. For idle games, see also idle and clicker game recommendations.
How to choose a smartphone game app
- Choose by play time: puzzle or idle for spare moments, RPG or management simulation for longer play.
- Choose by controls: can you play one-handed in portrait, mostly with taps?
- Check the store information: price, whether there are in-app purchases, supported OS version and target age.
- Try the browser version: if you're unsure how it plays, start with the free browser version.
In-depth articles on individual apps
- Shop-management RPG app: Dungeon Shop
- Idol-raising simulation app: Stage Light
- Turn-based roguelike RPG app: Isekai Henteko Dungeon
- 3D escape puzzle app: Puzzle Box Escape
- Planet merge puzzle app: Meteor Merge
- Ore puzzle app: Mine Digging 2048
- Mining game app: The Mole and the Lantern
- Find-the-person game app: Seeker Guild
- Fossil excavation clicker app
- Horror game app: Midnight Road Drive
If you want to see all the apps
Every app currently distributed is collected on the smartphone apps page (Japanese). News on new releases and updates is posted on X (@masimaro).
FAQ
Q. Are there apps I can play on both Android and iPhone?
A. Six apps are distributed on both Google Play and the App Store: Isekai Henteko Dungeon, Meteor Merge, Midnight Road Drive, Seeker Guild, Puzzle Box Escape and Card Craft.
Q. Are the apps free?
A. It depends on the app and the store. On the App Store as of October 27, 2026, the 11 apps introduced were listed at 120 yen. Check each store page for Google Play prices and in-app purchases.
Q. Can I try an app before buying?
A. Some, such as Card Craft, have a free browser version. You can play it in your phone's browser with no installation.
Q. How do I download safely?
A. Download from the official Google Play or App Store, checking the page of the developer name "Masimaro (masimaro)".