From the classics of the genre that you can find on PC, to the novelties available on your phone that will brighten up more than one bus trip.
Competitive games – perhaps one of the longest-lived and at the same time transient. If the project did not take off after the launch, did not attract enough audience and money, it is curtailed. This was the case with Artifact, which went from beta testing to a rapid closure in 2.5 years. If the product still managed to occupy a niche and gain a foothold, then the product can be developed indefinitely. This happened with Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which have existed in various variations for about 20 years. Especially if there are competitions in the game.
However, not every product needs tournaments. There are projects that feel great even without any championships and satisfy the need to measure mechanical skills, dexterity and ingenuity. In this text, we will talk about games that are ideal for people of all ages. It is convenient to play them while you are waiting for transport, riding the bus, lying on the couch, sitting in an armchair and ready for a powerful battle alone or in a friendly company.
Marvel Snap
The idea to create a collectible card game (CCG), in which all games last no more than three minutes, came to Ben Broad at the moment when his colleague was sitting in the toilet for 40 minutes playing Hearthstone. The battle between two warriors, whose decks were extremely similar, turned out to be so drawn out and tense that after the game, his legs became very numb. As a result, he lost his balance, fell and broke his leg. Broad felt responsible for a colleague. But he could not implement the idea within the walls of Blizzard because of the bureaucracy in the company. So he opened his own studio, called Yon Wu and Hamilton Chu, with whom he made Hearthstone, and started working on the prototype.
Marvel Snap is very easy to learn and somewhat reminiscent of CD Projekt RED’s Gwent. Here, superheroes do not break each other’s faces, but strive to accumulate as many points as possible. Characters are located on three fields depending on the conditions. For example, the first location prohibits placing cards for 1 mana, the second has a 25% chance to destroy the character being played, and the third slightly prolongs the game. Properties are selected randomly each time, so the participants are required to quickly adapt. Battles last 6 turns (7 by default). The winner is the one who scores more points on two fields out of three.
In time, the whole action takes a couple of minutes (rarely 5). So if you’re standing at a bus stop and the bus isn’t moving, or don’t know how to pass the time while waiting for a friend, Marvel Snap is perfect entertainment. And yes, unlike other CCGs, donut in the game does not simplify, but complicates the life of the user. The thing is that when selecting a match, the system relies not only on the gamer’s rating, but also on the size of his collection. Therefore, the larger the collection, the higher the chances of meeting a person who not only put in money, but also knows card kung fu very well.
Teamfight Tactics
A game for those who want to have a relaxing time before going to bed or during a break at work. Teamfight Tactics by Riot Games works like a meditation session. You collect champion figures, put items on them, look for the perfect combinations and combinations, and then watch how the assembled army is at war with rival troops (there are 8 of them in total). The main task is to knock out everyone, as in the “royal battle”, and survive.
You cannot influence the battle in any way – everything happens automatically. It remains only to observe and count on success in the confrontation. However, there are children who dance and actively rejoice when they succeed. And given its presence on multiple platforms, TFT can be played with three players on phone, PC, and console. So, if desired, the “royal battle” can become entertainment for a family or a small company (a word for the competition: Separator ).
Despite the randomness that sometimes happens in battles, TFT places a lot of emphasis on strategy. Champion selection, trait bonuses, item availability, placement on the field, the amount of gold in your pocket with which you buy new heroes and increase the size of the army on the table – all this matters a lot. But the main thing here is that you don’t have to get too involved in the process. You will still enjoy it regardless of the result.
The only caveat is the duration. Parties can go from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the skill of all participants.
League of Legends: Wildrift или League of Legends
Well, if you need something more active for two or five players, join MOBA games (something at the intersection of strategies and multiplayer RPGs). In the text we will talk about the two most popular franchises. The first will be League of Legends.
On PC, the original version is available, on smartphones – a variation subtitled Wild Rift (later it will appear on consoles). The bottom line is: two teams of five players get on the map, where they must protect their own buildings, destroy others and fight each other. Victory is awarded when the enemy Nexus, the key building in the center of the base, falls.
To achieve maximum efficiency, participants are divided into roles, choose champions in accordance with the strategy and tasks, scatter along the lines, earn gold, buy items for it, upgrade skills and fight for different objects on the map, be it forest monsters, dragons and other creatures , which after death give the whole team a buff.
Fights usually last from 10-15 minutes to half an hour, sometimes even more, depending on the platform (everything is a little faster on smartphones, on a PC a little slower). What matters here is how the match proceeds and how well the teams work.
Fall Guys
The main entertainment for both the family and the online company that wants to have a good time (there is no local cooperative mode in the game). Fall Guys perfectly conveys the atmosphere of the Asian and Russian programs of the 90s, where people in funny costumes went through absolutely incredible tests.
60 people get to the location, jump, push, make funny sounds, fall into the abyss and take off funny in the air. However, from the first round, the game selects the most dexterous, nimble and quick-witted. Therefore, if you suddenly did not manage to reach the finish line among 40 people, try again, but with other participants. The selection goes on until a very small number of players remain, after which the final stage will begin, where it is necessary to fight for the cup. And whether it will be an obstacle course or jumping on platforms until only one remains alive, it is impossible to predict.
The main advantage of Fall Guys is that there is no violence here. But the competitive spirit is in place.
Brawlhalla
However, if you are in a fighting mood, you urgently need to relieve stress, and there is nowhere to box, there is a universal solution – a fighting game from Ubisoft (available on PC, consoles and smartphones).
Brawlhalla has a huge number of characters: they differ from each other in characteristics and weapons that they are able to equip. For example, some are slow, but stronger and more effective at medium distances. Others are less tenacious, but very dexterous and deliver a lot of problems to opponents in close combat. In general, finding a hero that will appeal to you and will fit your style will not be a problem.
In addition to weapons, you can find mines, bombs and other consumables in the arenas. Given the small size of the levels and the high dynamics of the battle, any tricks should be used. Everything else is your ability to beat up opponents. Moreover, there are enough modes here: duels, paired battles or 3v3 battles.
Apex Legends
For fans of the shooter, we have prepared a lot of options: from the classic Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and upgraded Fortnite to the newfangled Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 and PUBG Mobile. However, from the entire list, we chose Apex Legends – the reference “royal battle” from the Respawn Entertainment studio, which is available on all platforms, including smartphones running Android and iOS.
If you suddenly do not know who Respawn are, then get acquainted with the Titanfall franchise. Both parts turned out, if not flawless, then definitely close to it. Moreover, since their launch, no one has yet managed to achieve the same level of campaign development and mechanics for online modes. Both projects were ruined by a lack of marketing and a bad release period between Battlefield and Call of Duty.
However, in the case of Apex, everything is different. The studio constantly releases cartoons, reveals the universe, supplements with new mechanics and heroes (by the way, events unfold just in the world of Titanfall). It is important not only to be able to shoot different types of weapons, but also to know when to use the abilities of the characters. And given that usually all battles are 3 on 3, there is where to turn around. Ambush and lock the team in a room with barrels releasing poisonous gas? Easy. Open a portal and backstab a squad that is already firing? Easy.
All events on the screen occur at wild speeds. Something similar can be experienced either in Quake Champions, which is barely alive, or in Unreal Tournament, whose servers will be going down soon. Apex is the only alternative for old school lovers.
Dota 2
Valve’s MOBA game is similar in many ways to the competition from Riot Games. Still, the original version of the map for Warcraft 3 was initially supported and developed by Abdul Icefrog Ishmael, who in turn received it from Steve Guinsoo Fick and Steve Pendragon Mescon, the creators of League of Legends.
Nevertheless, Dota 2 turned out to be much more complex and interesting despite the common basic principles. Here, too, two teams of 5 participants fight each other and try to break each other’s “Throne” – the central building at the base. However, everything else is different: economy, roles, map structure, champion abilities, buyback mechanics. If in LoL the authors are obliged to follow the direction in order not to make one of the heroes too strong, then in Dota 2 all characters are so powerful that even support characters are able to decide the course of the confrontation alone.
And yes, only here you can see how at first one team is humiliated for the first half hour, but she does not give up, then she makes a comeback, then she throws it again, but, in the end, brings the matter to victory. This is a common scenario in Dota 2. It is impossible to imagine this in LoL. The maximum battle will last an hour. In Dota, it’s quite normal if someone, like the Cloud9 and ScaryFaceZ teams, will fight for 3 hours and 20 minutes.
In Russia, Dota 2 is the most popular competitive game and esports discipline. Teams from here regularly enter the The International World Championship, whose prize fund annually amounts to tens of millions of dollars (in 2021, Team Spirit took the first place). In addition, tournaments of various calibers are also held in the country: from amateur to large ones. The last big championship was the Open eSports Games with the support of the Russian Computer Sports Federation (FCS of Russia), ESforce holding and Rosatom State Corporation, which have been cooperating since 2022. In the next three years, they will hold several more major events.
