8 best simulation games for Android in 2023

Simulation games are a great way to detach from your real-life responsibilities. They hand you a range of virtual responsibilities instead, which range from realistic to bizarre. Sometimes they are found tethered to massive gaming rigs, incorporating joysticks, steering wheels, and multiple monitors to create the most realistic experience possible. But simulation games don’t have to be ultra-realistic to be immersive. Here, we’ve gathered eight of the best examples of the genre that you can play on Android.

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Stardew Valley

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Stardew Valley is an incredibly popular game, bringing elements from classic farming simulators like Harvest Moon into an original, modern game. On the surface, it seems like a fairly straightforward farming sim; it starts you off nice and slow, instructing you to plant and water a handful of parsnips. But Stardew Valley could be better be described as a community simulator. As you complete your tasks and meet the residents of the valley, you’ll find yourself being drawn into the complex web of relationships, dreams, and challenges that make up the tiny community.

Stardew Valley, packed with magic, monsters, and surprisingly resilient plants, is a truly brilliant game. It might sound ridiculous to say, but the community of Stardew Valley feels real.

Game Dev Tycoon

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Playing video games is fun, but we often forget how much toil goes on behind the scenes. While Game Dev Tycoon offers a charmingly simplistic view of game development, it doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to telling you how terrible your game is.

Developing a game in Game Dev Tycoon involves selecting which features you want your game to include, and deciding how much dev time should go into each. After your selections, your minions will toil away, as you nervously watch your earnings dwindle. After your game is released, you’ll be subjected to a brutally honest set of reviews, wherein you’ll learn the ultimate truth of all creative projects: sometimes people will just hate it. In that, at least, Game Dev Tycoon is the most realistic simulation on this list.

Goat Simulator

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To those who haven’t heard of this underground smash hit, Goat Simulator is a simulator in the loosest possible sense. It’s honestly more of an RPG, but not including it on this list would just be wrong.

In an alternate universe, goats have the power of gods and the desire for destruction. Goat Simulator provides a realistic view into the life of these goats, letting you bounce, tumble, and headbutt your way through myriad animate and inanimate objects. Earn in-game points for smashing things, and earn imaginary points for discovering all the deliberately ignored bugs. It’s quite simply a ton of fun.

Pocket City

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Pocket City is the ideal Android city building sim. Its developers know that you aren’t going to be sitting down for hours in front of a massive screen, so they don’t bother bombarding you with a ton of complex features. Instead, Pocket City provides a relaxed city building simulator that provides just the right amount of incentive to keep you building. While you can build at your own pace, you’ll receive optional quests that are easily achievable with a little work. These quests reward you with buildings and money to take your city to greater heights (and widths).

Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic

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Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic is an Android port of the first two games in the Rollercoaster Tycoon series. Released in 1999 and 2002, respectively, these games are complex simulators in which you’re tasked with creating a successful rollercoaster park. Not only will you be building safe and fun rollercoasters (veteran players may be laughing at the word “safe” here), but you’ll be managing the happiness of your guests to ensure the financial success of the park.

This Android port is a brilliant introduction to the series, as it streamlines the dated interface into a significantly more user-friendly experience. Old-school players won’t be disappointed, either.

My Time at Portia

My Time at Portia is a similar sim to Stardew Valley. Tasked with becoming the top builder in town, you’ll alternate constructing items in your workshop with romancing NPCs and dueling against enemies. Unlike Stardew Valley, it’s a fully 3D world that offers up a significantly larger area to explore. It’s another great pick for those who enjoy community simulators.

Fallout Shelter

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Fallout Shelter might seem to be a cheap spin-off of the Fallout franchise at first blush, but under the hood is an absolutely brilliant simulation game. You are handed control of a group of nuclear apocalypse survivors and tasked with keeping them alive. You’ll need to manage jobs, defenses, repopulation, and expansion to ensure your vault-dwellers lead happy and fruitful lives. Don’t be put off by its cheap appearance: it’s a shining gem in the muddy sea of free-to-play games.

GRID™ Autosport

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Of all the sub-genres of simulation, racing sims surely suffer the most on mobile. It’s difficult to immerse yourself in the twists and turns of a high-speed racetrack when all you have is a touchscreen. While you can connect a gamepad, that’s not a helpful solution for most of us. Grid Autosport solves this by creating a genuinely challenging racing game that seeks to capture the feel of racing rather than accurately reproduce the motions. A range of customization options mean you can tweak the racing experience to find what works best for you. The tilt controls are especially fun, and definitely the most immersive.

Simulation games can differ widely in terms of content. Whether you’re looking for realistic racing or goofy goat antics, we hope you’ve found something in this list that can help you while away the hours. Remember to check out our roundup of the best Android games for 2022 to see the best games the Play Store has to offer across all genres.