The best games to play entirely one-handed

Half of mobile gaming happens with one hand busy — holding a rail on the train, carrying groceries, cradling a drink. Games designed for one-thumb play are quietly some of the best on the platform.

The trick is portrait orientation and a single simple input. Tap to jump, hold to reel, swipe to move. Fishing sims work beautifully here, as do endless runners and most stacking games. The interaction lives in the bottom third of the screen where your thumb naturally rests.

What kills one-handed play is a game that demands two thumbs for movement and aiming, or that spreads controls across the whole screen. Those are fine when you're settled, but useless when you're standing on a moving bus.

When picking a one-handed game, check that it pauses gracefully. You want to be able to drop out the instant your other hand is needed, without losing progress. The good ones autosave constantly.

We've flagged one-handed friendliness in a few reviews now, and it's become one of my favorite things to test. It's such a small design choice that makes a game fit into real life.