- Ten sims and what Google Play lists for them
- Building, farming, fishing and living a pretend life
- Four kinds of sim, four kinds of player
- Idle sims and the waiting game
- Sims that cope without a connection
- Ratings and shop labels for younger players
- If you'd rather tell the story yourself
- Frequently asked questions
The best simulator games for Android here cover city building, farming, fishing, life sims and idle business games, from SimCity BuildIt to City Island 5. All ten are free to install, and four listings, Idle Miner Tycoon, City Island 5, City Island 3 and Bid Wars 2, say they play offline.
Simulator is one of the widest labels on Google Play. It covers running a city, landing a fish, living a whole pretend life and clearing out storage units, and the only common thread is that you're in charge of something.
I read the Google Play listings for ten popular free simulator games, noting the developer, installs, the ads and in-app purchases labels, the content rating and any offline wording. They're in no particular order.
I've grouped the advice by the kind of sim, because a fishing game and a city builder ask very different things of you.
Ten sims and what Google Play lists for them
| Game | Developer | Google Play installs | Ads / in-app purchases | Offline wording on the listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Block Craft 3D: Building Game | Wildlife Studios | 500M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | No offline claim on the listing |
| Fishing Clash: Sport Simulator | Ten Square Games | 100M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | No offline claim on the listing |
| SimCity BuildIt | ELECTRONIC ARTS | 100M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | No offline claim on the listing |
| Toca Boca World | Toca Boca | 100M+ | No ads label, in-app purchases | No offline claim on the listing |
| Idle Miner Tycoon: Gold Games | Kolibri Games | 100M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | 'You can manage your mine tycoon career in mining games even offline' |
| FarmVille 2: Country Escape | Zynga | 50M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | No offline claim on the listing |
| Idle Guy: Life Simulator games | Heatherglade Publishing | 10M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | No offline claim on the listing |
| City Island 5 - Building Sim | Sparkling Society - Build Town City Building Games | 10M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | 'Play offline or online with no internet connection required' |
| Bid Wars 2: Auction Simulator | By Aliens L.L.C-F.Z | 10M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | 'offline hunter game' |
| City Island 3 - Sim Builder | Sparkling Society - Build Town City Building Games | 10M+ | Contains ads, in-app purchases | 'No internet connection is required' |
Building, farming, fishing and living a pretend life
Block Craft 3D: Building Game
A building game from Wildlife Studios, with more than 500M installs, where you grow a village or build freely in an open world, from a house to a castle or even a spaceship.
Fishing Clash: Sport Simulator
Ten Square Games' realistic fishing simulation lets you go fishing from the sofa when you can't get to the water. It shows ads and in-app purchases and is rated Everyone.
SimCity BuildIt
Electronic Arts' city builder makes you the mayor of your own city. It's rated Everyone 10+, and its listing opens by explaining the optional in-game shop, which includes a random selection of virtual items.
Toca Boca World
An open-ended play world where children make up stories, design buildings and style outfits. It's the only sim here with no Contains ads label, though it has in-app purchases.
Idle Miner Tycoon: Gold Games
Kolibri Games' idle business game has you build up a mining empire that keeps ticking over while you're away. Its listing says you can play offline.
FarmVille 2: Country Escape
Zynga's farm game has you clear land, grow crops and trees and look after animals that produce milk, eggs and cheese, then turn the harvest into goods.
Idle Guy: Life Simulator games
A life simulator from Heatherglade Publishing in which you grow a character's career and business from nothing. It's the only Teen-rated game on this list.
City Island 5 - Building Sim
Sparkling Society's city builder starts you as the mayor of a small town on a single island, and its listing says it plays without internet or Wi-Fi.
Bid Wars 2: Auction Simulator
An auction simulator from By Aliens L.L.C-F.Z where you bid on storage units, hunt for rare items and sell antiques to grow a business. All the bidding happens inside the game.
City Island 3 - Sim Builder
The older sibling of City Island 5, also from Sparkling Society, with an exotic island to design a city on. Its listing says no internet connection is required.
Four kinds of sim, four kinds of player
- Builders: Block Craft 3D, SimCity BuildIt, City Island 5 and City Island 3, for players who like to plan streets and watch a place grow.
- Farm and fish: FarmVille 2 and Fishing Clash, for slower, outdoorsy sessions.
- Life and pretend play: Idle Guy and Toca Boca World, where the story is yours to make up.
- Idle and business: Idle Miner Tycoon and Bid Wars 2, for people who like numbers going up.
If you can't decide which kind suits you, think about what you'd do on a rainy Sunday. If it's rearranging the furniture, try a builder. If it's a walk by a river, try fishing or farming.
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Idle sims and the waiting game
Idle games such as Idle Miner Tycoon and Idle Guy keep running while you're away, so you open them, collect what's built up and make a few choices. They're lovely for odd minutes but can feel slow if you want to play for an hour.
Most sims here also use timers, and the in-game shop can usually speed them up. If waiting drives you mad, Block Craft 3D lets you build at your own pace, and the City Island games give you plenty to do between timers.
Sims that cope without a connection
Four listings talk about offline play: Idle Miner Tycoon, City Island 5, City Island 3 and Bid Wars 2. The other six don't promise anything, so open them in airplane mode before you rely on them for a journey.
For more games that skip the data, see my roundup of no internet games to download free for Android and PC.
Ratings and shop labels for younger players
Toca Boca World is the only game here with no Contains ads label, and it's the one aimed most clearly at children. SimCity BuildIt is rated Everyone 10+, Idle Guy is rated Teen, and the rest are rated Everyone.
All ten show the in-app purchases label. SimCity BuildIt's listing says its shop includes a random selection of items, which is worth knowing if a child is playing. Google Play's parental controls can ask for a password before anything goes through.
If you'd rather tell the story yourself
Some people love sims because they get to invent what happens next. If that's you, text based games on Android for story lovers put the story front and centre. And for something quieter, free submarine games take you underwater at a gentler pace.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best simulator games for Android?
This list covers ten, including SimCity BuildIt, Block Craft 3D, Fishing Clash, FarmVille 2, Toca Boca World and City Island 5.
Are these simulator games free?
Yes. All ten are free to install from Google Play, and every listing shows the in-app purchases label.
Which simulator games work offline?
Idle Miner Tycoon, City Island 5, City Island 3 and Bid Wars 2 all say on their listings that they play offline.
Is there a simulator game with no ads?
Toca Boca World is the only one here with no Contains ads label, though it has in-app purchases.
Which simulator games suit younger players?
Most are rated Everyone. SimCity BuildIt is rated Everyone 10+ and Idle Guy is rated Teen.
What is an idle simulator?
It's a game that keeps running while you're away. You come back, collect what's built up and make a few choices, so it suits short sessions.
