Addictive games

All Games, Everywhere, Some of The Time

In reality, any good game is an addictive game to some degree. In fact, you could name any game and there’s a pretty good chance that someone out there somewhere is playing it way too much!

Attention or Addiction

There’s a difference though, between engrossing gameplay and the gameplay of really addictive games.

Your favorite RPG might have excellent gameplay which has you hooked for hours every day, but there’s a good chance you’ll stop playing it once you complete the story. Even if you’re one of those few who try to “platinum” the game by achieving everything in it, you’ll almost certainly stop after that. Games like this are journeys made up of longer sections of play. Their game loops are less obvious. Most importantly, they are stories, with a natural end. That makes them less addictive.

Some games are different. They really earn the tag of “addictive games”. These games often feature deceptively simple gameplay, which nevertheless challenges and satisfies players like little else. Usually fast-paced, they deliver tiny moments of triumph, panic and despair in a game loop that seems perfectly tuned to grab your attention and never let it go.

These, most addictive games are often straightforward in what they need from you, but still amaze with their power to completely prevent us doing anything productive!

The Tale of Tetris

Take Tetris as an example. Created by a Russian engineer called Alexey Pajitnov, the actual concept is simplicity itself. All you have to do is control falling blocks, rotating and placing them in rows to create solid lines. Every solid line you make is “cleared”, which leaves space for you to keep going. As you progress through the levels, the blocks come faster and faster, until you can’t keep up and the screen fills with chaos.

As setups go, it’s not very impressive when you hear it described. In use, Tetris is one of the most compelling games ever made and has proven to be one of the all-time classic addictive games. Players just can’t help trying to beat their best scores or starting over when they run out of lives… again and again.

It’s been described as “the most addictive game ever” and certainly lives up to its reputation. With a hook like that, it’s no wonder that Tetris has been popular since its invention, released in countless versions across every conceivable platform.

A More Refined Addiction

These days you’re spoiled for choice at the sheer number of addictive game experiences out there. Many of them are complex, featuring deep stories, online social interaction and strong RPG elements. Often such games can offer highly varied play with little repetition but that doesn’t make them any less addictive. Just because a game has nuance, doesn’t mean it can’t hook you.

Of course there are still the more simple addictive games like Candy Crush. These short games offer a quick, highly replay-able game loop that is highly addictive—as anybody who’s played one will tell you.

For the Joy of Gaming

Of course, there are many reasons to enjoy gaming, any one of which can keep you engaged pretty much forever and make a game feel addictive for you.

The thrill of the challenge might be what holds your attention best. For you, the most addictive games might be the hardest—punishing games that ruthlessly test your technical prowess. The more formidable the boss and the lower the odds of success seem, the more you grit your teeth and the harder you fight.

Maybe you look to games to relax and unwind. An addictive game for you might be one with a huge, lush open-world setting that you can lose yourself in. Gameplay might not even be the most important aspect to you, seeking satisfaction as you do in the feeling that the game experience conveys.

Perhaps you’re a “completionist“ and you try to platinum any game you take on. For you, addictive games might be the games with the most content—sprawling open-world RPGs with multiple endings, perhaps—or just the games that set you new challenges daily and weekly.

It could be that gaming is mostly a social activity for you, a chance to do something fun with friends. The most addictive game for you might just be the one that all your friends play, as it’s there that you’ll have the most connections and the best chance of making more.

Addictive Games on Gamepix

You’ll find plenty of examples of every type of addictive game right here on Gamepix. Like all of our games, our addictive free games are playable on any device with a web-browser installed on it. Having all of our games online means you’ll be able to pick up your favorites even when you’re away from home and using a shared computer.

Choose Your Own Addiction

Our addictive browser games range from multi-level platformers and puzzle games that will take your full concentration, to “clicker games”, where you just have to click the screen to gain points.

Our addictive games even include “idle games”—games that give you points by simply being left open. You may find however, that just because you can ignore a game, that doesn’t mean that you will—you won’t be able to resist popping back and checking on progress, which is what makes them so addictive.

Dogeminer is a great example of this. Try it if you don’t believe us...we bet you won’t be able to resist buying a few golden pickaxes and we won’t blame you if you do!

With so many amazingly addictive browser games playable here on Gamepix for free, you’ll have no excuse to be bored but don’t be surprised if you spend longer than you meant to!

FAQs

What’s the most addictive game?

It’s impossible to really measure. There are a few games that top the charts of addictiveness whenever anybody collects data from the public. Then there are some games that everybody just agrees are very addictive, like the addictive browser games we have here on Gamepix. As for which games you will find most addictive, there’s only one way to find out—play!

Are games addictive?

For most people, most of the time, no. When we talk about games being addictive, we really just mean that we enjoy them so much that we play them more than we planned to, not that they’re actually addictive.