Arcade & Action

Arcade is the category most likely to waste your time, so it gets the strictest filter. An endless runner or a bubble shooter has to earn its place by doing something the hundred near-identical versions do not: a distinctive mechanic, a difficulty curve that feels designed rather than random, or controls tight enough that a death always feels like your mistake.

I group tower defence and light strategy here too, because in a browser they play like arcade games: a round is ten to twenty minutes, the loop is build, survive, upgrade, and the interesting decisions are about timing rather than long-term planning.

Expect the most variance in this section. When one of these is good it is very good, and when it is bad it is a menu with a game attached. The reviews say which is which.