The case for one-thumb games on your commute

Not every game needs to demand your full attention, and mobile is where that truth lives. Some of the games I've kept longest are the ones I can play with one hand while standing on a train.

Big Bass Bonanza is a good example — you can play it without thinking hard, and that's a feature. The bar for a one-thumb game is simple: can I pick it up for ninety seconds and put it down without losing anything? If yes, it earns a slot.

These games get unfairly dismissed as shallow. Sure, they are, but they're solving a different problem than a deep strategy game. Matching the game to the moment is half of enjoying mobile at all.

My phone has a rotating cast of these. When I'm sharp I reach for something meatier; when I'm fried, the calm ones win.