The topic 4 Android Auto games that make time fly when I’m parked is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Gaming on the go doesn’t always need to happen on your mobile phone. Android Auto makes it possible to play some heavy hitters on your car’s center console display, making full use of the larger real estate.
I enjoy gaming for a couple of minutes when parked up and waiting for someone, be it attempting to reach a new level in Old School RuneScape, clashing with some other wheels in Beach Buggy Racing 2, or Angry Birds 2. It’s the latter two among others that are particularly noteworthy as they’re optimized for Android Auto and run well on the vehicle display.
Buggy Racing was brilliant, and the second instalment cranks up the action to 11, especially on the larger vehicle screen. Some may find it a little off compared to the first due to the slightly higher microtransaction presence, but it’s still a well-optimized portable racer. Your virtual buggy will handle jumps, bumps, and general off-road mayhem as you attempt to best everyone else on the track with full support for Bluetooth controllers. Stash a compatible gamepad in your glove box, and you now have the ultimate gaming den without needing to put together a garden house.
Vector Engine and NVIDIA’s PhysX make Beach Buggy Racing 2 look the part, but it’s the 45 powerups, unlockable racers, countless cars, and customizations that keep it feeling fresh to play whenever you’re stationary for more than a couple of minutes. Races are quick to complete, and I often find myself losing track of time and spending a little too long in the virtual racing world. It’s absolutely worth every second of the journey, and I’ve spent a little as a token of appreciation and to gain access to various content, so it doesn’t have to break the bank to remain enticing.
I was a huge Angry Birds fan when it launched in 2009. It’s incredible to think that’s almost two decades ago — Where has time gone? This physics-based puzzler is amazing in the air at 35,000 feet with the onboard entertainment system, but it’s just as good with your vehicle’s center console screen, thanks to it being among the first to be optimized by Google for Android Auto. It’s clear to see how much work went into getting it just right for the car, as the title runs flawlessly and the controls feel as natural as they do on the phone display. This is a feat of engineering, as car displays can sometimes be hilariously inaccurate.
But other than the Android Auto optimizations Google made to the game, it’s just your regular ol’ Angry Birds experience. Shoot some birds into carefully constructed buildings housing pigs to take out as many as you can with as few attempts as possible. Strangely, I always envision racing games as the go-to for entertainment within a car, but it’s more fun firing up other games that you’d typically not associate with mobile vehicles. And because it handles weird aspect ratios well, there’s a good chance Angry Birds 2 will look just as awesome in your car as it does mine.
Candy Crush is one of those games that you either love, hate, or love to hate. It’s addictive, enjoyed by millions worldwide, and is fully supported by Android Auto. Now, when parked up, I can find myself flying through time, blasting candy on the screen, and passing through as many levels as possible to try and keep up with the wife. I like Candy Crush since Android Auto has a very limited selection of supported games, and I find this to be one of the more challenging titles that keeps you thinking, outside of playing Chess on GameSnacks, of course.
The open nature of Android Auto is one of its key advantages over CarPlay
You’ve likely played Candy Crush in some fashion or another, so I won’t bore you with much more on why you should give this a go in your car, but if you’ve yet to play the game, it’s a good shout for killing time.
GameSnacks comes from Google’s Area 120 incubator, and we’ve covered this initiative already on XDA, but it’s certainly worth mentioning again, as this thing is brilliant for gaming within the vehicle. GameSnacks is a collection of lightweight games running on HTML5, so as long as you have a connection where you’re parked, they should load almost immediately. It’s great for low-powered phones and poor net spots, so you should be able to game from pretty much anywhere. The best part is how easy it is to get up and running after downloading the app from the Play Store.
Simply launch the app from the Android Auto home screen, and you’ll be greeted by a choice of games. My personal favorites include Retro Drift, an addictive drifting game with super-simple controls. Tap and hold the central screen to drift right and release to drift left. It’s perfect for killing some time while waiting for someone to arrive on the train or when stuck in traffic on the highway, and nothing has moved an inch for a couple of minutes. Even if your screen display isn’t the highest of resolutions and rocks the best pixel density in the entire market, these small games should look and feel awesome to kill a few minutes.