In large part, I judged these games based on whether I wanted to continue playing when that time was up. Some games I continued playing longer than the allotted time; others, I was literally watching the clock. While this may be a matter of taste and experience (some of the games that I found too difficult might be better for serious gamers), these are games that are easy to learn but continue to offer new challenges.

Finally, I made sure to take note of how much in-app purchases were likely to add up. This meant noting how important these purchases were to moving through the game, and how frequently these purchases were advertised. Games that offered a better value were more likely to make my list. 

If you already know and love Minecraft, some alternatives that you might enjoy as well are reviewed below. But if you’re as clueless as I was, I’ll run through the basics of the game so you can jump in and start building.

Creative mode, on the other hand, is more of a canvas for designers. You’re equipped with all resources, and there are no predators. Creative mode is a place to build whatever is in your imagination with no constraints. Your choice depends on what you want to do, and you can have multiple worlds, so you can have both going and play whichever you’re in the mood for.

I did not get good at Minecraft during the testing period. I made some cool buildings in the creative mode, punched some trees, built a shelter in survival mode, and generally wandered around the game. But I did poke around a little on Minecraft YouTube to understand how the game progresses after you figure out how to make it through a night. In short: it gets cooler. As you explore more and accrue resources, you can create complex worlds. You can farm, growing crops, and raising livestock. You can mine diamonds, create elaborate traps for catching mobs, explore all kinds of landscapes, and build literally anything you can imagine. 

There’s a common language to these building games that I did not have coming in, and that made Minecraft super confusing at first. The app version does not have a tutorial, and although there is a text guide, I didn’t see it before I started. 

For some people, this is a benefit since you get to discover everything yourself. For the rest of us, there are tons of beginner resources on the internet, so it’s easy to find any information you need. Either way, the early days in Minecraft are an important part of the game.

First, you create your Blockhead avatar. Lots of cute options here, and the process is simple. Your avatar then comes out of a portal onto a 2-D world. You can move left or right along the hilly horizon line. About half the screen is taken up by the ground below, and you can see various markings indicating flint, clay, or stone underneath that you’ll be able to mine.

The controls are really simple -- you just tap where you want your Blockhead to go, and it runs there. Tap an item from your inventory to use it. So, you move through the landscape, chopping down trees, digging for flint, crafting tools, building a shelter to sleep in. Night falls, or you run out of energy, and you tell your avatar to sleep. The biggest expenditure in the game is time -- when you sleep or are crafting, you lose time. You can spend crystals to go faster, but there’s no pressure to buy. This was the free-est of the free games I tested.

Roblox is not one game but a platform of many user-created games. While it’s blocky like Minecraft, that’s where the similarities end. You don’t build in Roblox. You create an avatar that you use to play all kinds of different games.

While I didn’t love Roblox, I’m envious of the kids who do! Pandemic adulthood has been an endless Zoom call, but Roblox offers a way to socialize virtually in much more interesting and natural ways. Pretty much all of the games in Roblox can be played with friends, and some games are just hangout spaces where users can chat in virtual environments.

Not-so-pro tip: You can just put the torch down. Despite a few tips from an NPC guide character, Terraria just drops you into an 8-bit world of delight .. and peril. The blocky 2D world seemed delightful and harmless, and I ran around, chopping trees and collecting items at random. And then night fell, and the zombies came.

Like Minecraft, the early days in Terraria involve exploring, collecting resources, and crafting items. Basically, you’re building up your character's strength in order to succeed in the game. Collecting certain numbers of items allows you to unlock NPC’s, such as a merchant character with whom you can trade items. After you’ve built a sturdy base and good weapons, your character will be well-equipped to go adventuring and fight the game’s 30 bosses.

Cubic Castles is a fun sandbox game that's fairly easy to learn. Like most Minecraft-style games, you can mine, build, craft, and collect resources. You can play single-player or multiplayer -- though some reviewers have reported getting scammed by other players. The initial world is small, so it's easy to navigate right off the bat. However, on the whole, I found the look and general player experience on Cubic Castle wasn't as enjoyable as some others on the list. 

Growtopia is a cute 8-bit sandbox game where you mine to receive seeds that you can plant and harvest. A quick but useful tutorial lets new players get started right away.

You can play with other players or lock your world and play alone. It seems like a lot of attention has been given to security, which is a major concern since people frequently get scammed in multi-player games. Growtopia is free with in-app purchases. 

KoGaMa is a Roblox-style platform that lets you choose from a library of user-generated games made from a common set of pieces like poison walls/floors, jump ramps, and a standard set of controls.

There's a wide range of quality in the games, and many are versions of popular games. There are a lot of ads if you haven't joined, and none of the games lists (featured, new, etc.) are aimed at new players, so it’s difficult to jump into. There are also many alpha/beta games that are barely functional.

RealmCraft was almost identical to Minecraft, but not as good. The controls are harder to use, making navigation more difficult. Other than that, it's pretty much the same --you choose between creative and survival, mine resources, and build worlds. You can play alone or with friends. A perfectly good game, but I don't know why someone would choose it over Minecraft. RealmCraft is free with in-app purchases. 

BlockCraft 3D is a sandbox game that's a bit simpler than Minecraft and has a good tutorial, which I appreciated as a beginner. Players create a village by adding pre-designed buildings or creating their own. This game is more about designing than survival, and it's fun though very simple. Even playing for a short time, I began to get bored. More than some other games on the list, Block Craft pushes you to spend money on in-app purchases, so costs could add up. 

PickCrafter is an idle tapper. The simplest game on this list, you just tap repeatedly to mine. As you dig, you collect different resources and earn new pickaxes to allow you to mine faster. 

Maybe I'm missing something because I can't really understand how this is fun. I did find the mining kind of relaxing but got bored very quickly. If you like this style of game, PickCrafter may be worth checking out since it's a free download.