What Are Puzzle Games?

Who Typically Plays Mobile Puzzle Games?

Who is the typical puzzle gamer? As you can imagine, they’re quite different to your classic RPG gamer. According to the Mobile Games Index 2023, those over 50 years old spend the most time per day in mobile puzzle games – 17.6 minutes. This age group is closely followed by those in their 30s and 40s, who play an average of 16.7 minutes per day.

Women tend to dedicate more time to playing these games than men – at 17.6 minutes compared with 16.1 minutes, respectively. The region with the most committed gamers in this genre, according to the Index, is Africa, where the average daily app usage for these games is at 17.7 minutes, with Asia ranked second-highest, and Europe ranked third-highest.

Which Are the Top Puzzle Games?

As it stands, the top games this year for Android devices based on time spent in the game are as follows:

1. EverMerge: Merge 3 Puzzle – Big Fish Games

2. Royal Match – Dream Games, Ltd.

3. Fishdom – Playrix

4. 2248 – Number Puzzle Game – Inspired Square FZE

5. Toon Blast – Peak

6. Mix Blox – Gimica GmbH

7. Woodoku – Block Puzzle Games – Tripledot Studios Limited

8. Magic Jigsaw Puzzles – Game HD – ZiMAD

9. Gemdoku: Wood Block Puzzle – Unico Studio

10. X2 Blocks: 2048 Number Games – Inspired Square FZE

How Do You Monetize Puzzle Games?

By knowing who their target audience is, puzzle game developers will be able to understand how to market the game successfully and improve their monetization strategy. 

As it stands, the bulk of revenue generated by this genre globally comes from in-app purchases (IAPs); however, by 2027, the gap in revenue generated by IAPs and in-app advertising closes up significantly. In fact, growth for in-app ads for mobile puzzle games is set to grow by 62 percent in four years; IAPs are set to grow by 26 percent in comparison.

Going by these numbers, it’s clear that this genre will benefit from a blended approach to monetization between now and the end of the decade.

Conclusion

Mobile puzzle games attract audiences from around the world – and as data suggests, the most committed audiences are women and those over 50s. This demographic tends to dedicate more than 17 minutes to daily gameplay. 

While this genre has predominantly looked to IAPs as a source for monetization up until now, industry forecasts have shown that in-app ads will gain more traction as a revenue stream and should therefore be looked at more closely by puzzle game developers.

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