Mobile puzzle & casual games released in 2021
36 titles in the PixelRankings database first shipped in 2021. The list is ordered by composite PixelRank — a Bayesian blend of App Store rating and review volume — so the games at the top have not just survived the year, they have thrived in it.
Looking at any single year of mobile gaming gives a different perspective on the genre. 2021 sits at a particular point in the platform's evolution — a moment defined by which devices were dominant, which monetisation models were in fashion, which sub-genres were having their breakout moment. Some of the titles below are still on chart-leading tear; others have aged into quiet, durable favourites; a few have faded but remain interesting historical artefacts.
One of the underrated joys of browsing by release year is finding games that were under-promoted at launch and have since accumulated their audience the slow way. A title that shipped in 2021 with a few hundred reviews and now has tens of thousands has done so on word of mouth, and that word of mouth is usually a stronger signal of quality than any App Store featured slot. Scroll the list and look for those — the titles whose ranking is much higher than their launch hype would have predicted.
The list refreshes as ratings move, so the order on this page is not fixed. A game from 2021 that ships a strong update in 2026 can climb meaningfully — release year is a metadata field, not a death sentence.