Playing without killing your battery

Nothing ends a gaming session like a dying battery when you're far from a charger. The good news is that a lot of great phone games barely touch your power if you set them up right.

Turn-based RPGs and management sims like Pit Crew Tycoon are naturally gentle, since they're not pushing graphics at sixty frames a second. Fast racers are the opposite, so if you're low on juice, save Neon Drift Republic for later.

Three quick settings help across almost any game: cap the frame rate if there's an option, turn off background effects, and lower screen brightness a notch. You'll be surprised how much those add up.

We test battery drain on an older phone on purpose, because that's where it hurts most. A game that behaves on a tired battery is a game you can trust on a long day out.