WhatCanYouPlay
Best 15-minute games
Short sessions, zero guilt. These games are built to be picked up and put down.
Fifteen minutes is enough for a genuinely great gaming experience — if you pick the right game. The titles here are built around short, complete loops: a single run, a puzzle set, a quick skirmish. Roguelites and arcade-style titles where 15 minutes is the natural session length, so every sitting feels self-contained and satisfying. The list is freshly shuffled on every visit, so there's always something new to discover.

Hexagon
15 min
Puzzle · 2012
A browser-based flash game from developer Terry Cavanagh. It is the predecessor to 2012's Super Hexagon.

Katana Zero
15 min
Platform, Strategy, Adventure, Indie, Arcade · 2019
Katana Zero is a fast paced neo-noir action platformer, focusing on tight, instant-death acrobatic combat, and a dark 80's neon aesthetic. Aided with your trusty katana, the time manipulation drug Chronos and the rest of your assassin's arsenal, fight your way through a fractured city, and take back what's rightfully yours.
metacritic85
Mini Motorways
15 min
Puzzle · 2019
Mini Motorways is a strategy simulation game about designing the road map for a growing city. Build a traffic network, one road at a time, to create a bustling metropolis. Redesign your roads and place your motorways to get everyone where they need to go. How long can you keep the city moving?
metacritic86
Flinthook
15 min
Shooter, Platform, Adventure, Indie, Arcade · 2017
Flinthook is a fast action-platformer with “roguelike” elements. Become space’s greatest pirate with your hookshot, pistol and slowmo powers!
metacritic81
Tetris Effect: Connected
15 min
Music, Puzzle, Indie, Arcade · 2020
Tetris Effect: Connected adds an all-new robust multiplayer expansion to the huge variety of addictive and innovative single-player modes that Tetris Effect is known for. Connect and play with or against each other in all-new modes like "Zone Battle," which shakes up traditional 1-on-1 Tetris gameplay via the time-stopping Zone mechanic, or try the innovative co-op of "Connected" mode, where up to three players can literally connect their Tetris playfields together and play as one, as they work together to take down a series of increasingly-challenging CPU-controlled bosses.
metacritic89
Guilty Gear: Strive
15 min
Fighting · 2021
Discover the Smell of the Game with Guilty Gear: Strive! Immerse yourself in new gameplay mechanics designed to be simple and welcoming for fighting game newcomers, yet deep and creative for veterans. Ride the Fire into a heavy metal inspired alternate future full of over-the-top action, style and fun!
metacritic83
One Finger Death Punch 2
15 min
Fighting, Hack and slash/Beat 'em up, Indie, Arcade · 2019
The world's fastest brawler is back. Experience cinematic kung-fu in the most epic stickman fighter ever made. Staying true to the original, you play with only two buttons. Every press matters, do not button mash!
metacritic86
Nex Machina
15 min
Shooter, Indie, Arcade · 2017
From the collaboration between Housemarque (Resogun, Alienation, Matterfall), and Robotron and Smash TV legendary creator Eugene Jarvis comes Nex Machina, an explosive arcade experience created with competition in mind.
metacritic91
Mullet Madjack
15 min
Shooter, Adventure, Indie, Arcade · 2024
Mullet Madjack is a single-player fast-paced FPS that brings you directly inside a classic anime. Power up your character and reach the last floor; Beat your best time or try again. Haste makes waste… of your enemies!
metacritic90
Overcooked! 2
15 min
Simulator, Strategy, Tactical, Indie, Arcade · 2018
Overcooked returns with a brand-new helping of chaotic cooking action! Journey back to the Onion Kingdom and assemble your team of chefs in classic couch co-op or online play for up to four players. Hold onto your aprons… it’s time to save the world again!
metacritic80
Splatoon 3
15 min
Shooter, Platform · 2022
Enter the Splatlands, a sun-scorched desert inhabited by battle-hardened Inklings and Octolings. Splatsville, the city of chaos, is the adrenaline-fueled heart of this dusty wasteland. Even in this desolate environment, Turf War reigns supreme and battles rage in new stages located in the surrounding wilds. Dynamic new moves help these fighters dodge attacks and cover more ground, along with a new bow-shaped weapon to sling ink.
metacritic82
Pinball FX3
15 min
Simulator, Pinball, Arcade · 2017
Pinball FX3 is the biggest, most community focused pinball game ever created. Multiplayer matchups, user generated tournaments and league play create endless opportunity for pinball competition.
FREE backwards compatibility! Bring your previous Pinball FX2 purchases with you to Pinball FX3 at no charge!
metacritic84
Linelight
15 min
Platform, Puzzle, Strategy, Adventure, Indie · 2017
Linelight is an elegant puzzle game set in a world of lines.
metacritic90
Mortal Kombat 1
15 min
Fighting, Adventure · 2023
A new era has begun. It's In Our Blood. Discover a reborn Mortal Kombat Universe created by Fire God Liu Kang. Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a new era of the iconic franchise with a new fighting system, game modes, and Fatalities!
metacritic84
Metal: Hellsinger
15 min
Shooter, Music, Adventure · 2022
Strike terror into the hearts of demons and devils as you fight your way through eight Hells. Metal: Hellsinger is a rhythm FPS, brimming with diabolical enemies, powerful weapons, and metal music. Set out on an infernal journey in order to achieve the purest of goals: Vengeance.
metacritic86
Tekken 8
15 min
Fighting · 2024
Tekken 8 is the eighth canon release and tenth overall entry in the Tekken series. The game's story features 32 former and new characters, each with their own narrative that contributes to the overall story. Tekken 8 features upgraded fighting elements and systems from its predecessor, it also introduces brand-new mechanics such as the "Heat" system and "Tornado" hits. Arcade Quest was another addition to their online mode which includes tournaments, arcade features, customizable avatars and specialized currency that is featured throughout the game.
metacritic88
Mortal Kombat X
15 min
Fighting · 2015
Mortal Kombat X is the tenth main game in the one-on-one fighting series and a sequel to the 2011 title Mortal Kombat. The game stays close to the visual style and the mechanics of the 2011 reboot. The main controls are still based on two types of punches and kicks, and blocking, to form combos with uppercuts, teleports, special moves that incorporate weapons and fatalities. The three-tiered energy from the previous title returns, making available X-Ray moves, powered up EX moves and combo breakers. As introduced in Injustice: Gods Among Us, characters can use the environment to re-position themselves or optionally use parts as weapons. Each character now has three variations with different moves and weapons. There is once again a sprinting gauge, returning from Mortal Kombat 4.
metacritic84
The Bug Butcher
15 min
Shooter, Indie, Arcade · 2016
The Bug Butcher is an action-packed 2D side scrolling shoot em up game where peril comes from above. The core mechanics hold old ties from the classic arcade shooter "Super Pang" where you shoot vertically, but with modern day twists. You are Harry, a brash and tenacious exterminator who has a knack for decimating bugs. Harry's current assignment takes him to an infested futuristic research facility on a distant planet. The surviving and dwindling number of scientists employed him for his slaughtering skills.
metacritic83
Slay the Spire
15 min
Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure, Indie, Card & Board Game · 2019
We fused card games and roguelikes together to make the best single player deckbuilder we could. Craft a unique deck, encounter bizarre creatures, discover relics of immense power, and Slay the Spire!
metacritic93
Thronefall
15 min
Strategy · 2024
A minimalist game about building and defending a little kingdom. Thronefall is a classic strategy game without unnecessary complexity, just some healthy hack-and-slay. Build up your base during the day, and defend it ‘til your last breath at night.

Vampire Survivors
15 min
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Indie, Arcade · 2022
Mow thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you.
metacritic91
Injustice 2
15 min
Fighting · 2017
Power up and build the ultimate version of your favorite DC legends in INJUSTICE 2. With a massive selection of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains, INJUSTICE 2 allows you to equip every iconic character with unique and powerful gear earned throughout the game. Experience an unprecedented level of control over how your favorite characters look, how they fight, and how they develop across a huge variety of game modes. This is your super Hero. Your Journey. Your Injustice.
metacritic86
N++
15 min
Platform, Puzzle, Indie, Arcade · 2015
N++ is a fast-paced, action-packed platformer set in the distant future. You play as a ninja, darting through obstacles, narrowly evading a slew of inadvertently homicidal enemy robots and collecting gold in a minimalist, sci-fi world. N++ is all about smooth physics, deftly controlling the speed and inertia of the character, and the awesome feeling of fluidly moving through each level.
metacritic83
The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor
15 min
Music, Role-playing (RPG), Indie · 2016
Packing in a fully-fledged story mode with a colourful cast of musically-empowered heroes and villains, The Metronomicon sees you take control a party of eight newly graduated masters of the "rhythmic combat arts" to wage musical warfare against a multitude of dance-mongering fiends. By switching between four concurrent hero-controlled tracks on-the-fly, you'll select and activate a wide array of abilities and spells, buffs and nukes, with your performance and timing all-important in ensuring the effectiveness of your moves.
In the RPG spirit, you'll need to improve your characters' stats, hunt down powerful equipment, and combine a multitude of newly-learned abilities - switching between tanking, healing, buffing, and damage-dealing classes as required in real time.
metacritic82Frequently asked questions
What are the best games to play in 15 minutes?
Games like Spelunky 2, Dead Cells, and Luck Be a Landlord are great picks — their run-based structure means each session naturally wraps up in 10–15 minutes, even if you keep coming back for more.
Can you actually finish a proper game in 15 minutes?
Yes — roguelites, puzzle games, and arcade-style titles are specifically designed around short, self-contained sessions. You get a complete arc of challenge and payoff every time you sit down.
Are 15-minute games less deep than longer games?
Not at all. Many of the best 15-minute games have enormous replay depth — each run is short, but the systems underneath reward hundreds of hours of play. The brevity is a design choice, not a compromise.
What types of games work best in 15-minute sessions?
Roguelites, turn-based strategy, puzzle games, and score-attack arcade titles fit perfectly. They're built around loops that feel complete in a single sitting — no save points or stopping mid-level required.