I have a few games that I am playing at the moment, but a lot of them require at least some time commitment once you start a round. I’d like something that I can start now and maybe finish later. Something on the line of Solitaire or https://mergetin.com/ .
Not so much a game recommendation but a platform, but if you don’t already have a Nintendo switch, it might suit your style.
It lets you suspend any game at whatever point by just going to the Home Screen. You can then put down the switch and leave it for days or even weeks at a time, and then you can just turn the switch back on and pick up exactly where you left off in like 5 seconds.
I’ve been playing heaps of the new Zelda game, whenever I get a spare moment, but also if Nintendo games aren’t your style, nowadays there’s quite a good library of other games for the switch now.
Obviously the suspend feature doesn’t work for multiplayer games though, and to be honest I’ve found multiplayer in general doesn’t work as well on switch as other platforms, but it really is great for quick sessions of single-player games.
Also being portable is a great bonus
Don’t even have to go to the home screen! You can just press the power button or long press the home button to access the Sleep option in the quick menu. When you resume, it will default to resuming in the game rather resuming to the home screen!
Getting my TotK on with this right now despite being busy
Now I am thinking about how insane it would be for MP gamers when someone puts the game on hold for an indiscriminate amount of time.
Steam deck can do this too. Again had the same issue with multiplayer games
Man I’d love a steam deck but not available in my country haha
Seems you’re into puzzle games so I’ll recommend you that there’s an entire genre of minesweeper clones / inspired games on Steam. Some are straight up clones of the game, others are very similar, and some use the mechanics but twist them around in interesting ways. Good examples are Hexcells, Hexseed, Tametsi, DELETE, and GlobeSweeper. Once you learn the basic mechanics, they’re pretty hard to forget, and a lot of games borrow mechanics from others. When I started DELETE, for instance, the mechanics were a little bit different in some small ways, but I pretty much rocketed through the first dozen levels because of my prior knowledge of how minesweeper works.
No mention of Demoncrawl? If you like rougelikes and minesweeper, there’s no better game.
There’s a little game called Dorfromantik in which you build a map with tiles. The PC version is my go to game when I need to multitask (made long Teams meetings during covid bearable). It’s very simple, yet I have like 150h put into it. Not even that expensive to buy.
There’s also a board game version which apparently ok too.
I always see people recommend Stardew Valley in these threads.
Mechabellum.
Very easy to pick up auto-battler. Short matches, but quite a lot of tactical depth.Another easy auto-battler would be Super auto pets. Easy to play on short breaks.
I’ll throw out Bad North. It’s a little strategy game that features scenarios that last 4-5 minutes at most.
I really enjoyed Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon. It’s on PC and consoles, but if you have Netflix on your phone you can play it there as well.
I’ll second the recommendation of Dorfromantik, and I’ll also add Islanders, which has a similar vibe but different visuals and gameplay.
In both cases, you’re given pieces that need to be placed on the map in order to score points, and that’s the extent of a round, which makes it very easy to play for a couple of minutes, then put it down until later.
Gonna be a bit of an out there recommendation but old Popcap games are available on Steam. They’re good casual games if you don’t mind the lack of challenge. I personally like PvZ, Zuma Deluxe and Feeding Frenzy 2
Overwatch 2. Since the changes from old Overwatch, there is no real point in anything other than Quick Play, which means 5-10 minute games, and you are free to leave at any moment
Bloons Tower Defense 6 is easy to get into and also can return to the level if you quit out.
i think Downwell meets your criteria, its pretty actiony but easy to put down
