Which mobile genres are kindest to your battery

We keep a battery log for every game we review, and after enough entries the trends get obvious. Racing and 3D strategy games are the hungriest, no surprise, while turn-based and text-heavy games barely register.

The culprit is usually constant simulation and high frame rates. A racer redraws a detailed world sixty times a second, while a card game mostly waits for you to tap. If your phone is aging, lean toward turn-based RPGs, sims and puzzles.

One trick that actually helps: cap the frame rate in a game's settings if the option exists. Dropping from 60 to 30 fps often halves drain in fast games and you barely notice in slower ones.

Heat matters too. A game that keeps your phone cool is easier on the battery long-term, so if a title turns your device into a hand warmer, treat that as a yellow flag.