25 Phone Games People With Depression Play at Night

When you live with depression, sometimes nighttime is the hardest part of the day. If you’re dealing with ruminating thoughts, feelings of loneliness and hopelessness, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, and can sometimes be hard to fall asleep.

In times like these, many people reach for their smartphone for a distraction. For many, this can look like playing a favorite game. While playing phone games won’t “cure” depression, when you’ve exhausted other coping strategies, sometimes you just need something to get you through the night — and there’s nothing wrong with that.

We wanted to know what games people like to play on their phones when they are feeling depressed, so we asked our Mighty community to share one game they play at night.

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Here’s what our community had to say:

1. 2048

“It’s mind numbing which is great right before bed. Also there’s literally zero chance it’ll be an emotional trigger of any sort since it’s entirely numbers.” — Jessica S.

Download 2048 for free from iTunes and Google Play.

2. The Sims Freeplay

“I use [it] as a coping method to help me relax and ‘go somewhere else’ for a little.” — McKenna P.

Download The Sims Freeplay for free from iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

3. Traffic Racer

“I’ve never been into racing games, except for this [one]. It just calms my mind because it only focuses on on the car and the price.” — Danielle D.

Download Traffic Racer for free from iTunes and Google Play.

4.  Covet Fashion

“Every night, I play Covet Fashion. I like the fact that I can dress the models in what I wish I could wear. I like to envision myself in each entry’s location. It’s soothing and allows me to mentally go other places in much the same way a book does, but with a few more visuals.” — Mikki I.

Download Covet Fashion for free from Google Play and iTunes.

5. Personal Zen

“There’s a game that is clinically proven to help with anxiety and depression on the iTunes Store called Personal Zen. I play it because it helps increase positive thinking and I recommend it to counseling clients who have all had good results with this as an adjunct therapy.” — Whitney N.

Download Personal Zen for free from iTunes.

6. Dragonvale

“I play Dragonvale literally all day. During class, on breaks at work, in the shower (thanks lifeproof case), literally all day.” — Jen O.

Download Dragonvale for free from Google Play and iTunes.

7. Design Home

“I love games where I can put my own style into it. It calms me, shows me my style is actually pretty great, and I have a fantastic time!” — Kayla T.

Download Design Home for free from Google Play and iTunes.

8. Candy Crush

“I play candy crush to help me fall asleep or calm down my anxiety.” — Megan T.

Download Candy Crush Saga for free from Google Play and iTunes.

9. Simon’s Cat Crunch Time

“The cats are so cute and funny. It is a good way to relax and get ready to go to sleep.” — Jessica B.

Download Simon’s Cat Crunch Time for free from Google Play and iTunes.

10. Love Nikki Dress Up

“I find that if i feel lonely and sad, I might as well make something beautiful.” — Usman M.

Download Love Nikki Dress Up for free from Google Play and iTunes.

11. Disney Emoji Blitz

“My husband doesn’t understand this at all. It helps both my anxiety and depression. I play Disney Emoji Blitz. [It] relaxes me enough that I can actually stop my brain from thinking about life over and over and can actually fall asleep!” — Angela M.

Download Disney Emoji Blitz for free from iTunes and Google Play.

12. The Simpsons: Tapped Out

“The Simpsons: Tapped Out is my favorite phone game because it is fun but isn’t the stressful/nerve wracking type of game so it doesn’t get you revved up when you’re about to try to sleep. It’s kind of similar to the old SimCity games — you have to rebuild your own Springfield and there are tasks to do.” — Samantha T.

Download The Simpsons: Tapped Out for free from iTunes and Google Play.

13. Fishdom

“Similar to candy crush, but you decorate aquariums and get to buy and name fish as you beat levels. The fish are adorable and say really cute positive things to you.” — Miranda B.

Download Fishdom for free from Google Play and iTunes.

14. Clash of Kings

“I’m obsessed with Clash of Kings. It’s a strategy game. You build your castle and your army to fight against others. You join an alliance. There’s a chat room for your alliance as well as a kingdom chat. It distracts from real life too well.” — Jolene L.

Download Clash of Kings for free from iTunes and Google Play.

15. Tsum Tsums

“Cute adorable things make me feel better and temporarily happy.” — Jessica O.

Download Disney Tsum Tsum for free from Google Play and iTunes.

16. I Love Hue

“You have to put all the colored boxes into the correct place into a gradient pattern. It soothes my soul when everything lines up and when you do it correctly, a heart pops up in the middle of the screen. Plus the music is relaxing.” — Renee S.

Download I Love Hue for free from iTunes and Google Play.

17. Wordwhizzle

“I play word games like Wordwhizzle to help kinda distract me. I start falling asleep because the letters keep me focused so much on solving it and I forget about everything else.” — Crystal D.

Download Wordwhizzle for free from iTunes and Google Play.

18. A Girl Adrift

“Its a simple tap game. It involves fishing in a world very much submerged in water. You float around, eventually discovering other survivors and legendary fishing targets in the flooded ruins of earth and its greatest manmade landmarks. It’s a quiet game that doesn’t require a lot of devotion…which is perfect when all you want to do is crawl into the blankets and vanish into thin air.” — Bree P.

Download A Girl Adrift for free from iTunes and Google Play.

19. Episode

“The lives I led in those games were idyllic. I was aware they were unrealistic, but you just need an escape, sometimes…” —Megan A.

Download Episode for free from iTunes and Google Play.

20. Bakery Story

“I love baking, but many days [I] don’t have the willpower to go bake something.” — Allyson S.

Download Bakery Story for free from iTunes and Google Play.

21. Kids Doodle

“I mainly use coloring book apps. I really like KidsDoodle. You can draw using neon colors. It’s fun and a good distraction.” — Jennifer L.

Download Kids Doodle for free from iTunes, Amazon and Google Play.

22. Monster Super League

“There are goals to achieve every day so keeping my mind occupied helps a lot.” — Hannah B.

Download Monster Super League for free from iTunes and Google Play.

23. Magikarp Jump

“It’s cute, has cute music and makes me feel like a kid again.” — Jonna R.

Download Magikarp Jump for free from Google Play.

24. Wizard of Oz: Magic Match

“Good graphics, but low-key. No bright flashing lights.” — Angie M.

Download Wizard of Oz: Magic Match for free from Google Play.

25. Zen Koi

“It’s extremely relaxing and has helped me with anxiety as well as depression because I find it helps wind [me] down. It’s fantastic. I’d recommend it to anybody who [has] depression and/or anxiety.” — Leigh B.

Download Zen Koi for free from Google Play and iTunes.

What phone games do you play?