In the previous entry, we’ve talked about several types of hyper-casual games, some of their mechanics, and some examples. These include:

- Stacking
- Dexterity and repetition
- Swerving and turning
- Idle mechanics
- Consume and grow

With the boom of smartphones, they’ve brought the joy of gaming not only to hardcore gamers but also to casual players who’ve never touched a console and PC game for once in their lives.

On that note, let’s take a look at the half:

Tap and timing

We’re sure you’ve played a tap and timing game or sequence before, given that they’re fairly common. These mechanics rely on players making taps at exactly the right time, focusing on precision. Great examples include Flappy Bird and the various golf and baseball games on mobile, the Baseball Boy.

With that said, they’ve also made their way to large and more complex games in the form of side activities or minigames. In Genshin Impact and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, you need to time your taps well when cooking to make perfect-grade dishes. Meanwhile, rhythm games like O2Jam are basically tapping and timing games on steroids.

Turning and guiding

These mechanics are quite different from the “turning and swerving” one in the previous entry. The goal in these games is to mostly guide the player-character to a certain point. Though this sounds rather simple, it is made more complex by 3D art styles and visual illusions. One good example is Monument Valley which merges puzzles and visual illusions to add a layer of depth and in a way, confuse players’ visual perception.

Rising and falling

We’ve seen platformers and Metroidvania games where you move horizontally around 2D spaces, battling enemies and navigating around the difficult terrain. However, games like Downwell and Rise Up change things up by using vertical movement - or rising and falling - instead.

In Downwell, the only way to progress is to keep going down, and though it’s more complex (it includes a few RPG mechanics and action themes), it’s a great example of a game that uses falling mechanics. Meanwhile, Rise Up is a more hyper-casual experience. In a nutshell, there’s a balloon you need to protect using a shield that you can guide with your finger.

Tapping and merging games

Undoubtedly the favorite of many casual players, tapping and merging games involves having players mix, match, and merge things together on-screen. These focus on aesthetic elements like shapes and colors to help players differentiate various objects. Progression is mainly defined through levels and stages with increased difficulty. Fantastic examples include games with match-3 mechanics and, of course, Candy Crush which was one of the most popular mobile games before.

Puzzle games

Hyper-casual puzzle games are a bit different from traditional puzzles in a way that the former has no clear end or goal except to reach the highest score possible. In a way, these games don’t exactly interfere with players, and difficulty is mostly defined by their actions. One good example would be a casual never-ending game of Tetris and the block puzzle game 2048.

Overall, hyper-casual games and mechanics may not provide a deep and immersive experience, but they’re a crucial part of what makes gaming work. In a way, you could consider them building blocks of a larger and more complex experience, like how driving and shooting in GTA V is a mix of swerving and turning mechanics, as well as tap and timing. More importantly, they cater to an audience that prefers trivial yet entertaining experiences accessible on their smartphones.