Best Animal Games for Android, Free and Paid

Start with Crossy Road. It is free, its listing says it plays offline, and a chicken crossing a motorway needs no explaining. For a pet to look after, take My Talking Tom 2. For Animal Crossing, Nintendo now charges $19.99, and does not sell it in every country.

We read the Google Play listing of every game on this page, and the descriptions come from those listings. Where a listing says the game works without a connection, or says it needs one, we pass that on. If you came for apps about real animals, such as ones that identify a bird or teach a child animal sounds, those are in our animal apps for Android.

Animal games for Android at a glance

The prices on this page are the US ones. Google Play sets a local price in other countries.

Quick arcade games

Crossy Road

Hipster Whale’s endless hopper is on our list for the second time. You hop a chicken across roads, railway lines and rivers until something flattens it. The listing counts more than 300 characters to unlock and 28 worlds, and there is a multiplayer mode for people sharing one device.

The listing includes offline play among its features. It is free with ads and in-app purchases, and Google Play rates it Everyone.

Hungry Shark Evolution

Ubisoft’s listing describes an offline game in which you start small, eat everything within reach and grow towards a Megalodon. It says the game stays fully playable offline, and that the gems and coins sold inside can also be earned by playing or by watching ads.

Google Play rates it Teen, so this is not the one for a small child.

Rodeo Stampede: Sky Zoo Safari

You ride through a stampede, lasso one animal after another, and take what you catch back to a zoo in the sky that you build and run. The Yodo1 listing names offline play as a feature and suggests a long commute. It also mentions a multiplayer running mode, which cannot work without a connection. Free with ads and in-app purchases.

Pets to look after

My Talking Tom 2

The Talking Tom on our old list has become a family of games, and this is the one to take. You feed Tom, bath him and put him to bed, and he repeats what you say in his own voice. There are mini-games, pets of his own to collect and a plane that flies him to other worlds.

Outfit7’s listing says you can play offline after installation. Google Play rates it Everyone. The original My Talking Tom is still listed too, but it is rated Everyone 10+ and its listing mentions subscriptions, so the sequel is the simpler choice for a young child.

My Tamagotchi Forever

Bandai Namco calls this the official Tamagotchi game. You feed, wash and clean up after a character, and it grows into a different one depending on the care it gets. There are mini-games and a town to decorate.

Google Play tags it “Offline”, though the listing does not say so in words. The augmented-reality mode our old article mentioned is not in the listing today.

Neko Atsume 2

You put food and toys in a yard and wait to see which cats turn up. The listing counts more than 40 kinds, with rare ones that need particular items. The sequel adds visits to other players’ yards and helper cats.

It is free with ads and in-app purchases, plus an optional subscription. The listing says some features need a connection. The first Neko Atsume is still on Google Play and carries the “Offline” tag.

Usagi Shima

The same quiet idea with rabbits. You turn an abandoned island into somewhere bunnies want to visit, then pet them, brush them and give them hats. The listing counts more than 30 rabbits and more than 100 items, promises no time limits and says the game plays offline. Free with ads and in-app purchases.

If you prefer cats and soup, Cats & Soup is an idle game about exactly that, with the same labels and Google Play’s “Offline” tag.

Animal Crossing, farms and zoos

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete

The free Pocket Camp from our old list has gone from Google Play. Nintendo replaced it with this paid edition, which the listing describes as a one-time purchase holding seven years of items and events, with no further in-game purchases. You manage a campsite, fish, catch bugs, talk to the animals and collect furniture.

The listing says a constant connection is not required. It also says your save lives on the device and is deleted with the app.

It costs $19.99 in the US. Nintendo’s own country list for the game does not include Nigeria or India, so check that list before you plan around it. For other slow games of this kind, see our life simulation games for Android.

Hay Day

Supercell’s farm is still running. You grow crops, keep chickens, cows and horses, turn what they produce into goods and trade with neighbours. Puppies, kittens and bunnies can be added as pets. The listing says a network connection is required, and that some items bought with real money are random.

If you would rather run a zoo, Zoo 2: Animal Park makes you the director of one, breeding baby animals, cleaning enclosures and expanding the park. Google Play shows in-app purchases on it and no ads label.

Playing as the animal

WildCraft

You begin as a wolf, a fox or a lynx, raise a family of up to six cubs and defend it through four seasons in a 3D wilderness. The Turbo Rocket Games listing says you can do this alone or online with friends. Google Play rates it Everyone 10+ and tags it “Offline”, despite the word Online in its full title.

The Wolf is the multiplayer version of the idea: an online role-playing game with pack hunts and fights against other players. It is rated Teen, and nothing in its listing suggests it plays offline.

Goat Simulator

Goat Simulator costs $5.49 in the US, and Google Play shows in-app purchases on it but no ads label. You are a goat and you score points for wrecking things. Its own listing calls the game stupid and suggests you spend the money on something else, which is at least an honest sales pitch. A separate free version has ads, sells extra levels and is rated Teen.

For children

Animal Jam is built for children. They play as an animal, adopt pets, decorate a den and pick up animal facts along the way. WildWorks says the chat is filtered and moderated and that parents control privacy settings from a dashboard. It needs an internet connection, and it sells a membership subscription on top of the free game.

Among the others, Crossy Road, My Talking Tom 2, My Tamagotchi Forever and Usagi Shima are all rated Everyone, and all four show ads. Hungry Shark Evolution and The Wolf are rated Teen.

What happened to the old list

• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp: the free game has gone. The paid Complete edition replaced it.
• Hooky Crook, Ice Age Village and Super Phantom Cat 2: we could not find any of them on Google Play.
• Talking Tom: now several games. We picked My Talking Tom 2.
• Crossy Road, Hay Day, My Tamagotchi Forever, Rodeo Stampede and WildCraft: all still listed, and all above.

Which one to pick

• Five spare minutes: Crossy Road.
• A pet for a young child: My Talking Tom 2.
• Something slow and quiet: Usagi Shima, or Neko Atsume 2 if you prefer cats.
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, if Nintendo sells it in your country and $19.99 is a price you accept for a phone game.
• To be the animal: WildCraft.

Quick answers

Which animal games for Android work offline?

Crossy Road, Hungry Shark Evolution, Rodeo Stampede, My Talking Tom 2 and Usagi Shima all say so in their listings. Hay Day and Animal Jam need a connection.

What is the best virtual pet game for Android?

My Talking Tom 2. It is free, rated Everyone, and its listing says it plays offline once installed. My Tamagotchi Forever is the one to take if you remember the toy.

Is Animal Crossing on Android?

Yes, as Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Complete, a one-time purchase of $19.99 in the US. The free Pocket Camp is no longer on Google Play, and Nintendo does not sell the new edition in every country.

What are the best animal simulator games for Android?

WildCraft, if you want to raise a family as a wolf, a fox or a lynx. The Wolf, if you want the same animal in an online game with other players.

Are there animal games for young children?

Animal Jam is made for children and has parental controls, but it needs a connection. My Talking Tom 2 and Crossy Road are rated Everyone and play offline, with ads.

If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.