Cozy mobile games for actually winding down at night

Not every game needs to be a challenge. Some of my favorite phone sessions are the ones where nothing is trying to kill me and there's no timer breathing down my neck.

Cozy sims like Tiny Harbor Town do this beautifully. You tend to a little world, watch it grow, and the biggest stakes are which shop to build next. It's the video game equivalent of a warm drink, and I mean that as high praise.

Adventure games can scratch the same itch if the pacing is right. The Last Lantern, for example, is all mood and gentle puzzles — perfect for playing in bed with the brightness turned down.

The trick to a good wind-down game is that it should never demand your reflexes or your anxiety. If a game ever made me tense up before sleep, it came right off the list.