What makes a game good for the half hour before dinner
Half an hour is a strange amount of time. It's too short for a game that needs a warm-up and too long to waste, so I look for games that start at once and stop cleanly. Going back through the games I've reviewed, four things decide whether one fits.
The fun arrives within minutes. I don't want a long menu or a tutorial that eats the first ten minutes. On this list I'm doing something fun almost straight away, whether that's diving, racing or arriving at the next stop on a road.
It's easy to stop. Dinner doesn't wait for the end of a level. Every review has a note on where a good stopping place is, and the games below all have one that comes round every 10 to 20 minutes.
It doesn't punish a bad minute. If I only have a short window, I don't want a mistake to cost me the whole session. A bad race costs very little, a failed dive costs a bit of loot, and there's no losing at all in some of these.
It asks little of my head. I've just come in from work, and the games below are low on Effort, so there isn't much to learn or remember.
How I pick the games for this list
A game is on this page when the shortest session worth starting is 30 minutes or less, Effort is 2 or lower, the first fun arrives within minutes and a mistake costs very little (how I score explains the scales). The list is 6 games right now, best first, and it changes by itself when I review a game that fits. A game can be great and still miss this list because it wants a longer window. Those are in the close calls below.
Getting the most out of 30 minutes
A few small habits make a short window feel longer.
- Know the stopping point before you start. Each game below has a natural end: a dive, a stop on the road, a race or a cup, or a round of chores. Pick one, play it, and you're done.
- Use sleep mode. One press of the POWER button puts the console to sleep, and POWER or HOME wakes it. If you've set a console lock PIN, waking it asks for the PIN.
- Handheld or docked. All of these work in handheld, so the console can sit next to the stove or on the arm of the sofa, and the TV can stay free.
- Let it save. Most of these save by themselves, and each review says exactly where.
Things to know before you start
Every game here is quick, and a few have a catch:
- Dave the Diver has a restaurant that's only stressful in the first hours, until you have staff. Don't stop in the middle of a dive or a service.
- Road 96 has some heavy themes, even though it's easy to play.
- Palia is always online, so it needs a connection, and typing on the Switch is a pain.
- Limbo is dark, so a spot without glare helps, and it has a few jump scares.
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe doesn't save in the middle of a race, so the best place to stop is on a menu screen.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons can turn into daily chores when I play it alone.
Close calls: great, but they want a bit more time or attention
These are quick to start too, but they ask for a longer window, a bit more Effort, or they punish mistakes more than I'd like for a half hour. Here's what I said about stopping in each one:
- No Man's Sky: After a loop: land on a planet, gather, scan wildlife and return to your ship (10 to 20 minutes), trade and upgrade at a station (5 to 10), or refuel and warp to a new system (2 to 5).
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: After a shrine, which takes ten to twenty minutes, or after ten minutes of picking apples and cooking.
- I am an Air Traffic Controller: Airport Hero Haneda: Between stages. Nothing carries over, so a finished stage is the cleanest stop. Early stages are short, but some long ones run one to two hours.
- Balatro: Between runs, or even in the middle of a round. A session can be five minutes or a whole evening.
- Aerofly FS Flight Simulator: After a landing. Program a short flight, such as a landing, or a 15 minute cruise, approach and landing, and stop after touchdown. A full flight with planning, take-off, cruise and landing can run long.
- NES: Nintendo Classics: Any time. Pick a game, press start, and stop whenever you like. Ten minutes here and there works.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: After a fight (2 to 7 minutes), a Classic Mode run (6 fights, a bonus round and a final boss, 10 to 15 minutes) or a few Spirit board fights (1 to 3 minutes each).
Other kinds of evening
If the evening is longer, the best games to play after work page ranks the ten that suit a work night best, and the Tonight finder narrows it down by time and energy. The other collections cover quick breaks, tired evenings and handheld in bed.
Questions
What's the best Switch 2 game for the half hour before dinner? Right now my top pick is Dave the Diver. It's fun within minutes, it has a clear place to stop and a mistake costs very little. On another night the right pick depends on how much energy I have left.
How long should I play before I stop? The reviews say where a good stopping place is. A dive, a road stop, a race or a round of chores takes 10 to 20 minutes, and a four-race cup in Mario Kart takes 10 to 12.
Can I play these with the TV on for someone else? Yes. They all work in handheld, so the TV can stay free for someone else.
Do these games need the internet? Only Palia needs a connection. The others play offline.
Will I lose progress if dinner is ready before I am? Not in most of them: Dave the Diver autosaves when I surface, Road 96 during the story, Palia syncs to the servers in real time and Animal Crossing saves with the minus button. Mario Kart saves between races but not during one.
How often is this list updated? Whenever I publish a review or change a rating, the page is rebuilt. The date at the top shows when something last changed.
