Best Casual Games on the PC

The casual games worth playing on the PC & Modern Multi-Platform start with Stardew Valley, The Jackbox Party Pack, Harry Potter Quidditch Champions.

The PC and Casual Games

Not a console, and that is the point: no generation boundary, no exclusivity, and a back catalogue that goes back forty years and never stops working.

Casual Games are a solid rather than a defining part of this library — worth knowing, but not the reason anybody owns the machine.

Filtering to casual means you want something you can put down. That is the whole definition, and it says nothing about how deep the game is.

The Casual Games Worth Playing

  1. 1. Stardew Valley

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  2. 2. The Jackbox Party Pack

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  3. 3. Harry Potter Quidditch Champions

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  4. 4. Cities Skylines II

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  5. 5. RimWorld

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  6. 6. Stumble Guys

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  7. 7. Human Fall Flat 2

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  8. 8. Lemmings

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  9. 9. Rhythm Doctor

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  10. 10. Palia

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

  11. 11. Spin Rhythm XD

    Follow the link for hand-written recommendations if you want more like it.

What Makes a Good Casual Game

A game that fits around a life. Short sessions, save anywhere, no penalty for a week away.

Momentum, sometimes. A game designed to be left is also a game that is easy to forget you were playing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best casual game on the PC?

Stardew Valley is the usual first answer, and there are 11 in the library we cover.

Was the PC good at casual games?

It is a solid rather than a defining part of the library.

Does casual mean shallow?

No. Several of the deepest games there are — Tetris, Balatro, Into the Breach — are playable in twenty-minute pieces, and some of the shallowest demand an entire evening.

Are mobile games casual games?

Often the opposite. Many are built around daily timers and streaks, which means stopping does cost you — the one thing a casual game is not supposed to do.

How is this list put together?

From the games this site covers on the PC & Modern Multi-Platform, matched against hand-mapped gameplay categories rather than a storefront's genre tag. A page only exists where there are at least four, which is why some console and genre combinations have no page at all.

Casual Games on Other Consoles

More From the PC

Or browse the whole PC & Modern Multi-Platform library.