Best Casual Games on the Switch

The casual games worth playing on the Nintendo Switch start with Animal Crossing New Horizons, Ring Fit Adventure, Stardew Valley.

The Switch and Casual Games

A home console you can take with you, which turns out to matter more than raw power. The strongest first-party library of any modern machine, plus an indie catalogue that fits portable play perfectly.

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. Animal Crossing New Horizons

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

  2. 2. Ring Fit Adventure

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

  3. 3. Stardew Valley

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

  4. 4. Muse Dash

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

  5. 5. Thumper

    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 Switch?

Animal Crossing New Horizons is the usual first answer, and there are 5 in the library we cover.

Was the Switch 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 Nintendo Switch, 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 Switch

Or browse the whole Nintendo Switch library.