Gaming - on a tablet? (Help, Xmas present)

[Pinkbonbon]

So my dad (73) mentioned he was considering a tablet. He wants one to be able to play puzzle games ect on. My parents do not have internet but he thought he could download them at my aunts down the road - and the play them without internet access.

I play 3ds (which i think may be a better option) and also know how google play works on phones but what's what with tablets? Is it just google play? And is there much in the ways of puzzle based games that can be played without internet once downloaded?

Thought I might make it his Christmas present this year. But maybe something like a Ds lite would be better?

Noi think he is right. There are loads o d free games t ja t work like that and the screen on a tablet will be nice and big.

Apols low phine battery makes typing weird

Yeah a big screen would be better than the pokey wee ds one right enough.

Yes so tablets if they are android will work via google play, just the same as a phone.

You could look at an Amazon Fire if he only wants it for puzzle games, as they tend to be quite good value. That uses the amazon store instead I think but there will still be plenty of games for it.

Otherwise just any Android tablet, I would get a recognisable brand though from somewhere "real" even if you buy online, John Lewis, Curry's etc. There are a lot of cheap Android tablets on amazon and they tend not to work properly and cause issues. I also wouldn't get one second hand as the battery life tends to go once they're a few years old.

I turned off wifi and mobile data on my phone, and of the 8 games I have installed, all worked in some sense, though I don't know how many levels I'd be able to play before they demand an internet connection. There are some always-online games around though.

Consider getting a tablet with a SIM slot, then if he decides he wants to do internet stuff at home he can get a 4/5G SIM for it.

Loads of games require an active internet connection to play, so he wouldn't be able to download elsewhere to play at home.

With phones, mobile data takes care of the authentication.

Haha bugger. Bought him one today, dunno if it has a sim slot. Have downloaded some puzzle games which seem OK without internet. But yeh you might be right in that it may prompt for occasional online access for authentication.

I'll maybe try it out a few times more myself about the house n if it isn't working I'll keep it myself as I haven't got a tablet (any excuse xD) Wtf else to get him instead though I don't have a Scooby xD

IME, most puzzle type ones don't, especially simpler things like Sudoku, bubble shooter, mah jong and so on. It's the more complicated ones that do. Anything that wants you to spend millions of pounds on in-app purchases, for example, and constantly restricts your play in order to tempt you into buying more time or coins or whatever. In fact you tend to get a better experience without internet because you don't get interrupted with ads constantly as the game can't fetch them and so just doesn't bother to play/display them. Even games that connect to google play - it will just skip the connection part.

I have done a lot of flights (cheap flights, so no on board wifi) using phone/tablet games as entertainment and this is what I have found.

Anyway, he'll just have to download a load in one go and then when he gets home if he can't play on them, he can delete them and try out different ones instead. He could also test while still at your sister's house by just turning off the wifi for a moment, if you show him where the shortcut for that is.