Docket 01 · 2026 sessionNine titles a docketRatings quoted from Google PlayIndependent desk, Australia
Docket 01 · nine titles heard
Mobile games, put before a jury.
RaidJury is a small Australian review desk. We work through the new listings on Google Play, take nine titles at a time, put every one of them through the same four criteria and publish the verdict in plain language. Every entry was checked against its Google Play listing on the date of the hearing, and there is nothing to install from this site.
Four questions, asked in the same order every time
Applied to all nine entries
Every title on the docket goes through the same four questions, on the same two mid-range Android handsets, installed cold from the public store page. Nothing is judged on a hunch, and no criterion is quietly dropped because a game is otherwise likeable.
Criterion 01The first ten minutes
We install cold, take no shortcuts and time how long it is before the game hands over control. Sign-in walls, forced tutorials and stacked pop-ups are all noted here.
Criterion 02Session fit
Can it be picked up between two tram stops? We time a normal session and record whether the loop closes inside five minutes or really wants a proper sitting.
Criterion 03Interruptions
Advertising is normal in a mobile title. What we record is how often the game stops, whether the break is the player's own choice, and whether anything needed sits behind one.
Criterion 04Staying power
We come back on day three and again on day ten. If a loop only holds while everything is still new, the entry says so plainly rather than burying it in a footnote.
The docket
Nine titles, nine hearings
Entries 01–09 · heard in this order
Each entry carries the panel's verdict on the rail, the Google Play rating exactly as published, the screens from the store listing, and one bench note — the thing we would want to have been told first.
01Mining idleDeveloper: ExoCorpListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
ExoMiner - Idle Miner Universe
ExoCorp · Mining idle
An idle miner set across a run of planets. You sink shafts, upgrade drills and lifts, then hire crews so each level keeps running without you. Production ticks over while the app is closed, which makes a typical session a short check-in rather than a sit-down. The upgrade tree is deep, and the first hour is mostly working out which improvement actually shifts the line.
GenreMining idle
SessionCheck-in, 2–5 min
Away from wi-fiIdle progress runs on
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteGive it two sessions before judging — the tree opens up once the second planet is within reach.
02Idle factory tycoonDeveloper: Adrian ZarzyckiListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Car Industry Tycoon: Idle Sim
Adrian Zarzycki · Idle factory tycoon
A factory-floor simulator in which the layout is the puzzle. Machines are placed by hand, belts link them together, and research opens better parts until the floor plan runs out of room and has to be rebuilt. It rewards planning far more than tapping, and the line keeps producing while the app is closed. Menus are dense, and the panel found the opening stretch heavy on trial and error.
GenreIdle factory tycoon
SessionPlanning, 10 min+
Away from wi-fiIdle progress runs on
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteRebuild the floor plan early rather than late — space, not speed, is the real constraint.
03Farm village simulatorDeveloper: foranj.gamesListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Farm Island: Farming Village
foranj.games · Farm village simulator
A restore-the-island farm simulator. Crops grow on timers, harvests are turned into goods at the workshops, and completed orders push along a light story about rebuilding the village. Quests arrive steadily, so there is nearly always a next small task waiting on the board. Later chapters lean on longer timers, which suits a reader who dips in twice a day.
GenreFarm village simulator
Session5–10 min
Away from wi-fiBest with a connection
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteBest treated as a twice-a-day game; one long sitting simply runs into the timers.
04Hidden objectDeveloper: Amevis DMCCListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Hidden Objects: Coastal Hill
Amevis DMCC · Hidden object
Hand-drawn scenes packed with objects, and a list to work through. Chapters follow the restoration of a seaside town, with small puzzles between the searches and a hint system for scenes that turn stubborn. The artwork is detailed and the scenes are static, so it reads clearly on a small screen. The story is light and easy to skim past if searching is all you came for.
GenreHidden object
Session8–12 min
Away from wi-fiChapters download first
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteHints sit on a cooldown, so save them for the two or three genuinely crowded scenes.
05Pool billiardsDeveloper: Cherry Pop GamesListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Pool Blitz
Cherry Pop Games · Pool billiards
Eight-ball pool played in short one-on-one frames. You aim by dragging, add spin from the cue-ball panel, and unlock new cues while working through the venues. The physics are the draw: cushions and side spin behave close enough to a real table to stay satisfying. A frame runs a couple of minutes, which makes this the most interruption-friendly title on the docket.
GenrePool billiards
SessionA frame, ~2 min
Away from wi-fiConnection needed
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteFine aiming is fiddly on smaller handsets; the drag-to-zoom control does most of the work.
06Jigsaw puzzleDeveloper: ZiMADListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Magic Jigsaw Puzzles－Games HD
ZiMAD · Jigsaw puzzle
Less a single game than a jigsaw library: thousands of photographs, piece counts adjustable from a handful to several hundred, plus daily puzzles and themed packs. Pieces snap cleanly, every puzzle keeps its own progress, and the tray can be sorted so edges come first. New picture packs are pulled down over a connection, while puzzles already downloaded carry on without one. It is the largest catalogue on this docket by a wide margin.
GenreJigsaw puzzle
Session10–30 min
Away from wi-fiNew packs need data
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteDownload packs on wi-fi before travelling; the board itself is perfectly happy offline.
07Zoo tycoonDeveloper: Lab Cave GamesListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Zoo Craft: Animal Park Tycoon
Lab Cave Games · Zoo tycoon
A park builder: place habitats, look after the animals, pair species to raise young, and lay paths so visitors can actually reach the enclosures. Progress comes from steady upkeep rather than one large decision, and there is always a small chore waiting. The art is bright and the tone stays gentle from beginning to end. Upkeep taps do stack up once the park spreads out, which is the panel's main reservation.
GenreZoo tycoon
Session6–10 min
Away from wi-fiRuns offline
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteSet the paths before the habitats — retro-fitting them is the fiddliest part of the build.
08Block puzzleDeveloper: Brainteaser Puzzle Game StudioListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Block Color Mania, Puzzle Game
Brainteaser Puzzle Game Studio · Block puzzle
Colour-sorting blocks on a compact board: slide each piece out through a matching gate and clear the tray. There is no timer and no pressure, levels are short, and the whole thing runs without a connection. It carries the highest Google Play rating on this docket, and the panel agrees the execution is unusually clean. The format does repeat itself, so short bursts suit it better than a long sitting.
GenreBlock puzzle
Session2–5 min
Away from wi-fiRuns offline
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteRated highest here, but treat it as a five-minute game rather than an evening's play.
09Merge puzzleDeveloper: Cedar Games StudioListed on Google Play
Exhibits A–C · screens as published on Google Play
Mystery Town: Merge Games
Cedar Games Studio · Merge puzzle
A merge board wrapped around a gentle small-town mystery. Combine three of a kind into better items, spend the results on repairs around the town, and a light detective thread unfolds between chapters. The tone stays friendly throughout — tidying and puzzles rather than tension. Pacing slows once repairs need several merges in a row, which is worth knowing before chapter three.
GenreMerge puzzle
Session7–12 min
Away from wi-fiBest with a connection
Tested onMid-range Android
Bench noteChapter three is where the pace changes, and the story is worth staying with.
Every stamp on this board comes from the four criteria. Every rating beside it comes from Google Play and is quoted as published, unrounded, at the time of the hearing.
"Surprisingly cozy. Good progression and fun way to pass the time."
SS
sunken sea
Google Play review · Car Industry Tycoon: Idle Sim
"Enjoy this game. Lots to do and options that I can choose or not."
JP
Jeanne Pruitt
Google Play review · Mystery Town: Merge Games
"Hidden Object game is really fun and gets the brain moving with the curiosity it invokes."
CG
Cheryl Gaushas
Google Play review · Hidden Objects: Coastal Hill
The digest
One note per docket
E-mail and browser notifications
The digest says which titles were heard, which stamps changed and what the panel flagged. Your name is optional and is used only to address the note.
One e-mail per docket. No daily sends and no third-party lists.
Browser notifications are asked for separately by your browser. Decline them and the e-mail digest still works.
Leave at any time — one line to the desk and the address comes off the list.
The digest is still being activated: the first note goes out when the next docket is heard. Subscriptions run through OneSignal, which handles e-mail and browser notifications on our behalf. Your details are processed as set out in the privacy notice.
Recorded. Your address is on the digest list. If your browser asked about notifications, that answer has been saved as well — you can change it at any time in the site settings of your browser.
Questions
Put to the desk
Six answers, no small print
It has to be a live Google Play listing in one of the calm genres the desk covers — idle economies, farming and building, hidden object and story, boards and tables — with a player base large enough for the rating to mean something. Nine are taken for each docket. The docket itself is open to read, there is no account to create and nothing to install from this site.
Yes. Display slots and promotional links carry an "Advertising placement" tag wherever they appear, and they never change a verdict, a stamp or the order of the board. The full description sits in the editorial model and in the terms.
The figure on each verdict rail is the Google Play rating for that title, quoted as published at the time of the hearing and never rounded. The stamp beside it — Unanimous, Carried, Carried with notes — is the desk's own judgement from the four criteria.
No. The criteria are applied before any commercial conversation takes place, and a placement can never move a stamp on the board. Nothing on the current docket carries an advertising tag, which is why the session figures show nine hearings and no tags at all.
It is the sweep, nothing more: one pass through the new listings on Google Play, then the panel sits and rules. It says nothing about the games themselves, which are calm ones — mining, farming, jigsaws, pool, hidden objects and merge boards.
A docket is heard as a set of nine. Existing entries are revisited when a title changes materially — a new tutorial, a different interruption pattern — and the next set is announced through the digest.
The bench
Who sits on this panel
Three reviewers · Australia
RaidJury is a three-person review desk working from Australia. We read the new listings on Google Play, pull out the titles that deserve a hearing and put each one through the criteria on ordinary mid-range handsets rather than test rigs. Every install comes from the public store page, exactly as a reader's would.
Real installs, real handsetsEvery title is installed from its public Google Play listing and played on the same two Android phones, so entries stay comparable.
Ratings are quoted, not inventedThe number on each rail is the Google Play figure as published, carried across unrounded and checked before the entry goes up.
No affiliationWe are not connected with Google, and we have no commercial relationship with any developer named on the current docket.
Plain verdicts"Carried, with notes" means exactly that. Reservations sit in the entry itself, next to the reason for them.
Editorial model
How this site works
Stated in full, not in a footnote
Every word on this site is written by the desk, never by the developer whose game is being heard. Nine titles are chosen for each docket, all nine go through the same four criteria, and the verdict is written up by the reviewer who ran it. Advertising placements sit on the site as well, and they are kept apart from the verdicts — here is exactly how.
01
How titles are chosenNine live Google Play listings a docket, taken from the calm genres the desk covers, with the store page read in full before anything is installed.
02
How they are checkedTwo mid-range Android handsets, all four criteria in the same order, revisited on day three and day ten before an entry goes up.
03
Who writes the verdictThe reviewer who ran the criteria writes the entry and sets the stamp. A stamp is the opinion of the desk, not a measurement, and no advertiser reads an entry before it is published.
04
Advertising is labelledWhere an entry or a link is an advertising placement it carries an "Advertising placement" tag. Nothing on the current docket carries one — see the terms for the full disclosure.
Genre index
The docket, sorted by what you feel like
Nine entries · four families
The same nine entries, grouped by the sort of evening they suit. Every line goes straight to its hearing further up the page.
