From driving tractors to destroying the world, there's a large variety of simulator games on Android. They're the perfect escape, allowing you to explore realistic scenarios from your phone. However, there are plenty of fictional experiences, like Stardew Valley or Plague Inc.

We've gathered the best simulation games on the Play Store, so read on to discover why these make up some of the best games on Android. We recommend pairing them with a pair of our favorite noise-canceling earbuds to lose yourself in the simulation fully.

1 Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is an incredibly popular game, bringing elements from classic farming simulators like Harvest Moon into an original, modern game. On the surface, it seems like a reasonably straightforward farming sim; it starts you off nice and slow, instructing you to plant and water a handful of parsnips. But Stardew Valley could be better described as a community simulator. As you complete your tasks and meet the valley's residents, you'll find yourself drawn into the tiny community's complex web of relationships, dreams, and challenges.

Stardew Valley is a brilliant game packed with magic, monsters, and surprisingly resilient plants. It might sound ridiculous, but the Stardew Valley community feels real.

2 Game Dev Tycoon

Playing video games is fun, but we often forget how much toil goes on behind the scenes. While Game Dev Tycoon offers a charmingly simplistic view of game development, it doesn't pull any punches when telling you how terrible your game is.

Developing a game in Game Dev Tycoon involves selecting which features you want your game to include and deciding how much dev time should go into each. After your game is released, you'll be subjected to a brutally honest set of reviews, wherein you'll learn the ultimate truth of all creative projects: sometimes, people will just hate it. In that, Game Dev Tycoon is the most realistic simulation on this list.

3 Goat Simulator

To those who haven't heard of this underground smash hit, Goat Simulator is a simulator in the loosest possible sense. It's more of an RPG, but it's a fun parody of simulation and RPG games, regardless.

In an alternate universe, goats have the power of gods and the desire for destruction. Goat Simulator provides a realistic view into the life of these goats, letting you bounce, tumble, and headbutt your way through myriad animate and inanimate objects. Earn in-game points for smashing things, and earn imaginary points for discovering all the deliberately ignored bugs.

4 Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic

Rollercoaster Tycoon Classic is an Android port of the first two games in the Rollercoaster Tycoon series. Released in 1999 and 2002, respectively, these games are complex simulators in which you're tasked with creating a successful rollercoaster park. Not only will you build safe and fun rollercoasters (veteran players may be laughing at the word "safe" here), but you must carefully manage your guests' happiness to ensure the park's financial success.

This Android port is a brilliant introduction to the series, streamlining the dated interface into a significantly more user-friendly experience. Old-school players won't be disappointed, either.

5 My Time at Portia

My Time at Portia is a similar simulation experience as Stardew Valley. Tasked with becoming the top builder in town, you'll alternate constructing items in your workshop with romancing NPCs and dueling against enemies. Unlike Stardew Valley, it's a fully 3D world that offers up a significantly larger area to explore. It's another great pick for those who enjoy community simulators.

6 Fallout Shelter

Fallout Shelter might seem to be a cheap spin-off of the Fallout franchise at first blush, but under the hood is a brilliant simulation game. You are handed control of a group of nuclear apocalypse survivors and tasked with keeping them alive. You must manage jobs, defenses, repopulation, and expansion to ensure your vault-dwellers lead happy and fruitful lives. Don't be put off by its cheap appearance: it's a shining gem in the muddy sea of free-to-play games.

7 GRID Autosport

Of all the sub-genres of simulation games, racing sims suffer the most on mobile platforms. It isn't easy to immerse yourself in the twists and turns of a high-speed racetrack when all you have is a touchscreen. Grabbing one of our favorite Android controllers is essential, but most games still struggle to capture an authentic experience.

Grid Autosport solves this problem by creating a challenging racing game that seeks to capture the feel of racing rather than accurately reproducing the motions. A range of customization options means you can tweak the racing experience to find what works best for you.

8 Settlement Survival

Settlement Survival is an immersive city builder that, as the name suggests, introduces survival mechanics into the mix. You'll have to manage shelter, food, and warmth for your citizens to grow from a humble camp into a thriving city.

The survival elements aren't particularly challenging, but add a particular urgency to your actions. Settlement Survival is perfect if you enjoy city builders but get lost in sandbox gameplay. We recommend picking up Settlement Survival on one of the top Android tablets, as its UI can feel cluttered on phones.

9 Sid Meier's Railroads

Sid Meier's Railroads is an iconic tycoon game brilliantly ported to mobile by Feral Interactive. While fans of modern tycoon games may find Railroads' gameplay simplistic, it's easily one of the best tycoon games you'll find on the Play Store.

Part of what makes this landmark tycoon game great is the ease with which it plays on mobile. Playing on phones is comfortable, and the straightforward gameplay makes it easy to pick up and put down.

10 Pocket City 2

Pocket City 2 is the sequel to the successful Pocket City, and it improves in nearly every aspect. Day-night cycles, dynamic seasons, and a sandbox mode are all exciting features, but the third-person mode will grab your attention. After creating an avatar, you can roam free around your time, driving cars, flying planes, riding bikes, or just walking from place to place. It's a great way to explore your time and help you visualize what's around you.

Pocket City might not be Android's most complex city builder, but it's easily one of the best. It's complex enough to keep you immersed, but it doesn't bombard you with overwhelming amounts of information.

11 Farming Simulator 23 Mobile

Farming Simulator 23 Mobile might lock a lot of its content behind microtransactions, but it's still cheaper to get all the content on Android than console or PC. Released three years after the last Farming Simulator game, FM 23 Mobile is the latest addition to the venerable lineup.

Farming Simulator 23 Mobile is best played on a large screen like those on the best Android tablets for total immersion. Even if you're not interested in farming, it's the perfect way to wind down at the end of a long day, thanks to its steady and relaxing gameplay.

12 Motorsport Manager 4

Motorsport Manager 4 was one of our favorite new games of September, bringing a plethora of features that streamlined the excellent gameplay of its predecessor while retaining the complexity that keeps you hooked. Motorsport Manager 4 is the perfect game for people who love watching car racing but don't enjoy the mechanics of realistic racing simulators.

In Motorsport Manager 4, you'll control every aspect of your cars and drivers as you take your racing team to the top. There are plenty of features to fine-tune and manage, everything from what tires your cars use to their pitstop strategy.

13 Plague Inc.

You're probably already familiar with Plague Inc, but if not, you must try this apocalyptic simulator. You'll pick from a variety of plagues to infect the world with; your only goal is to wipe out humanity. It sounds simple, but as you develop realistic transmission types and symptoms for your disease, you'll find that the simulated world is willing to fight to prevent it from spreading.

Plague Inc has a hefty amount of challenge, and while this simulation game is shorter than most, it will be appealing if you don't have hours to spend on a city builder of life simulator.

There's a simulation game for everyone

Simulation games on Android are best enjoyed when you won't get interrupted, as they'll absorb you for hours. But if you'd prefer something that exercises your brain a little more, we recommend playing the best strategy games on Android.