How to spot a game that only pretends to be offline

The most annoying moment in mobile gaming is opening a supposedly offline game on a plane and hitting a spinning connection error. It happens more than it should, so here's how I avoid it.

First, read the store description carefully. Words like online events, live leaderboards, or daily login rewards usually mean the game phones home. That's fine at your desk, useless at 30,000 feet.

Second, test before you travel. Install the game, switch on airplane mode at home, and see how far you can play. If it stalls on the first screen, you have your answer while you can still find an alternative.

Third, trust reviews from people who actually tested offline behavior. A high rating means little if nobody checked the one thing you care about. That's exactly why we run every game in airplane mode before writing a word.