What are the best games to play when you can’t sleep?

If there’s one thing I’ve found to be a common-enough trait among gamers, it’s that we don’t always keep normal hours. A lot of the time, it’s because of the games we’re playing — minutes turn into hours and suddenly it’s the middle of the night and there goes our sleep schedule for the next few days. But some of the time, it’s because we just… can’t sleep. And in those moments, it’s easy to search for whatever weird solution might help you finally close your eyes.

Right now is one of those such moments.

I can’t sleep, and all of the games I’ve been playing lately aren’t exactly the “calm and relaxing” types. But I know there are games out there that folks will play to help wind down and (eventually) fall asleep, and I want to know what those games are and how their magic works.

Stardew Valley has come close at times — until I fall into the trap of telling myself “just one more day’s worth of crops” for a full season or more. Farming mindlessly in WoW has also come close, but there are only so many times I can pull that off before farming becomes too unfun.

A somewhat unexpected hit a lot of the times? Mobile games. Maybe it’s because I can pick mobile games up and literally put them down easier than even Switch games. Maybe it’s because I can only play so long before I realize I need to save battery for my morning alarm (usually, at that point, fewer than three hours away). Whatever the case, they tend to work better than most console of PC titles.

Of course, I still don’t have a go-to game (or games) when I really need something to drift me gently off to sleep. So that’s where I’m turning to you. What games do you play when you can’t sleep? Do you play them to help you sleep, or are you more of the “game to stay awake” type? Sound off below!