Auto Battler Games for Android (2026): TFT, Pets, and the Idle Mix-Up

Super Auto Pets is the auto battler most phone searches mean. It is free, there is no shot clock in Arena, and it has 4.03 stars from 40,202 ratings. Teamfight Tactics is the best one if you want a live eight-player match. It is free, the listing shows no ads, it has 4.15 stars from 765,853 ratings, and it was updated October 17, 2026. Eight players draft a team. The team fights on its own. The pets listing calls Arena mode asynchronous. AFK Arena is not this genre. It is an idle RPG that fights while you are away.

We read the US Google Play pages on October 27, 2026. An auto battler, also called auto chess, is the shop-and-place game that grew out of a Dota mod. Wikipedia's auto battler page is the short history. Your job is the roster and the positions. The round plays itself.

In a hurry? Jump to: quick picks · what counts · the table · live 8-player · no timer · not an auto battler · old or shut down · how to pick

Pick an auto battler by the clock

• A live lobby, same game as PC in most places: Teamfight Tactics. Riot says rank and items carry between phone and PC. Regions can differ. See their note below.
• No shot clock: Super Auto Pets, Arena mode. The listing says there is no timer.
• The older 8-player template, with ads: Auto Chess, 4.26 stars, ads on the listing, updated September 16, 2026.
• Battlegrounds inside a card game: Hearthstone. It is not a second app. The listing names Battlegrounds as an auto-battler mode against seven other players.
• A backpack, then a fight: Backpack Brawl, 4.59 stars, no ads label, updated October 22, 2026.
• Skip Dota Underlords as a 2026 habit. Last Play update: November 3, 2023. Score: 3.36.

What counts, and what people mix up

• Counts: you buy or roll units between rounds, you place them, they fight, someone is the last player.
• Also counts, with a twist: Super Auto Pets (pets in a row, often on your own time), Backpack Brawl (items in a bag), Hearthstone Battlegrounds (a mode), Gladiabots (you program the bots, then they fight).
• Does not count: AFK Arena. Heroes walk forward and swing while you collect idle rewards. There is no shared draft against seven strangers each round. Our idle and clicker list is the right shelf for that feeling.
• Does not count: Vampire Survivors. You move. The weapons fire. That is a survivors game, and it is on the dark fantasy list.
• A cousin: Loop Hero. Fights are automatic, but you are building a road, not rolling a shop against seven players. It is on that dark fantasy page too.

At a glance, October 27, 2026

Every game in that table also shows an in-app purchase label. Free does not mean the shop is empty. AFK Arena is in the table so you can see the score, and so you do not file it as auto chess.

Live matches

Teamfight Tactics

• Best for: the current competitive auto battler. Teen. 10M+ downloads. Purchases, no ads label.
• The listing calls it an 8-player free-for-all. You draft, position, and adapt. Sets change the whole theme. Google Play.
• Phone and PC: Riot's mobile update says that in most countries TFT is cross-platform, with shared inventory, progression, and rank, and that the rules stay the same. A 2019 Riot answer said the same, and added that support can vary by region. Read Riot's mobile update if a friend on PC cannot see you.
• Watch: it is not League of Legends, and it is not Wild Rift. You do not steer a champion around a lane.

Auto Chess

• Best for: the game that says it comes straight from Dota Auto Chess. 4.26 from 229,555 ratings · 5M+ downloads · Everyone 10+ · ads and purchases · Updated September 16, 2026.
• The listing describes an 8-player match, hero cards, and formations. Listing.
• Watch: the ads label is the difference versus TFT. If ads annoy you, TFT is the cleaner page.

Hearthstone Battlegrounds

• Best for: people who already like Hearthstone's art and heroes.
• There is one app. Hearthstone is free, Teen, 4.11 from 2,027,437 ratings, 50M+ downloads, no ads label, purchases, updated October 23, 2026. The listing says you recruit minions, build a warband, and face seven other players in Battlegrounds. It also says you can play on mobile and PC with the collection synced. Listing.
• More card games: card games for Android.

Your own pace, or a twist on the fight

Super Auto Pets

• Best for: a round between other tasks. Everyone. 1M+ downloads. Purchases, no ads label. Updated July 28, 2026. Team Wood Games.
• The listing splits Arena (asynchronous, no timers, 10 wins before you lose your hearts) and Versus (8 players, faster). Standard packs are the fair queue. Custom packs are for people who want to mix pets. Listing.
• Watch: 4.03 is a fine score, not a loved one. The purchases are there. The listing's pitch is that the pets in standard packs stay a fair fight.

Backpack Brawl, Once Upon a Galaxy, Gladiabots

• Backpack Brawl: 4.59 from 143,015 ratings · 1M+ downloads · Everyone · no ads label · purchases · Updated October 22, 2026. You pack a bag. The fight is the test. Highest score among the true cousins on this page. Listing.
• Once Upon a Galaxy: 4.33 from 5,019 ratings · 100K+ downloads · Everyone · no ads label · purchases · Updated October 20, 2026. A smaller audience than TFT. The update date is current.
• Gladiabots: 4.24 from 19,530 ratings · 1M+ downloads · Everyone · no ads label · purchases · Updated May 22, 2026. You program robot behavior. Then the robots fight. It is an auto battler for people who like logic more than a shop. Listing.

High scores that are a different game

• AFK Arena: 4.50 from 3,694,199 ratings · 10M+ downloads · Everyone 10+ · no ads label · purchases · Updated October 20, 2026. People love it. The loop is idle heroes, not an 8-player draft. If that is what you wanted, it is a fine install. If you wanted TFT, it will feel like the wrong room. Listing.
• Auto Brawl Chess: 3.71 from 76,544 ratings · ads and purchases · Updated February 26, 2026. The name sounds right. The score is under 4.
• Magic Chess: Go Go US: 2.31 from 700 ratings · Updated October 17, 2026. Do not install this US listing because a video called Magic Chess fun. The score on this page is poor.

Shut down, or stuck in 2023

• Dota Underlords: Valve's app is still on Play. 3.36 from 119,302 ratings · 5M+ downloads · Teen · no ads label · purchases · Last update November 3, 2023. Underlords.com still offers an Android download. A last update from 2023 plus a 3.36 score is why it is not a pick. Old "best auto chess" articles still rank it near the top.
• Clash Mini: Supercell ended development on March 14, 2024, and said server shutdown would start about six weeks later, in late April. The note is on Supercell's site. It is not a game you can start today.

Games the 2026 auto-battler lists add, and the scores they skip

MiniReview's 2026 list leads with Super Auto Pets, then Auto Pirates, then a pile of roguelikes. The pet game belongs here. Some of the others do not survive a look at the US listing.

• 9 Kings. Free, Teen, no ads label, purchases, 4.55 stars from 4,039 ratings, 500K+ downloads, updated October 23, 2026. A newer strategy battler from Playdigious. Fresh, and the rating count is still growing. Listing.
• TABS Pocket Edition. $4.99, Teen, no ads label, no purchase label, 4.22 stars from 4,825 ratings, updated March 11, 2026. Wobbly physics armies. You place them. They fall over. It is an auto battler in the loose sense, and the store page is clean. Listing.
• Vivid Knight. $10.99, no ads or purchase label, 4.73 stars from only 237 ratings, updated October 16, 2026. A high score on a tiny crowd, at a high price. Wait, or read the page the day you buy.
• Auto Pirates: Captains Cup. Lists rank it near the top. The US listing has 3.68 stars from 288 ratings, plus an ads label, and the last update is October 21, 2025. We will not repeat that ranking.
• Despot's Game. 3.28 stars from 2,456 ratings, updated August 20, 2026. The name fits. The score does not.
• Knightica shipped a $4.99 listing updated October 1, 2026, and the page had no star rating yet. A trailer is not a score.

How to pick one in 10 minutes

1. If friends are on PC, start TFT and sign in with the same Riot account. If the region blocks it, the match will not appear. That is a Riot rule, not a phone setting.
2. If you have ten minutes and no lobby, open Super Auto Pets Arena or Backpack Brawl.
3. If you already play Hearthstone, open Battlegrounds inside it. Do not hunt a second download.
4. Turn on purchase approval before a free auto battler. Every pick above has a shop. Google's purchase lock.
5. Leave Underlords, Clash Mini, and the 2.31 Magic Chess listing. A 2019 article will not tell you they stalled.

How we checked

• Aditya Singh. US Play listings on October 27, 2026, plus Riot's TFT posts, Supercell's Clash Mini note, and the Underlords site.
• We did not climb a ranked ladder. Balance changes every set. The store page cannot tell you today's best team.
• "No ads" means the listing did not show an ads label that day.

Your next step

Install Teamfight Tactics if you want the live 8-player game and you can use the same Riot account as a PC friend. Install Super Auto Pets if you want the fights without a lobby timer. Open Hearthstone only if Battlegrounds is the mode you came for, and you also want the card game around it.

• Strategy games for Android
• Multiplayer games to play with friends
• Which phone games actually share a match with PC
• Dark fantasy games if you wanted the mood, not the draft.