Loading up a phone before a long flight

Nothing exposes a fake 'offline' game faster than a flight. Airplane mode is the real test, and I've been burned mid-air plenty of times.

My packing list mixes genres on purpose. One long RPG like Ember of the Hollow for the deep hours, one racing game like Dune Drifters for quick bursts, and a calm sim for when I just want to zone out.

Before boarding, I open every game once to clear first-run downloads, then toggle airplane mode on the ground to double-check they still start. Two minutes of testing saves a lot of in-air disappointment.

Battery is the other half. Lower the brightness, and favor turn-based games over flashy 3D ones if your flight is long. You'll thank yourself at hour eight.