Running out of storage space on your phone? That doesn't mean you have to give up on your gaming needs. There are plenty of games that take less than 50 MB of space, and are as entertaining as any other.

A while ago, Google rounded up a list of games under 25 MB. Unfortunately, this list only accounted for how many megabytes you need to download, not how much space the game will actually take on your phone. Instead, we must look at the end result -- the real space required.

We set a target. Let's dedicate 500 MB of space to games on the smartphone, which means 10 awesome games of 50 MB or less. The games should be immensely replayable, so that you can fire up anyone to pass some time. So if you need to free up storage space on your phone and your SD card is filled with apps already, maybe try replacing your games with these.

1. Drop7

This is the first game I install on any new phone, and usually my first recommendation when someone asks for an addictive game. If you like math games, nothing hooks you like Drop7 does.

It's a bit like Tetris meets mathematics. In a 7x7 grid of squares, a ball falls from the top, inscribed with a number from one to seven. Your job is to form a chain of balls corresponding to the number. This will make the whole chain explode, breaking greyed-out blocks around them. Keep doing this as long as you can, before the whole screen fills up.

There are three game modes, each with their own leaderboards. You'll be shocked how high some of the experts score. My personal best is 850,000. Can you beat it?

2. Zombie Smasher

The immensely enjoyable Plants vs. Zombies 2 is too big to fit in this list. But you'll be almost as entertained with Zombie Smasher, where you need to smash the zombies before they can get to you.

It's a simple game, but so enjoyable. When you see a zombie, tap on it to smash it into pieces. Be careful, though: you need to avoid the innocent humans fleeing from the undead. You will face new types of zombies as you advance through the levels, such as dog zombies who change direction, or miner zombies who dig underground to escape. You also have limited power-up tools to help in your quest, like bombs or electric fences.

There are 60 levels in the story mode, along with another survival mode and a time mode. So do you have the fastest finger in the west?

Download -- Zombie Smasher for Android (Free) or for iOS (Free)

3. Pixel Kingdom

If you didn't miss the zombies in Plants vs. Zombies but missed the strategy, then Pixel Kingdom is the game for you. It's a mix of tower defense and real-time strategy.

As the ruler of a kingdom, you have to defend yourself from oncoming enemies. The enemies march in from the right, you send your troops from the left, and they clash in the middle. Make sure you earn new troops, and keep building them up to become more powerful.

While doing all this, you need to calculate how much energy you have, since that dictates how many troops you can send. It's a bit of math, a bit of strategy, and a whole lot of fun -- all in real time.

Pixel Kingdom has been removed from the iTunes App Store right now, so iPhone owners, you're out of luck until it's back up!

Download -- Pixel Kingdom for Android (Free)

4. ZigZag

You could install almost any of Ketchapp's games in this list. The developer has made Stick Hero, 2 Cars, and so many other awesome games that fit under 50 MB. My favorite of the lot is ZigZag, one of the best free games of 2015.

The only mechanism in the game is tapping the screen. Each tap changes your ball's direction, making it go right or left. The ball is on a precarious path, with steep drops on either side. Your job is to go as far as you can, picking up the gems on your path, and not falling off. The further you go, the higher your score climbs.

It sounds simple, but ZigZag is deceptively tough. My highest score is 210. Can you beat that?

Download -- ZigZag for Android (Free) or for iOS (Free)

5. Color Switch

Buy a sturdy case for your phone before you install Color Switch. Be warned, you're going to want to chuck your phone at the wall once in a while.

Here's the deal: you tap on the screen to make a ball jump up. Keep tapping to stay in the air, tap faster to jump faster. Four-colored spinning contraptions block your path. When the ball's color matches one of the contraption's sides, you can pass through it. After you successfully go through a contraption, your ball's color will change, so that you have to match a new color in the next contraption.

You won't believe how difficult, and at the same time how addictive, this game is. It's one of those gorgeous, minimalistic games you'll keep coming back to.

Download -- Color Switch for Android (Free) [No longer available] or for iOS (Free)

6. Flow Free

You've probably played Flow Free at some point. Trust me, you'll have just as much fun playing it all over again. I revisit this game every few years, and it's as entertaining as the first time I came across it.

In case you're new to the game, you're in for a treat. It's a square grid, with a few colored dots plotted on some blocks. Join the dots, but no two lines of connecting colors should overlap. It starts off easy when you're in 5x5 grids, but it is a major challenge once you reach grids of 9x9 and more.

Flow Free has sequels too, which are slightly above the 50 MB requirement. If you have a few more megabytes to spare, definitely try those out.

Download -- Flow Free for Android (Free) or for iOS (Free)

7. Bricks DEMOLITION

To have an enjoyable game, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Brick-breaker games have been all the rage since the earliest video games. Bricks DEMOLITION carries on the legacy in fine fashion.

You know how it works. Start a level as the ball bounces up, towards rows of bricks. Different colored bricks have different strength, so some might require two taps with the ball to break. Some bricks will release power-ups. With your paddle at the bottom, make sure the ball never falls down, and catch as many power-ups as you can.

Bricks DEMOLITION does power-ups better than any other game I've played. It's one of the most entertaining improvisations of the classic brick-breaker game.

Download -- Bricks DEMOLITION for Android (Free)

8. Marble Legend

Marble Legend is a rip-off of the classic Zuma, a popular web-based Flash game from a decade ago. Don't let the ethical dilemma put you off from downloading it -- Marble Legend is a better version of the same game.

A train of marbles keeps snaking ahead towards a goal. You launch marbles into this cluster, trying to make a string of three marbles of the same color to destroy the chain. You need to destroy all the marbles before they reach their goal. Along the way, you'll get several power-ups and need to strategize as well. For example, the train moves based on the last ball, so if it's broken in between, the front of the train stops till the marbles reconnect. You need to make that happen often to get more time.

The ads in Marble Legend are annoying, since they take up actual game space on-screen. Try it out, and if you like it, spend a few bucks to buy the full version. It's worth it.

Download -- Marble Legend for Android (Free) or for iOS (Free) [No longer available]

9. Chess.com

I have tried every single chess app on the Play Store. Trust me when I say Chess.com is easily the best chess game on Android and iOS.

low storage games chess

It meets all the requirements to enjoy chess and get better at it. You can play against the computer at different levels, or play multiplayer games. Chess.com's vast number of users will make sure you match with someone of similar skill at any point of the day. You can play with different time limits, or variations of chess like Chess 360.

The app also helps you improve your game. Daily "tactics" practice keeps you on your toes, daily puzzles challenge you, and you can learn the ins and outs of chess through tutorials.

Download -- Chess.com for Android (Free) or for iOS (Free)

10. Hexagon King

You've played games where you have to stack objects to make a tower that doesn't topple over. Hexagon King turns the concept on its head.

A hexagon sits on top of a large tower made of Tetris-like blocks. Tap a block to make it disappear. You need to keep removing blocks, but at the same time, you have to ensure the hexagon doesn't fall off. It's a gorgeous physics puzzle game that looks simple but will have your hexagon and you teetering on the edge of the seat.

If you're an iPhone user and don't mind going slightly over the 50 MB limit, then I'd recommend downloading Six!. It's the same game, but with better graphics and background score.

Download -- Hexagon King for Android (Free)

What Did We Miss?

With these games and the best tiny Android apps, those with low storage space need not fear. If you're really low on space, take a look at some cheap cloud storage to store your extra files.