FROM THE ARCHIVE17 Oct 2026

F7 Discover.

Independent ideas.
Extraordinary finds.

Your daily detour into indie games and Android apps from creators around the world. Small teams. Fresh thinking. Worth your time.

Explore the picks Browse archive

03 Indie games07 Android apps

A SIGNAL WORTH FOLLOWINGF7 / 007

The word Pingus in green stone-textured letters on black

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Puzzle · Check price

Pingus

Meet your next obsession.

AND SOMETHING FOR YOUR EVERYDAYAegis Authenticator

Security · Android

Curiosity, with a little quality control.

Original insights Verified sources Official links

EDITION / 17 October 2026

How these picks are checked

A smaller edition, selected with care. Our daily aim is 7 games + 7 apps; only verified discoveries make the cut.

THE DAILY SELECTION

Daily Picks.

Made by independents.
Found for the curious.

Pingus

By Ingo Ruhnke

Pingus is Ingo Ruhnke's side-view puzzle game about guiding a group of walking animals to an exit. The official site describes 77 levels, a world map, secret levels, a level editor, multiplayer, and actions such as building a bridge, digging, and a jumper. Stable downloads are listed for Windows, Intel Macs, and Linux source. The site says the game is free as in freedom under the GNU GPL, and it explicitly says that does not mean free of charge.

F7 INSIGHTPingus is worth the detour because the animals keep walking unless you spend a command. The puzzle is the timing of those commands, and the site is honest that freedom to change the game is not a price tag.

Newly discoveredWindows · macOS

PuzzleCheck price

Enigma

By The Enigma Team

Enigma is a volunteer-made puzzle game in which you roll a black marble and uncover matching pairs of Oxyd stones. The project readme says the landscapes add traps, mazes, and more than 1,000 levels, with a tutorial included. Windows and Mac installs are downloadable packages, and Unix systems can be built from source. The readme grants GPL version 2 or later and does not state a monetary price; the website has a donation link instead.

F7 INSIGHTEnigma looks like a marble toy until a hidden trap changes the route. The level menu is a stack of small floor plans, so the interesting choice is which puzzle to attempt, not a score chase.

Newly discoveredWindows · macOS

Blue and gold shield with a gold scepter, crossed by two swords

StrategyCheck price

The Battle for Wesnoth

By The Battle for Wesnoth Project

The Battle for Wesnoth is an open-source, turn-based strategy game with single-player campaigns and online or hot-seat multiplayer. The official site describes hand-animated units, 17 campaigns, 55 multiplayer maps, and more than 200 unit types across seven factions. Stable builds are offered for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and the same version is also linked on Steam and itch.io. The homepage does not state a monetary price; it says donations support the servers.

F7 INSIGHTWesnoth's campaigns are sequences of tactical maps with their own stakes, so a session is about which unit still matters three turns from now. The add-on server is part of the game, not an afterthought.

Newly discoveredWindows · macOS

Blue letter A formed by thick strokes on a pale rounded square

SecurityFree

Aegis Authenticator

By Beem Development

Aegis Authenticator is Beem Development's free and open-source Android app for HOTP and TOTP codes. The vault is encrypted with AES-256-GCM and can be unlocked with a password or biometrics. Entries can be scanned from a QR code, typed in, or imported from other authenticator apps. The readme points to Google Play and F-Droid, and it licenses the project under GPL-3.0.

F7 INSIGHTThe useful part of Aegis is the backup, not the six-digit code. An encrypted vault you can export is a different promise from codes that exist only on one phone.

Newly discoveredGoogle Play

White capital R centered on a red rounded square

SocialFree

RedReader

By QuantumBadger

RedReader is QuantumBadger's unofficial Reddit client for Android. The project describes it as free and open source, with no ads or tracking, a cache of earlier posts and comments, and support for more than one account. It includes an image viewer and a GIF and video player, and it runs on Android 5.0 and later. The same readme links Google Play, F-Droid, and GitHub releases under GPL-3.0.

F7 INSIGHTRedReader is built around a cache and a swipe, so a thread can still be reread after the network drops. That is a more specific idea than another skin on the official client.

Newly discoveredGoogle Play

Red cat-shaped wallet with a smile on a dark blue square

WalletCheck price

Catima

By Catima contributors

Catima is a GPLv3+ Android app for keeping store loyalty and membership cards on the device. It can show many common barcode formats, import pkpass files, and work offline. A Wear OS companion is included, and Gadgetbridge is named for selected watches. The readme links Google Play and F-Droid but does not state a monetary price. The logo is credited to il-Luca and Aeven-Dev, based on Rose's original.

F7 INSIGHTCatima is a wallet that stays on the device. The interesting choice is which barcode you can show without opening someone else's account, including a pass file you already have.

Newly discoveredGoogle Play

Purple square icon with a folded geometric shape

App installerCheck price

Obtainium

By ImranR98

Obtainium installs and updates Android apps from their own release pages and can notify you when a release appears. ImranR98's readme lists sources such as GitHub, GitLab, Forgejo, F-Droid, and IzzyOnDroid, and it gives the package id dev.imranr.obtainium. The app itself is offered through GitHub releases, IzzyOnDroid, and an F-Droid flavour. The readme does not state a monetary price. The repository license is GPL-3.0.

F7 INSIGHTObtainium is a catalogue of other people's release pages. The point is to update an app from the place its developer actually ships it, which is a different job from a single store client.

Newly discoveredOfficial GitHub releases

Pale blue play triangle on a dark rounded square

VideoFree

Next Player

By anilbeesetti

Next Player is anilbeesetti's native Android video player, also offered for Android TV. The readme calls it completely free and open source, without ads or excessive permissions, and licenses it under GPL-3.0. It can play local files and URLs, select audio and subtitle tracks, change speed, and use picture-in-picture and background playback. Google Play and F-Droid links use the package dev.anilbeesetti.nextplayer.

F7 INSIGHTNext Player is a player that also reaches a file on another machine. Network folders and a TV layout make it more than a button that opens a video already on the phone.

Newly discoveredGoogle Play

DocumentsCheck price

Fossify Documents

By Fossify

Fossify Documents reads PDF, DOCX, text, Markdown, CSV, TSV, and HTML files on Android without an account. The app page says text and Markdown can be edited, CSV and TSV can be edited as plain text, and password-protected PDFs can be opened, zoomed, and printed. Recent files, favorites, selected folders, search, and sorting stay on the device. The page does not state a monetary price, and the app does not request Android's Internet permission.

F7 INSIGHTA document app is useful when the file never has to go through an account. Fossify Documents keeps the folder list and the password-protected PDF on the phone.

Newly discoveredGoogle Play

Green Fossify banner with phones showing a waveform and a list of recordings

AudioCheck price

Fossify Voice Recorder

By Fossify

Fossify Voice Recorder captures lectures, notes, and ideas on Android and keeps the recording list on the device. The app page describes playback, renaming, sharing, and deleting, plus a plain start screen for a new recording. It does not request Android's Internet permission, and recordings leave the phone only when you share or save them elsewhere. The page labels the current release as beta and does not state a monetary price.

F7 INSIGHTVoice Recorder is a tape deck with a file list. The useful detail is that a recording stays on the phone until you choose to share it.

Newly discoveredGoogle Play