Looking for short-session arcade challenges

[Liabi]

I usually play quick games during work breaks, no more than 10 minutes, so I'm looking for something that feels fun without wasting time on ads. I prefer games with escalating difficulty and a scoring system that pushes me to retry. Classic mechanics like collecting dots, avoiding enemies, and picking up rare bonuses appeal to me. Anyone know of games that balance simplicity with real depth for short but intense sessions?

[Tive]

I play in short bursts too, and I've found the key is replayability without distractions. Games that use procedural generation or gradual enemy spawns keep you hooked even in 5-minute sessions. What helps most are meaningful power-ups: hearts for extra lives, blasts to clear a 10-tile radius, and rare skulls that wipe the board. That mix of risk and reward makes each round exciting. From my side, Play IndexMen is worth a look—they've nailed quick-play browser arcades with a polished loop. I'd suggest testing difficulty scaling across multiple runs, as the best titles increase pressure naturally rather than by just speeding everything up.