What analytics tool would you advise for a simple single player mobile game?

There are some market-research companies which have very detailed sector specific knowledge. Thus, they are not freely available for consumers. Here are a few to get you started: http://www.mintel.com/ https://www.marketresearch.com/ https://www.marketresearchreports.com/ https://www.ibisworld.co.uk/

What I usually do with my team is to store the data locally until the machine connects to the web and then push it to the cloud at that point. The data won't be live but at least it will appear once the PC is online. Makes sense?

I would suggest you self-publish. Let me break down the mobile game landscape for you in a single statement: *You can only grow a game if your LTV (Lifetime Value) is greater then your CPI (Cost Per Install).* I assure you, that once you have that formula successful, finding money to support continued growth of your game at extremely favorable terms to yourself is not going to be a problem. If you don't have success with the above formula, then it doesn't matter if you have a publisher, your game's not going to be able to grow and make money with them either. There are only 2 conditions which you should consider a game publisher: 1) You need money to complete the game. (ie, no way will the game exist unless you get the money.) 2) For specific geo locations, such as China where there are people who can properly localize and market the game. That's it. I believe there is no grey area here and I've had experience on both sides of the table, including being the first 3rd party publisher signed by Zynga. The latest game I built is currently in the top 100 grossing chart (Cookie Jam) and it's there because we have successfully cracked the formula above. Its quite simple, but really difficult to achieve. Good luck! -Michael.

Try Intercom.io You get visitor level information on how active they are etc.

I guess the best answer is, it depends. What kind of mobile game are you marketing? Who are you targeting? For what platform? (iOS, Android?) Different ad networks work better than others depending on the type of game. A good place to start would be MoPub, MDotM, Manage, and Insight.