Tide Command

Tide Command asks you to run a fleet across a stormy archipelago, balancing fuel, cargo and the constant threat of raiders. It's slower and more thoughtful than most mobile strategy games, and it's better for it. You spend as much time reading the weather map as you do issuing orders.

The touch interface handles the complexity nicely. Pinch to zoom the map, tap to plot a route, and a dedicated planning mode lets you queue a whole turn before committing. The AI actually adapts to your habits, which is rare — get predictable with your convoy routes and it will punish you.

It's not the prettiest game on this list, and the tutorial throws a lot at you at once. Push through that first hour, though, and you get a strategy game with real depth that still fits in short sessions.

What we liked

• Thoughtful pace that rewards planning
• AI that adapts to your patterns
• Clean touch controls for complex orders