Tideborn Command

Tideborn Command asks you to think a few moves ahead, which is rare on a phone. You manage supply routes and defensive lines across a chain of islands, and the map is readable enough that I never lost track of what mattered even on a small screen.

Controls lean on pinch-zoom and tap-to-select, and they mostly work, though placing units precisely near the edge of the screen took some getting used to. The pacing is slow by design, so it plays well in short bursts between other things.

It's not flashy and the campaign can drag in the middle, but the core loop of planning and reacting kept pulling me back for one more turn.

What we liked

• Readable maps on small screens
• Rewards planning over speed
• Great for short bursts