Iron Tide Command

Iron Tide Command puts you in charge of a small fleet and lets the thinking do the work. You position ships, manage fog of war and time your strikes, all on a grid that reads well even on a phone screen. It's slower and more deliberate than most mobile strategy, which I liked.

The campaign eases you in nicely, teaching one mechanic at a time before the skirmish mode throws the full toolkit at you. Each battle is a puzzle with several right answers, and figuring out your own style is half the fun.

The interface could use a bit of polish on smaller phones, and some icons are tiny. On a tablet, though, it's close to perfect.

What we liked

• Deliberate, thinking-first pacing
• Clean readable battle grid
• Skirmish mode with real depth