Why I Keep Playing Strategy Games On A Tiny Screen

On paper, strategy games and phones don't mix. Small screen, fiddly menus, no mouse precision. And yet Tidewatch Command has more of my attention than any game on my desktop right now.

The trick modern strategy games have learned is asynchronous, low-pressure pacing. You issue orders, close the app, live your life, and come back to see how things played out. It suits a phone perfectly.

The catch is interface. A strategy game lives or dies on how quickly you can read the map and give orders on a five-inch screen. The ones that get this wrong are unplayable; the ones that get it right are quietly brilliant.

So don't write off the genre on mobile. Just be picky. The good ones are worth the patience the bad ones try your patience with.