Strategy on a touchscreen finally feels good

Strategy games and touchscreens have a long, awkward history. Selecting the right unit in a crowd of ten with your thumb is a recipe for frustration, and a lot of RTS ports never fixed it.

The trick newer indie strategy games use is smaller maps and fewer units that matter more. Tidewatch Command keeps the whole board readable, so you're never hunting for a unit you can't tap. That single design choice fixes most of the genre's mobile problems.

It also means decisions carry weight. With fewer pieces, positioning each one becomes a real puzzle instead of a click-fest. Slower, more thoughtful strategy actually suits a phone better than the frantic PC version.

If you assumed strategy games can't work on mobile, the newer indie ones might change your mind.