Tideline Command

Tideline Command drops you in charge of a small fleet and a stretch of coast that's always under some kind of threat. You draw supply routes, place defenses, and react as storms and raiders roll in. It's slower and more thoughtful than most mobile strategy, which I appreciated.

The clever part is that you're managing time as much as resources. A ship sent too far can't get back in time to defend the harbor. Learning to read those windows is where the game clicks, and the campaign layers in new units at a good pace.

It runs fine on older phones and pauses cleanly when you get interrupted. A meaty strategy game you can dip into on a commute.

What we liked

• Route-drawing that feels tactile
• Real decisions about timing
• Handles interruptions gracefully