Iron Tide Command

Iron Tide Command asks you to defend and expand along a stormy coastline, juggling supply lines while enemy fleets probe your weak points. It is real-time but pausable, which is a mercy on a touchscreen. Every map is a little logic puzzle about where to place your limited units.

What I liked is that a smaller, well-positioned force beats a bigger sloppy one. I lost a few missions to overconfidence before I learned to scout first. The tutorial is patient and the difficulty curve ramps sensibly.

The tech tree is a bit thin compared to desktop strategy games, and late missions can drag. Still, for something you can play in twenty-minute chunks, the strategic depth here is impressive.

What we liked

• Positioning beats brute force
• Pausable real-time play
• Patient, clear tutorial