Tidecrown Tactics

Tidecrown Tactics asks you to balance building up island harbours with sending out ships that can be ambushed at any moment. It's slower than the usual mobile strategy fare, and we think that's a good thing. You plan a few turns ahead and watch your plans unfold.

The interface handles a lot of information gracefully. Dragging resources between islands is smooth, and the game pauses politely whenever an event needs your attention. We did wish the tutorial were a touch longer, since the trade mechanics take a while to understand.

Once it opens up, though, there's a real satisfaction in watching a well-run network survive a rough storm season.

What we liked

• Thoughtful, slower-paced strategy
• Clean resource management on touch
• Rewarding once the systems click