Tidebreak Command

Tidebreak Command asks you to run a small fleet across a moody ocean map, balancing fuel, repairs and where the storms are heading. It's real-time but pausable, which is the only sane way to do strategy on a touchscreen. Give orders, pause, breathe, unpause.

The control scheme took me a session to click with. You tap a ship, then tap a destination, and drag to draw patrol routes. Once it's muscle memory it flows nicely, though I'd have liked bigger tap targets for the smaller vessels.

This one does eat battery. It's constantly simulating the whole map, so expect warmth and a steeper drain on longer campaigns. I'd save the big battles for when you're near a charger.

What we liked

• Pausable real-time keeps it playable on phones
• Genuine tension around supply and weather
• Deep campaigns for strategy fans