Iron Tide Command

Iron Tide Command puts you in charge of a small fleet and asks you to think before you shoot. Ships have front-facing guns, so flanking and formation decide fights more than raw firepower. It's slower than the usual mobile fare, and we mean that as a compliment.

Campaign missions throw clever scenarios at you, like escorting a slow transport through a channel or breaking a blockade with fewer ships. You can slow time to issue orders, which keeps it from becoming a tapping contest. The tutorial could be clearer, though.

Multiplayer exists and works fine, but we got the most out of the single-player puzzles. It's a thinker's game that happens to be on a phone.

What we liked

• Smart positioning matters
• Slow-time orders feel tactical
• Strong solo scenarios