Strategy does not believe in tomorrow, in the petty influence of mishaps or the crushing inevitability of time. No, ‘strategy’ is the art of the moment, of trying to achieve victory through nought but wits and wills. Preferably, it strategy believes in taking turns, although we understand real-time works too.
Not a strategy fan? We’ve got some great puzzle games you should check out.
Our latest codex will train and challenge even the most avowed enthusiasts with a maddening variety of scenarios and systems to learn and master. All platforms, playstyles (single- and multi-player), themes and scales of strategy, from the minute to the life-swallowing are represented.
Enjoy, and take your time digesting our top picks of the best turn-based games for Android, iPhone and iPad:
Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind (Review)
Publisher: A Sharp LLC
Platforms: iOS Universal
Price: $9.99
Some strategy gamers will find Six Ages‘ blend of (sort of) forced immersion awful, where others will lap it up. Fans of King of Dragon Pass – which this serves as a spiritual sequel to – will already be familiar with it. They’ll discover a smoother interface and a new setting in a new culture. Forgoing the traditional control and power fantasies of strategic empire-building is a hard habit to give up. But for those that can make the sacrifice, Six Ages holds a wealth of wonders few other games can match. It wants to tell you a tale of gods and humans, of mysteries and the mundane while still taxing your tactics. It’s a bold goal and, while it doesn’t always work, the narratives that it weaves are unlike anything else in gaming.
Darkest Dungeon (Review)
Publisher: Red Hook Studios Inc.
Platforms: iPad
Price: $4.99
With each passing year since its conception and release, Darkest Dungeon recedes into annals of history, into the collective memory of unspeakable legends. In other words: a horrid, demanding and sublimely satisfying little game is fast becoming an all-time classic. Some have balked at the fine-tuning numbers behind its challenges (e.g. pre-Radiant days, the initial Crimson Court balancing), but in general the game’s ‘give-no-quarter’ philosophy has won a die-hard following that keeps coming back for more punishment. With the next expansion The Color of Madness slated to arrive later this year, this is a game whose vicious, compelling cycle will continue for a long time.
Templar Battleforce Elite (Review)
Developer: Trese Brothers
Platforms: iOS, Android
Price: $9.99
Space marines versus xenomorphs, loosely derived from the Ur-horrors of Alien. Templar Battleforce owes some thematic debts to Warhammer and others, but its rapid-fire pacing and generous respect system are wonderful tools for experimentation and strategy. There’s some light characterization and world-building, sure, but in lieu of story one has to respect Templar Battleforce’s varied scenarios and equally creative squads allow divergent thinking. To a man with a hammer, everything is a nail, but to a commander with endlessly variable squads, the mutating threat can be met with an equally sundry…battleforce.
XCOM: Enemy Within (Review)
Publisher: 2K
Platforms: iOS Universal, Android
Price: $9.99
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is still the golden standard for turn-based tactical gameplay, so let’s take a moment to revisit why. Squad-based, knife’s edge combat constantly challenges commander’s ability to scrape victory from defeat. Players make overworld and between-scenario decisions for which soldiers to train and tech to pursue, every bit as decisive as the individual commands given to the squad members in the heat of battle. The game has its hallmark AAA production lustre and mankind-on-the-brink storyline, and these conventions work in its favour. Keep your squad intact, do the mission, save the world, piece by piece. The Enemy Within expansion content makes this turn-based strategy game even better.
The Battle for Polytopia (Review)
Publisher: Midjiwan AB
Platforms: iOS Universal, Android
Price: Free (additional Tribes as in-game DLC)
Polytopia takes the crown for best Civ-lite. If this sounds like damning with faint praise, it’s quite the opposite. Because civilization-building builds its challenges and satisfactions with a grand scope and timeframe in mind, trying to miniaturize this genre experience can go pear-shaped in several ways. In Polytopia, the tribes are separated by a single tech (with some glaring exceptions), and the map has been foreshortened to a grid of 256 squares. Units and tech are the same for everyone, but the simplicity of this means a shorter list of decisive, vexing choices. There is no diplomacy system, but victory is determined by points and not necessarily conquest. The game’s blocky, loose artstyle and easy interface make it an easy game to learn and hard to put down. Only just recently did the support for online multiplayer finally make its debut, and it is this latest change that elevates this title to a must-try.
Invisible Inc. (Review)
Publisher: Klei Entertainment
Platforms: iPad
Price: $4.99
The future came and went, (Invisibly) and it has been cruel to all but a select few supranational, extraterritorial megacorps. Your ragtag bunch of spies and specialists will scour the globe for intel and supplies so they can make one final run, wipe their identities from the omni-vigilant database and live off the grid in peace. Each run escalates if the agents are detected by the guards, cameras or drones, yet the stealth aspect of the game is only one kind of risk calculation among many. The game’s AP and power systems mean that even successful runs can be tight, and sometimes making a clean escape is a failure if the team did not steal enough resources. The game’s generous learning curve belies an experience in which knowledge can lead to perfect play and challenge runs for pacifist or no-item wins at even the most fiendish difficulty.
The Banner Saga (Review)
Publisher: Versus Evil
Platforms: iOS Universal, Android
Price: $9.99
The Banner Saga is the first entry in a critically acclaimed trilogy about the story of a nomadic group travelling through an inhospitable landscape inspired by Norse mythology. The game’s storyline changes based on the player’s decisions, and its memorable, well-written characters give the unfolding game greater resonance and depth. Other perks include the hand-drawn aesthetic and excellent soundtrack, but honestly the battles themselves are the best part. We’re eagerly looking forward to when the recently released third entry makes its eventual journey to mobile.
Civilization VI (Review)
Publisher: Aspyr Media
Platforms: iOS Universal
Price: Free Limited Trial, $29.99 IAP for full game
Civilization VI is a premium game at a premium, no-fuss price, albeit one that’s made many a mobile gamer flinch. Friendships have been shattered and lesser men driven mad by the game’s epic arcs starting with the cradle of civilisation and culminating in space travel and the digital age. Production, culture, warfare, science and diplomacy are all concerns when cultivating your civilisation. The original thrill of growing from a single city in misty, distant obscurity to a global force shaping the course of (simulated) human history really doesn’t boil down to a punchy recommendation. For those living under a rock, this is a game which actually merits those common adjectives bandied about to praise games: epic and awesome. For strategy gamers, Civilization 6 will consume all of the free hours of your life.
Publisher: Michael Brough
Platforms: iPad
Price: $3.99
Imbroglio sounds like a mess; it is in the name. But of all Michael Brough’s excellent, sparse designs, this one has the most player-driven customization and controlled random inputs. Here is ample proof that roguelikes can offer as much strategic challenge as the best of classics. Each character has their own ability and weakness, and the 4×4 grid on which the game unfolds is filled with tiles doubling as weapons. Swiping towards an enemy will activate that tile and fire its ability, with every slain enemy adding experience to the weapon responsible.
The goal of the game is to collect treasure, which upon collection heals the character and causes the walls of the grid to change configuration. Enemies spawn quicker and quicker as the turn count increases, so the whole affair is a race against time to level-up the sixteen tiles while staying healthy and collecting treasure at a steady pace. It is accessible but with a glut of weapons and characters to unlock and the final challenge to beat, it will reward sustained interest and focused strategic approaches.
What would your list of the best turn-based strategy games on mobile look like? Let us know in the comments!
) that have brought rapid improvement to the open source raster art package. The 2.10.6 release brings several new features including vertical text layers, two new filters, improved straightening and more.
