Turn-based tactics actually belongs on a phone

I used to think strategy games needed a mouse. Then I spent a month with Skyreach Tacticians and realized the turn-based ones might be better on a phone than anywhere else.

The key is that nothing is time-pressured. You tap a unit, the game shows its range, you think as long as you want, then tap where to go. There's no twitch element to fumble, which is exactly where touchscreens usually struggle.

It's also perfectly paced for how people actually use phones. A single turn is a complete thought, so you can play one move at a bus stop and the rest at home without losing the thread.

The one thing to watch for is screen clutter. The good tactics games keep the grid clean and the info panels tucked away until you ask for them. The bad ones try to show everything at once and become unreadable on a six-inch screen.

If you've been sleeping on mobile strategy because of a bad experience years ago, the genre quietly got very good. Give the turn-based ones another look.