Tidewall Tactics

Tidewall Tactics asks you to hold a shoreline against waves of raiders using towers, terrain, and clever unit placement. It looks simple, but the difficulty ramps up in a way that keeps forcing you to rethink your layout. I lost the same map four times before it clicked, and the win felt earned.

The touch controls handle unit placement well, with a helpful preview of range before you commit. There's a fast-forward button for the confident and a pause-and-plan mode for the rest of us. It runs quietly in the background of a commute.

What we liked

• Tense, escalating difficulty
• Clear touch controls with range previews
• Great in short planning sessions