Tide and Tower

Tide and Tower is a slow-burn strategy game about holding back the ocean. You place districts, sea walls and pumps on a shifting coastline, and every few turns the tide rises to test your planning. It's tense in a quiet, thoughtful way rather than a frantic one.

There's a satisfying puzzle to balancing space: build too close to the water and you drown, build too far inland and you starve for resources. We lost our first three towns before something clicked and we started reading the tide charts properly. Once it does click, it's hard to put down.

The interface is clean and everything's readable on a small screen, which isn't a given for strategy on mobile. Turns can be as short or as long as you want, so it fits into odd gaps in the day.

What we liked

• Clever tide mechanic drives every decision
• Clean, readable interface
• Rewards patience and planning