When strategy borrows from other genres

Some of my favourite tactical experiences on phone are technically RPGs, sims, or adventures. Genre labels matter less than whether the decisions feel meaningful. A colony sim with real logistics can scratch the strategy itch better than a stripped-down pure strategy game.

What I look for is tension between resources and goals. If the game constantly asks me to choose and those choices stick, it belongs in my strategy rotation regardless of what the store page calls it.

So when a reader asks for strategy recommendations, I often point them sideways — to a party RPG with grid combat or a settlement builder. Broadening the net usually finds them something they'll actually love.