While lacking functionality, Paperback is a fun and smart deck/word-building game that can only get better over time.

Sushi Go! could be a bit more feature rich, but this is a very satisfying and visually pleasing adaptation of the card game for which there isn’t currently much comparison in the app store.

A super stealthy, strategy game-of-the-year contender.

Lost Portal is a very fun and well-designed game. It provides a great CCG experience wrapped in an interesting RPG story. Best of all, it scratches the Magic itch without draining your wallet. This game might very well sit next to Card Crawl and other hall-of-fame games on my iPhone forever.

Oh…Sir! has replaced Star Realms as my go to competitive online multiplayer game.

1775: Rebellion is a fun board game, but the digital implementation needs work.

Shifting the focus has helped Flatline morph into its own game... [But] in doing so it's lost some of what made Lifeline special in the first place.

Fans of D&D and MMO style combat will find a lot to love about Demon's Rise 2.

Space Food Truck is another polished entry in One Man Left’s catalogue, and one that serves up something fresh in the world of co-op deck-building. Throw back a couple Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters and get behind the wheel.

Fans of old-school role-playing games will find a lot to love and should certainly pick up Avadon 3 for their gaming collection.

If you enjoyed last year’s installment there is no reason why you would not enjoy Football Manager 2017 – unless you have no desire to be reminded about the whole Brexit nonsense.

A short-burst Norse-inspired tale that's fully functional but lacks that spark to make it a top-tier experience. It's worth trying the free-trial, at the very least.

Not all boardgames need a digital version and Mysterium is best left on the tabletop.

Once again, the standard game of chess has been manipulated into a unique and intense experience. Recommended for you chess buffs out there.

Potion Explosion is by no means revolutionary, but Asmodee Digital do an excellent job of bringing across a board game into the digital space in a way that seems more appealing than the original physical version. The price tag does feel weighty, and if you plan on playing with the family, I would advise on buying the real thing. But this is an enjoyable experience, and one that comes with a recommendation for both commuting for its offline mode, and when you have your feet up on the sofa with the online mode.

The idea of a video game tied to a concept album has potential. Unfortunately, The Astonishing Game doesn’t deliver on that potential. The decision to implement it as a board game rather than a role-playing game limits many creative options. Even so, I would have liked to see a more engaging storyline or more meaningful ties between the story and the gameplay mechanics.

Although not a perfect conversion from the PC original and despite the mystifying decision to release the sequel rather than the first game, this is still one of the best point and click adventures available.

RPS Saga, if nothing else, shows that jan-ken-pon is best left as a mini-game within a larger game. There is just not enough here to enjoy, and frustrating AI hampers what little there is on show.

A tempting, compelling simulation game with a twist. Rough around the edges, but more often than not strikes gold (oil).

If someone took the linearity of Candy Land, added smart decision points, traded its kitschy artwork for a modern, spare look, bleached its jewel tones, and blanketed it all with enough negative space to make a whiteout blush, the result would look and feel like Tokaido. But is the gameplay equally as blissed-out? And if so, is that such a bad thing? To both, I’d answer no, not really. It is a gentle stroll of a game, incredibly soothing to gaze at passively. It almost goes without saying, but to really enjoy Tokaido, you must really enjoy the journey.

The bottom line is that if you enjoyed Rome: Total War you should pick this up without hesitation. Whether you're interested in the new historical period or not, Barbarian Invasion provides a new scenario and a bunch more factions with which to play what was already a great game. If you haven't played Rome: Total War and enjoy this genre I whole heartedly recommend Barbarian Invasion to you as well. Few games combine strategy and tactics the way the Rome: Total War games do, and other than time-period preference there's no reason you have to play the original.

Euclidean Lands feels right at home on a touchscreen device. The ease of moving the environment about feels graceful and natural, and the smooth animations help to make the game feel satisfying to play, especially when the geometry expands out, showing more of the level hidden underneath. The art style invokes M.C Escher, and overall has a rich, warm tone that is pleasing on the eye. Playing at pace you will find around 3-4 hours worth of gameplay, but that could be bumped up if you struggle with some of the more complex stages.

There is plenty of challenge lurking behind Militia’s minimalist presentation. It is a rewarding experience that can also be frustrating at times.

Having not played Planescape: Torment before, it took a while for the game to really get its hooks into me. It all felt a bit too sprawling and slow moving, and the complicated interface did not help matters. Then you get into a fight and discover that watching the tiny, blurry characters take laboured swings at each other is hardly the stuff of legend. But keep playing and eventually something magical happens, as your character and supporting cast spring to life. My advice is to put aside any initial negative impressions and throw yourself into this engrossing story, with its excellent characters, strange happenings, intelligent plot twists and even a smattering of philosophical debate.

If you wanted to pick fault with this, it would be a lack of any kind of single-player campaign. But that's a nice to have, an extra feather in the hats of the creme de la creme of mobile adaptations like Galaxy Trucker. It isn't necessary in an economic game like this. And however you feel about economic games - and player interaction - this version of Race of the Galaxy is good enough to be worth your cosmic dollars.

Draknek's game is difficult but hospitable, obviously made with great joy and care. Cosmic Express is an elegant and wonderful chance for you to surprise yourself, to laugh at your foibles and cleverness in turn.

An obscure and dull system has drained this all-American pasttime of joy. If you are a devout fan of baseball, slavish repetition or Kairosoft's other works, try the game. Everyone else should stay away.

If you enjoy simulation games and the prison subject matter interests you, Prison Architect is certainly worth checking out. The depth of options and strength of the simulation will appeal to fans of the genre, though the constant "now this, now this" pressure can be a bit much. The game does a good job of capturing some of the moral questions around the for-profit penal system as well. Grab and it and see what you think, Prison Architect's awesome free-trial option leaves little risk in doing so.

Scoring this one is tough, especially since I have painted myself into a corner with my earlier Marmite comparison. Sensitive souls will be content to chill out and enjoy the story, maybe with a box of tissues close at hand. They will call the game’s detractors soulless wretches who are missing the point. So do we have a touching and emotive exploration of the human condition? Or is it an overly sentimental and mawkish cliché that doesn’t even qualify to be called a game? Personally, I'm certainly not the type of guy who thinks To The Moon is a pointless drivel, but neither am I convinced that it is the best thing since sliced bread - with or without marmite.

Let's hear it for truth in advertising - this is indeed an epic little war game. It is a perfectly intentionally generic take on the strategy game, and very well executed.

Age of Rivals starts off daunting but quickly unravels itself to become an addictive and strategic card game that stands up against the big boys.

The rogueish elements can't make up for shallow gameplay in the other parts of Dead Age. The combat is dull and long, the survival elements are simplistic, and the story is predictable. The gameplay often doesn't fit the theme, and it is poorly optimized, although occasionally beautiful.

There is certainly room on the market for a streamlined spaceship management game. Unfortunately, in the process of making a more approachable game, the developers have not only rationalised the idea but also oversimplified it. The result is a rather repetitive and directionless experience. It is sad that the legacy of Panthera Frontier’s initial freemium release is still present. The considerable expense of decent upgrades and the ability to cheat death feel unbalanced and make the game too much of a slog unless you are prepared to spend extra cash.

A Planet of Mine is a compellingly complex galactic empire builder for your phone, and you really ought to be playing it.

An accomplished multiplayer experience that feels a little directionless when playing alone.

If you enjoy playing well-made boardgames and solo play, Burgle Bros. is well worth your time and money. Now it all it needs is online multiplayer...

Minos Strategos rewards tactical play and quick thinking and will easily entertain for whatever span of time it is played.

Eight-Minute Empire may not be the kind of game that will absorb hours of your time. However, if you are looking for a fresh, quick-playing and easy to grasp empire building game then you really should give it a try.

For all the attention given to orders of battles and battlefield terrain, Peninsular War Battles remains a typical simplistic game. The recent Hold the Line shows Hexwar can do better. Thought should be given to upgrading their older games rather than just recycling them to different platforms.

There’s just enough free content to give you a taste of Mushroom Wars 2 on mobile, and it’s a beautiful-looking, fun little game that has a surprising amount of depth to it. The question is how you feel about the price tag, which is mighty steep for the mobile space. Where you find yourself on the cost versus value proposition will come down to personal preference, but Mushroom Wars 2 is certainly worth at least a look.

Seeing the end result of your work, particularly when you zoom out and see the entire network of tiny dots across your tangled mess of concrete, is oddly charming. There is a rough-and-ready crudeness about Freeways that has totally won me over. I’ve restarted maps countless times - even ones I’ve completed, because there’s always improvements that can be made to your mangled creations. Because of how fiddly it can get, I do wonder if it'll ever release onto phones as currently it's tablet only. However, for its price, if you’re even remotely curious I would say pick it up.

Smash Up is a mixed-bag success & lack-lustre design choices, but it has a promising future ahead.

The open-air theme will probably appeal to a larger audience, and being able to play solo or with as many as four players is a welcome addition. Patchwork wasn’t a hugely interactive game but there was a little more going on in that you could deny your opponent tiles and time your moves to grab the bonus patches. In contrast, pottering around in your garden feels very much like a solitary pass time. Cottage Garden is a stress-free, easygoing game with flowers and cats. Despite this, I still prefer the slightly more involved Patchwork, with its less cluttered screen, clever time management and button economy.

While other games like Tiller’s Overland Campaign are more detailed and accurate, games like Civil War 1864 fill two essential roles for the gaming industry. First, the seemingly simple nature of play serves as an introduction to new gamers by providing them with the feel of an era and giving them insight into the mechanics of a period’s combat. For all of its tap and go feel, this game does a fine representation of what went on during the most bloody summer of the American Civil War. Secondly, this game genre provides relief for veteran gamers from drawn-out and detail-heavy games. We need to get back once in a while to that just one more turn feel. Hexwar’s games does both of these tasks in very accessible fashion. No historical gamer should fall for the trap that, just because the mechanics are the same, every Hexwar game is the same. A look at their Civil War series shows that maps and objectives are sculpted to faithfully represent the situation for each year. Given the limitation of the engine, this approach represents an accomplishment we can all appreciate.

Great for dedicated fans of Demon's Rise & XCOM, Strike Team Hydra is an ambitious strategy title undermined by some arbitrary, sprawling design decisions.

Halcyon 6: Lightspeed Edition produces a nexus of meaningful, distinct strategic choices within a well-considered narrative and audiovisual package.

Sheltered will test your mettle and patience more than your wits, but has unique merits even when compared to other survival games.

Not many games leave you feeling like you have had a genuine insight into the subject matter, but Afghanistan ’11 left me feeling informed without patronising or preaching. Obviously, the approach to the whole issue is simplified and the solutions idealised, yet I still came away feeling I had a better understanding of the Afghanistan situation.

Lack of variation in missions and unit's abilities make Battlevoid: Sector Siege just too boring for anyone but hardcore fans of the franchise.

This port of a classic boardgame gets the big picture right but is starting to show its age.

An engaging game of space exploration, but the theme/humour are an acquired taste.

The Siege of Dragonspear is a tale well told in a form that remains compelling, if showing its age. If you liked Baldur's Gate and its sequel, you will probably like Dragonspear too, though it does not reach the heights of its venerable predecessors.

Its market price is less than a hamburger at McDonalds, which is a good deal for a pretty polished and lengthy, if generic, RPG. The in-app purchases, currencies and crafting are ignorable if that's not your bag. Ultimately, though, it’s just too uninteresting to seriously recommend. It's only worth playing if you've somehow already ploughed through all the hundreds of hours of far better JRPG experiences out there.

In the end, some nice visuals and a little deduction can't save a basic gameplay idea that's just too random. Overall, there's not enough deduction and bluffing added to the Battleship formula, leaving the game with a frustrating random feel.

Not without faults, but a generous amount of free contact makes this worth trying if you are prepared for the significant time investment.

If you can weather Six Ages' raw approach to immersion, you will find yourself taking one of the most thrilling narrative & strategy journeys on mobile.

It's the perfect way to kill some time while on your commute to work, waiting at the doctor's office, or any time you want to jump into an RPG-flavored world without the lengthy introductions, lore setup, or being forced into character roles you don’t want at the onset. For RPG combat on your terms, Battleheart 2 delivers in spades.

Isle of Skye is a terrific board game, it is just a pity that the app wasn’t thoroughly play-tested before being released.

The lack of many of the features that we have become accustomed to makes for a disappointing and frustrating experience.

America’s favourite pastime broken down into mindless menus, static screens and drop down boxes, with no learning curve for new or old players.

A well designed and quick playing abstract strategy game that unfortunately becomes repetitive after only a few plays.

It’s another unchallenged trophy-winning season for Sports Interactive’s mini beast but I’m hoping for something just a bit more next time to stop this series getting stale.

An intriguing puzzler that takes a novel approach to tried-and-true mechanics for a unique experience.

Stockpile is a clever game, but to get the most from the experience you would probably be best investing in the board game.

A surprisingly charming and fun football management sim, it is just a pity that the financial model takes the shine off.

As a sequel, Euclidean Skies is as different from its predecessor as it can be while maintaining the core puzzle tactics concept. It’s not perfect, but it’s better for it.

Initially obtuse but ultimately highly rewarding spiritual sequel to one of the App Store's biggest hits.

The biggest issue, outside of the odd UI hiccup and impenetrable mechanical logic, is that TITP pretends to offer a scathing commentary about the human condition, but it’s bite is toothless.

Miyamoto is a bit of a hidden gem, offering snappy and addictive gameplay, topped off with some stylish presentation.

Sheeping Around looks the part, but sadly the game turns out to be as dull as you would expect for a game based on an animal that stands around in a field all day chewing grass.

Evolution is a brilliantly thematic and enjoyable experience that does an excellent job of simulating the struggle for survival.

Devotees of the console strategy RPG style of Fire Emblem may find a lot to like in Parthia 3 and its prequels, especially those disappointed by Nintendo's limited Fire Emblem: Heroes. This series was created by someone with a lot of love for a very particular kind of game. Now that the creator is freed of this obsession, I hope his next project can find the audience it deserves.

If you're already a fan of Wave Light's Demon's Rise series, Shieldwall Chronicles is more of the same but with a somewhat less interesting setting and slightly more complex gameplay. New players who are after some RPG tactics with lots of math will also love this game.

Good and solid bouts of roguelike card-battles, but the final result is short of inspiring. Likeable and worthwhile.

Limited tactical options and offensive IAP structure kills what could have been an interesting mobile alternative to roguelike deck builders like Slay the Spire.

A challenging puzzler that will push your organizational and management skills to the limit as it thrusts new nodes and numbers upon you.

Yes, yes, a million hollow moons yes, Cultist Simulator is a good game, the kind which will haunt your waking moments with its patterns and intricacies. The app is so easy to use, making the repetition of the game dreamlike rather than simply dull, and though I’ve beaten it twice and wasn’t sure I could tackle another go-around, it seems like I’m a born again cultist. I’ll remember my fleshsack days fondly, looking back from the seat of the Glory upon those quotidian beginnings. But first I have to finish this last bit of research...

It's easy to bemoan the dearth of complex, satisfying gameplay on mobile, and especially in the tower defense genre, but you can't do that here. Dungeon Warfare is certainly not the first dungeon-themed tower defense game, but it’s rare to see it done with so much verve.

Informative and well designed, Egypt: Old Kingdom is one pyramid scheme worth buying into.

Solar Settlers is an extremely well-built machine, a solitaire optimization puzzle par excellence, and an excellent digital board game.

Shards of Infinity is a polished deck builder that's perfect for two. A great app of a great card game.

A familiar yet modern riff on turn-based action RPGs that feels just as fresh and exciting on mobile devices as it did on consoles and PC.

The story is interesting enough, with lots of double-crosses and opportunities to make meaningful choices. The mechanics are a little obscure at first, but it's easy enough to figure out, even though it can feel somewhat arbitrary.

Like just about every game these days, it uses a card mechanic, with new cards unlocking after more matches. Your new units require resources, but also need to be drawn into your hand. This means your strategy has to adapt to both what your opponent is up to and what you have available at the moment. This can be frustrating when the card you need to counter their move just doesn't come up, but it works well to keep things tense within the super-tight timelines of each match (only a few minutes).

It's easy and glacially paced. I could see the gameplay becoming more challenging later on: Don't Bug Me requires constant action since your towers quickly decay and you always have to jump into the fray yourself. It's not a set-it-and-forget-it TD game. For now, though, it takes too long to unlock new towers and enemies and the early levels are quite dull.

It's a good casual choice that can be played one handed in portrait mode, with your thumb simply weaving your car through traffic. There are a wide variety of modes within this basic gameplay--you could be chasing someone, running away, or racing against a timer--but they all amount to either avoiding or hitting certain other cars. You also get different vehicles that handle somewhat differently, and a number of tracks with minor variations. As a casual game, it didn't grab me, but it might be worth checking out if an arcade racer appeals to you.

Easy on the eye and showing lots of promise, but a lack of quality in the final third means that Football Drama falls short of greatness.

The game starts feeling like a traditional adventure game, but its conversation trees are mostly for flavor (like obvious influence Kentucky Route Zero) and its puzzles all revolve around amateur botany. It’s occasionally awkward to control, especially the lengthy plant encyclopedia that is inexplicably indexless. But for players looking for a unique interactive story, Mutazione should be your first stop on Arcade.

Because the matches are so simple, the team management is necessarily also simple. King's League definitely has more of a 'mobile game' feel with its simplified gameplay. If that's what you're looking for, though, it might be a good fit.

Xenowerks offers a welcome change of pace from more traditional strategy games, it may not be that deep but blasting mutants is still a very cathartic experience.

Compared to its big brother, FM 2020 Mobile may lack in features but it is still by far the most comprehensive and well-researched management game available on your phone.

A classic game and a well-designed adaptation, but solo play lacks long-term challenge.

Uncharacteristic of developer OrangePixel, Space Grunts 2 is a sequel that’s relatively tame on genre innovation. It stands as a serviceable roguelike deck builder in a world where excellent ones like Slay the Spire exist.

Overall, can I recommend this game to you? If you have been looking forward to replaying this game from your Gamecube days, then I would hold off until Square Enix provides controller support or better touch controls. However, the game is a free trial, so you can just play the free section and then decide if it’s worth the money.

Meteorfall: Krumit's Tale is roguelike deck building at its best - quirky, inventive, and most of all, fun.

The Bonfire 2 expands on the original with new RTS-style gameplay, but manages to maintain what made the series great in the first place.

WST Snooker does a lot of things right. The commentary, ball physics, and skill needed to pot a ball are realistic and wonderfully designed. The problem is snooker is not for everyone, which means WST Snooker is not for a mainstream audience. If you are a fan of snooker, or a pool player looking for a serious challenge, this is a must-play. If you like to pick up and play a game for a couple of minutes, then this is probably not the game for you.

On the whole, CrossFire: Warzone is a smart little base-builder, which, though still complicated, showcases its elements well, providing a paced introduction to the game. But it still feels like behind that tutorial, those characters, and even the cheesiness, there is a power grind present. Sure, it’s not as blunt as many other of its peers, but when power level becomes the primary deciding component of RTS battles, most meaningful strategy is negated. I think, because of that, Warzone won’t ever be more than a casual bit of fun I might dip into from time-to-time. But that’s not to say you won’t feel differently – there’s a fair bit to like in CrossFire: Warzone.