Overall, The Swords is a sharply focused and concise package, one that is over far too quickly.

Interface and multiplayer issues aside, Battlefleet Gothic translates so well to touchscreen that it seems a marvel more miniatures games haven't followed suit.

Oddly charming, perhaps nostalgic, but pretty shallow and filled with free-to-play shenanigans.

As a source of insight into history, what Twilight Struggle does better than any other game I've played (as if it needs more trophies on its mantel) is provide some perspective on how different it felt to live during the Cold War.

Attractive and engaging to think about, less enjoyable for which to perfect solutions.

Star Realms follow-up Cthulhu Realms brings a zany take on dark summonings and evil magic to the deck-building genre. It's not exactly chocolate and peanut butter, but if pineapple and ham pizza can be good, so can this.

Fans of both Talisman and Warhammer 40,000, will like this one, fans of neither should take a different warp jump.

Bézier Games have an innovative approach to allocating development resources, with an engaging campaign but no online multiplayer in this adaptation of the highly-regarded tabletop successor to Suburbia.

Michael Brough has struck gold yet again with Imbroglio, one of the best iOS games of the past few years.

Fallen London is a text and story-driven game set in a highly original and expansive dark fantasy world that affords players an unusual amount of freedom to shape their character's destiny. The original web-based game runs well on mobile, but the recently released app is critically flawed.

INKS. is a light and fun diversion whose only real fault is the lack of a sense of progression.

A tablet game based on a card game based on a tabletop RPG based on another tabletop RPG maybe isn't where I should have gone looking for an original game, yet this is one of the great fantasy games on iOS.

I still enjoyed the majority of my time with Tormentum. It’s an enjoyably grim adventure that can be finished in a lazy weekend. If you’re into the art style and settings and can handle the anemic ending, you’ll probably have a good time. Just don't expect anything profound from it.

Part of the problem is that, though the characters are pretty interestingly varied, with a variety of effects on movement, action points, damage of different types, teleportation, an array of summoning abilities, healing, and board control, there's a substantial element of linear design.

If you are a fan of turn-based strategy titles then Warbits has everything you need.

It’s harder to recommend this game to a general RPG audience, but the problems with Petticles in Peril are mostly correctable, so the next episode of ChemCaper could very well fulfill the dream.

If you can ignore the goofy name (and actually find it on the App Store), The Game offers a fun and challenging puzzle game and a faithful recreation of the cardboard version.

7 Mages takes the best qualities of classic dungeon-crawlers while adding its own twists, a combination which makes it one of the best RPGs on the App Store.

Even with these minor issues, Super Tribes is close to being a perfect mobile title. It takes the essence of a more expansive type of game and creates a 4X au jus which has left me clamouring for more after each game.

It’s not overly complicated to learn (it’s actually quite easy to pick up) but presents the player with a wealth of gameplay options and possibilities and allows for multiple strategies to win.

Buy card packs with your gold, or with real money. It’s made plenty of profit for Blizzard. But SuperCell weren’t satisfied with that. Instead, they chose the greedy path with Clash Royale and made what could have been a truly great game into merely a very good one.

If you’re the kind of person who enjoys the battle systems of JRPGs but couldn’t care less about the story, Quest to the Future is for you.

I Keep Having This Dream is a quick-playing game with an innovative design that’s easy to get into and develops real complexity as you play.

If you are a fan of 4X games though this is an easy purchase.

If the developers can get it to work reliably, Patchwork: The Game has the potential to be one of the most-enjoyed boardgames on iOS of the year. Until then, the weak AIs and online frustrations leave it as only a tempting appetizer.

All things considered, I would recommend The Daring Mermaid Expedition only to diehard CoG fans, to someone who is looking for a light, entry-level gamebook or who doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands to really delve into a complicated and multi-layered story.

It’s still quite approachable to children, and the bright colors and yesteryear pulp theme may give the impression that it’s suited only to them. But, on the higher difficulty levels, it manages to wring quite a challenge out of its simple rules.

Space Grunts is a winner, have no doubt.