Strategy games you can actually play one-handed

Mobile strategy has a reputation for fiddly menus, but a handful of games prove you can get real depth without needing a desk and both hands. The trick is good pacing and generous input.

Ironline Tactics is my current favourite example. It lets you slow time to issue orders, so you're never scrambling to tap a tiny unit mid-fight. That one feature turns a stressful genre into something you can enjoy on a crowded train.

The common thread in the best of these is that they don't confuse 'complex' with 'cluttered'. Give me a small number of units and a clever map, and I'll happily plan for ten minutes. Give me two hundred units and a screen the size of a playing card, and I'm out.

If you've avoided mobile strategy because of the controls, it's worth another look. The good ones have figured out that your thumb is not a mouse, and they design around that.