Frontier Dominion

Frontier Dominion asks you to settle a wild map, manage resources, and expand carefully against rival factions. What sets it apart is that it isn't screaming at you every two minutes. Timers are long and the game is happy to wait, which suits phone play.

The strategy runs deeper than the cheerful art suggests. Supply lines matter, terrain matters, and rushing usually gets you punished. I lost my first two maps before I slowed down and started reading the tooltips properly.

You can play it in short bursts or settle in for a long session, and both work. The interface scales well on smaller screens, though I'd recommend turning the ambient music down because it loops a little too often.

What we liked

• Relaxed timers that fit a phone
• Genuine depth under friendly visuals
• Readable on small screens