When a strategy game should let you fail

Tideworks lost me two coastlines in my first session, and I loved it for that. A good strategy game makes failure feel like information, not punishment.

The trick is clarity. When I lost in Tideworks, I always understood why — I could point to the resource I mismanaged or the turn I wasted. That's what makes you want to try again instead of quitting.

Contrast that with games that hide their maths behind vague numbers, where losing just feels random. Nothing kills a strategy game faster than a defeat you can't learn from.

If you're getting into the genre on mobile, look for games that show their workings. The satisfaction of finally getting it right is worth every wrecked settlement along the way.