In praise of strategy games that make you wait

Fast games get all the attention, but I've been on a slow-strategy kick lately, and it's done wonders for my patience. Titles like Iron Tide Command reward you for thinking three turns ahead instead of reacting on instinct.

There's a particular joy in setting a trap and watching it close two turns later. It's a delayed satisfaction that few genres offer, and it feels great on a phone during a long, dull commute.

If you've never clicked with strategy games, my suggestion is to start slow and turn-based rather than real-time. Give yourself permission to pause and plan. Once that habit forms, the whole genre opens up.