Skyborne Tactics

Skyborne Tactics is a slower, more thoughtful game than most of our catalog, and that's exactly why we kept coming back. You position airships on a hex grid, manage wind direction, and try to outmaneuver the enemy fleet. Every mission is a small puzzle with multiple valid solutions.

The learning curve is real — the first few missions throw a lot of systems at you at once. But the tutorials are patient and the undo button on your current turn saves a lot of frustration. Once it clicked, we were planning three moves ahead and grinning when a plan came together.

This one asks for your attention, so it's better for the couch than the bus. If you like strategy that makes you think, it's well worth the time.

What we liked

• Deep, satisfying tactical puzzles
• Patient tutorials and a helpful undo
• Wind system adds a clever extra layer