Frontline Tactics 9

Frontline Tactics 9 scratches a very specific itch: slow, thoughtful skirmishes where every unit placement counts. Each mission drops you onto a small grid and dares you to win without losing anyone. It's the kind of game you play a level of, put down, and think about for the rest of the afternoon.

The controls are clean — tap a unit, see the movement range, tap where you want it. Pinch to zoom works well on smaller screens, and there's a handy replay of the enemy turn so you can see what killed you. Settings let you shrink or enlarge the UI, which matters a lot on a cramped phone.

Battery use is modest since it's mostly static screens between moves. My complaint is the difficulty spikes — a couple of mid-game missions felt tuned for people who'd memorized enemy patterns. Once you accept a few restarts, it clicks.

What we liked

• Thoughtful puzzles disguised as battles
• Clear movement previews and enemy replays
• Low battery drain thanks to turn-based pacing