Strategy games that respect your ten free minutes

There's a myth that strategy is only for people with long empty evenings. On mobile, that's just not true. The best mobile strategy games are built around bite-sized decisions you can make between other things.

What I look for is a game that saves cleanly and lets me stop mid-thought. Ironhold Siege does this well, since each defence round is self-contained. I can hold one wave, put the phone down, and come back knowing exactly where I left off.

The trick as a player is to set one goal per session. Not 'beat the level' but 'finish this building' or 'clear one region'. Small goals stop you from feeling behind when you only have a few minutes.

Turn-based games are your friend here. They pause the whole world while you think, which means an interruption never costs you a run. Real-time games are fun too, but pick the ones with a proper pause.