So what are the best strategy games for an iPad?

The Game Room
1

…aside from so called “Deck building” games? (I dislike them.)

I guess I may get FTL and Into the Breach but I’ve played them a zillion times. Looking for some new experiences.

2

The recent X-Com games are pretty great if you like that style of game (turn based tactics).

I had fun with Plague, Inc., which is like a reverse Pandemic (the board game). Instead of trying to stop the spread of disease, you’re trying to infect as many people as possible. Rebel, Inc. is a similar follow-up.

The Wingspan adaptation is really good, if you like the board game. It’s not really a deck builder, per se, but more a Euro-style tableau/engine builder.

Root is another great board game adaptation.

If you like tower defense, the Kingdom Rush series is fun if simple. It’s more action than proper strategy, IMO.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is more of an RPG, but it has very tactical turn-based combat — I prefer its combat system over XCom.

Kingdom: Two Crowns has a pretty different, almost idle-ish, gameplay loop. I found it a bit too slow-paced but some friends loved it. It’s a pretty different kind of gameplay than most others, so it’s at least innovative.

There are also some games I’ve played on PC that were great, but I worry about those on a small iPad… games like Civilization, Company of Heroes, Tropico, etc. I feel like those would just be better on a regular computer with a much bigger screen.

PS: With GeForce Now running in a browser, you can also play many PC strategy games, but most won’t have touch controls, so you’ll have to hook up a mouse or gamepad controller (or use the virtual on-screen controller).

3

Similar recent-ish thread for android, most of which have Apple variants.

I’ll note I also mentioned Xcom in that that thread, so there’s a second to @Reply’s first suggestion!

I’ll also throw a second at Plague, Inc. I play/played that one myself far more than I should, and it’s pretty easy to pick up and put down, and I should mention it has “fantasy” elements available including mindworms and zombie invasions if you want to have a break from seeing if you can kill humanity the old-fashioned way.

I think it’s useful to narrow down what @RickJay prefers out of a strategy game. Tower, resource gathering, unit production, tactical movement, what have you.

4

I’ll second that. Excellent games. I still play XCOM2 on a semi-regular basis. Not for everyone but, if you like that style of game they are among the best there are.