The Best Offline Strategy Games for Android & iOS

In the age of the always-online freemium mobile experience, sometimes it’s nice to know that there are quality strategy games out there that you can play offline. Maybe Grandma’s wi-fi isn’t up to the job, or maybe you just don’t have any internet. Are you on a Bus? A Plane? Read on, my friend…

Whatever the case, there comes a time when you need a strategy game that’s a real feast–but at a table set for one. Luckily, there are a large number of mobile games with great offline experiences in 2018, on both iOS and Android.

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Games for the Bus

Just like its predecessor Plague Inc., Rebel is an excellent drop-in/drop-out game that allows you to pause the action and come back to it at a later date. This real-time strategy experience puts you in the shows of a newly appointed administrator of a troubled region recovering from a recent war (evoking memories of the recent War in Afghanistan, specifically). You must spend your budget wisely on government improvements and initiatives to help the population rebuild and to win support.

Unlike Plague, however, you can’t just sit back and wait for the people to love you – the enemies vanquished in the recent war haven’t gone away, and soon insurgent forces will start popping up on the map trying to try and take over by force. You then enter a different game entirely – one of tactical placement. By marshalling local or coalition forces, you must drive out the insurgents from the major population centres and corner them so that they have nowhere to run. Do well and they’ll eventually ask for peace but the longer the linger, the quicker your reputation declines and if it reaches zero, you lose.

Doorkickers makes a great bite-sized tactical treat. Each mission is a puzzle that you solve by drawing lines for your squad of police officers to follow. First you plan, then you can pause the game at any time to modify your strategy. The encounters are over as quickly as a real tactical breach would be, which means if you screwed up and got your officers fragged you can try again almost immediately. You can pass a mission with minimal requirements, but casualties and mistakes will carry over to the next level. While there’s not much story here, there is a gradual progression of unlockable gear and skills and new, more challenging missions. At the same time, you’re free to take on any one of several campaigns at the same time. Get stuck and you can just try a different one.

This is another great tactical game that works well with a touch interface. Set in a futuristic city with cyborg commandos that can be controlled remotely, Frozen Synapse breaks turns out of a real-time battle by pausing every few seconds for both sides to issue new orders. The orders play out simultaneously, so the core mechanic is predicting what your opponent is going to do next.

While Frozen Synapse is extra great with a human partner to second-guess, it also has a very cool single-player campaign with a pretty interesting post-cyberpunk story-line. This also features quite a variety of mission types, smart AI, and satisfying progression. On iOS, you’ll also be able to get the original, with hip minimalist graphics. On Android, you’ve got the Prime remake, which is essentially the same game but with more realistic visuals.

This mission-based RTS will take a little more commitment, but the rewards are worth it. From veteran developers Ironhide, creators of the mega-hit Kingdom Rush, is a polished, neon-colored gem of a mobile strategy game. It’s your basic space marines vs aliens set against highly improbable but beautiful alien landscapes. Your commander has MOBA-like hero abilities that will help you face a variety of mission types and enemies, and the game can get pretty tough later in the campaign.

For a less bubbly and more grimdark take on the same theme, there’s this tactical-RPG with clear Warhammer 40k influences. For those who prefer to take their time, Templar Battleforce has turn-based missions in a linear order, with time in-between to customize your space knights to your heart’s content. The storyline is serviceable enough, and the graphics are utilitarian, but there’s deep strategy to be had here. Don’t forget, there is a free version on Android that is supported by ads.

Games for the Airplane

A must have feature of any modern digital board game must be pass-and-play. It brings these apps closer to their physical counter-part and allows them to actually fill the niche they were designed for, albeit at the potential expense of sales as close-knit groups or couples only end up buying one version of the app between them. Ticket to Ride is an extremely popular, mainstream boardgame, although we can quibble over its definition of ‘strategy’ if you like. Still, it’s combination of set collection and the tactical placement of your trains makes for a very compelling game – do you go the easiest route, or the longest? do you focus on your tickets, or try to subvert other player’s routes? Do you place those trains now, or pick up those cards you desperately need?

Regardless, as an app and as an offline experience, it’s well above par. The base purchase gets you the USA map, but most of the series’ spin-offs and expansions are available to purchase via IAPs. IF you wait for a sale, you could easily stock up on options and you’ll find yourself with a great shared experience to tide you through those long flights. You can even fit in a game with two people and two AI in an hour-long domestic flight, so if you’re looking for a quintessential offline experience for two or more people, look no further than Ticket to Ride.

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (iPhone|iPad & Android)

Lots of old console titles have been ported to mobile, but not many are worth the hassle. Final Fantasy Tactics is the exception. Brought over from the beautiful PSP port with an improved translation, gorgeous cel-shaded cutscenes, and new aspect ratio, the game still has the PlayStation original’s RPG-influenced tactics. Most importantly, FFT is the one console port that works brilliantly with touch controls. What makes FFT a great use of your offline time is its mammoth campaign with a rich, mature storyline. There’s gameplay here to fill a few months of commutes.

Likewise, the mobile port of XCOM is rightly lauded as one of the few PC-quality experiences to be had on a tablet. Not only did this standalone expansion of the original ground-breaking remake Enemy Unknown polish off all the rough edges of its original, it added great new wrinkles to the classic core gameplay. You still get a massive open-ended campaign with tactical turn-based missions, but now you have a much more interesting storyline that has your soldiers questioning whether they have gazed too long into the abyss to still be considered human.

For something in the same vein but more old-school, Aliens vs Humans is a clone/remake/homage to the original X-Com: UFO Defense. For gamers of a certain age, it will bring back fond memories (or nightmares) of staying up late into the morning, tentatively clicking End Turn and dreading the ominous message: Hidden Movement. Its globe-spanning campaign, base-building, and tactical missions are more open-ended, but just as compelling as the more recent X-COM reboot, as long as you don’t mind 2D graphics.

For a different sort of grand experience, try the venerable Battle for Wesnoth, an open-source project fifteen years in the making. It’s a grand strategy game with a Tolkienesque fantasy theme. There’s a massive variety of units in six highly distinct factions, plus different historical ages that change the balance. Its sixteen (!!) lengthy and story-based campaigns will keep you busy for a long long time. The complexity of the interface means this is one for the tablet, and the free Android version is a bit jankier than the more polished (and paid) iOS version.

What would your favourite offline strategy games be for mobile? Let us know in the comments!