Why turn-based games feel made for phones

I used to think turn-based games were a leftover from an older era of gaming. Playing them on a phone changed my mind completely. They fit the way we actually use phones better than almost anything else.

The big thing is that you can stop at any moment. A turn-based battle waits for you. If your stop comes up mid-fight, you just lock the screen and pick up later. Try that in a fast action game and you'll lose everything.

They're also easy on your hands and your battery. Most of the screen is static between turns, so there's no constant animation eating power. You think, you tap, the game responds. That rhythm suits short and long sessions equally.

Emberfall Saga is the one that sold me on the genre again. Once you stop treating turn-based as slow and start treating it as a game you can play in your own time, it clicks.