Grindstone

Grindstone combines turn-based chaining of same-colored enemies with the temperament of action brawling, which makes this game from the Canadian studio Capybara Games one of the smartest puzzle titles on mobile. The player drags a finger across adjacent monsters of the same color, and with each additional link in the chain both the attack's power and the amount of resources gained grow, so deciding when to end the chain and strike forms the core of the whole strategy. At first glance it's a simple mechanic, but as the tower's floors add up it quickly gains depth and tactical demands, since one bad decision can end the expedition.

The isometric world full of colorful monsters, axes, and magic potions has a lighthearted comic-book style that contrasts with the fairly merciless difficulty of the higher floors - the player can genuinely lose progress here if they misjudge a chain, which sets the game apart from more laid-back mobile puzzlers with no risk of failure. Between expeditions the player upgrades their gear and unlocks new characters with their own abilities, so progression feels like real growth and opens up new tactical options for the floors still to come.

Grindstone was among the launch titles of the Apple Arcade subscription service, meaning no ads and no microtransactions, just one-time access as part of the subscription. That let it afford higher difficulty and pacing without any pressure to monetize, which helped it earn a reputation as one of the finest titles on the whole service and an example of what an honest mobile game without ulterior motives should look like.

Why play it: Recommended for players who want a puzzle game with genuine strategic thinking and don't mind having an active Apple Arcade subscription to play it.