Tidemarch

Turn-based island strategy where the sea keeps rising

Tidemarch is a free turn-based 4X strategy game for Android phones and tablets, made by LVL Digital Ventures Ltd. You lead an island tribe against the Ember Clan, and every few turns the sea rises and drowns the low land, so the high ground decides who wins. A game lasts 15 or 30 turns, and it plays offline.

Get it onGoogle Play See how it plays
A painted island with thatched stilt houses climbing a green hill to an amber banner, a palm tree on the shore and a sailing boat crossing the calm sea

Tidemarch at a glance

Genre
Turn-based 4X strategy
Platform
Android phones and tablets, Android 7.0 or later. iPhone and iPad coming soon
Price
Free. An ad may show between games, never during one; one purchase removes ads
Players
Single-player, against the Ember Clan on easy, normal or hard
Game length
15 or 30 turns
Internet
Not needed. No account, no sign-in
Campaign
16 hand-made islands, up to 3 crowns each
Daily island
One new map a day, the same for every player
Skills
12, in four paths: land, sea, war and craft
Units
Warriors, riders, archers, defenders and catapults, plus rafts and boats
Language
English
Made by
LVL Digital Ventures Ltd, London

How a game of Tidemarch plays

Turns work like a board game: you move, then the Ember Clan moves. Each turn you spend stars on units, skills and on keeping your cities dry.

Tidemarch on a phone: a ring-shaped atoll with terraced green heights, cities of both tribes and the tide bar counting to the next rise

The sea rises every few turns

The tide bar shows when the next rise comes, and Preview marks exactly which tiles it will take. Low fields flood, villages go under, and a city left too low drowns with every unit standing beside it. Raise a city on stilts, wall it with a seawall, or move to higher ground.

Tidemarch on a phone: warriors of the two tribes face off across a narrow land bridge between two islands, with damage numbers over the targets

Battle for the high ground

The high ground is the land the sea takes last, so every hill is worth a fight. Warriors, riders and archers take villages and cities; defenders hold them; catapults strike from three tiles away. Damage shows on a target before you attack, and Undo takes back anything you did this turn.

Tidemarch on a phone: the skill tree with four paths of three skills for land, sea, war and craft

Twelve skills in four paths

Land, sea, war and craft, three skills each. Stilts and Seawalls keep cities above water, Rafts and Boats open the sea, Terraces make fruit feed twice and Markets make big cities pay more. The last skill on each path is costly, so every game asks you to choose.

Tidemarch on a phone: the sea chart with the daily island card, the voyage islands with their crowns, and free play

A voyage, a daily island and free play

Play sixteen hand-made islands, each with one goal and up to three crowns. Try the daily island, the same map for every player that day, and keep your days in a row. Or start free play on a new map, with 15 or 30 turns and an easy, normal or hard rival.

The voyage: the first eight islands

Each island teaches one thing and asks for one goal. Win it to earn up to three crowns and sail on to the next. Eight more wait in the far seas after Odran's fort, ending with the drowned crown against the hardest Ember Clan.

  • First tide, painted as a small round island map

    First tide

    Keep your capital above the sea, with Wren as your guide.

  • Hold the hill, painted as a small round island map

    Hold the hill

    Hold your city until the sea takes the bridge.

  • Across the water, painted as a small round island map

    Across the water

    Learn rafts and hold 3 cities after turn 8.

  • The open sea, painted as a small round island map

    The open sea

    Outscore the Ember Clan in 15 turns.

  • The far isles, painted as a small round island map

    The far isles

    Sink the raft fleet and keep your 4 cities.

  • High water, painted as a small round island map

    High water

    The sea rises after each of the first five turns. Keep 3 cities above it.

  • The terraces, painted as a small round island map

    The terraces

    Grow your capital to level 5 first.

  • Odran's fort, painted as a small round island map

    Odran's fort

    Take Odran's capital by turn 10.

Four island shapes in free play

Every free-play map is new, mirrored so both tribes start fair, and drawn in one of four shapes. Wren names it as the game begins.

  • The twin isles island shape

    Twin isles

    Your island and theirs, with a channel between.

  • The archipelago island shape

    Archipelago

    Little isles linked by sand bars the sea soon takes.

  • The atoll island shape

    Atoll

    One ring of land round a lagoon. High ground is rare.

  • The mainland island shape

    Mainland

    One big island. The Ember Clan is a short walk away.

Wren teaches. Odran fights back.

Wren, the young mapmaker, holding a rolled chart

Wren, keeper of the charts, walks you through the first island in about three minutes and gives one short tip the first time something new happens: enemies in reach, a city about to flood, stars piling up.

Chief Odran of the Ember Clan, smiling smugly

Chief Odran leads the Ember Clan. He saves his own cities from the sea, trains defenders when threatened and brings catapults to a siege. On hard, he earns a quarter more than you each turn.

Questions about Tidemarch

What is Tidemarch?

Tidemarch is a free turn-based 4X strategy game for Android phones and tablets, made by LVL Digital Ventures Ltd. You lead an island tribe against the Ember Clan, and every few turns the sea rises and drowns the low land, so the high ground decides who wins. A game lasts 15 or 30 turns, and it plays offline.

Is Tidemarch free?

Yes. Tidemarch is free to download and play. An ad may show between games, never during one, and a single purchase removes ads for good.

Does Tidemarch work offline?

Yes. Tidemarch needs no internet connection, no account and no sign-in. Your progress is saved on your device.

How long is a game of Tidemarch?

A free-play game lasts 15 or 30 turns, and the daily island lasts 15. The guided first island takes about three minutes.

How do you win in Tidemarch?

When the last turn ends, the higher score wins: 100 points for every level of every city you hold, 20 for each unit and 30 for each skill. Each rise of the sea drowns the low tiles, and a drowned city scores nothing, so keeping your cities on high ground matters as much as taking the rival's.

What is a 4X strategy game?

A 4X game is a strategy game about four things: explore, expand, build up and conquer. Tidemarch keeps all four but fits them on small islands, so a game takes minutes instead of hours.

Is Tidemarch good for beginners?

Yes. Wren, the island's mapmaker, teaches the rules on a guided island, then gives a tip the first time something new happens. You can undo anything you did in your turn, and the rival comes in easy, normal and hard.

Is Tidemarch single-player?

Yes. You play against the Ember Clan, a computer rival led by Chief Odran, on easy, normal or hard.

Where can I get Tidemarch?

Tidemarch is free on Google Play for Android phones and tablets (Android 7.0 or later). The iPhone and iPad version is coming soon to the App Store.

Who makes Tidemarch?

Tidemarch is made by LVL Digital Ventures Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales and based in London.

More help is on the support page.