Racing or strategy? Picking a game for short sessions

Short breaks are their own genre of play. You want something that starts fast and ends cleanly, and two categories do this best in completely opposite ways: arcade racers and bite-sized tactics games.

A racer like Neon Drift Circuit is instant gratification. You tap in, drift through a three-minute track, and you're done. No thinking required, which is exactly right when your brain is already full from work.

Strategy is the slower pleasure. Frontline Tactics: Dawn gives you a single mission you can actually finish in one sitting, and the satisfaction of a clean win lingers longer than a race.

My rule of thumb: racing when I'm tired, strategy when I'm restless. Both run offline, so neither lets me down in a tunnel.