What are you playing right now?

[Cespenar]

But I can not stop thinking about Into the Breach. The game has a mainlined itself into my brain. Haven't even gotten past island 2, but I really enjoy this game so far.

Same here. I just keep returning to it. Also, if you can't get past island 2, here's a couple of small tips:

-Think all the options. Sometimes (especially when a bit tired) the brain can just go "ah, this move is enough for this round", but there's often a better one.
-The deployment is almost as important as a normal round. Look up the ranges of the opponents and what moves they can pull.
-Don't be a hero on the strategic map. Pick "normal" missions unless you feel exceptionally powerful/weak.
-The second squad is very good.
-Block as many newcoming aliens as possible. If you can stand on a hole and shoot another alien in the process, that's often a winning round.

Yeah, Into the Breach has a way of hooking you. I absolutely adore that game. If you're looking for a master class in pure, lean, no-padding-here gameplay, Into the Breach is your game.

True that. It's a very rare mix of bare-bones minimalism and immense tactical depth. Even though there might be overall "better" games in the last few years, I think Into the Breach should be taught in game design lessons.

Feeling rather like non-violent games of late. Tragically the lack of decent city builders* in recent years means I'm replaying Pharaoh again. Holds up extremely well, although given how deeply the Impressions games are embedded in my childhood nostalgia, I'm very far from an objective judge of that.

*There's some modern ones I suppose. I live in a modern city, that's bad enough.

I'm not much for non-violence these days myself, but have you looked at Thea?