Suggest a game -- X-Com-light

[Bacchus]

For a while now, I've had this itch to play something hard and tactical, with not overly long missions. Something that makes you think, use combined arms, and quickly see the consequences of failure. Commandos, Jagged Alliance, X-Com, that kind of thing. But I want a lighter experience than the current X-Com, which is too much for me to get into. Lighter not in the sense of difficulty, but in terms of the abundance of features and choices, screens and modes. Doesn't even have to have a campaign, in fact I would prefer a set of scenarios that you can play in whatever order, and maybe multiplayer functionality, to a protracted campaign.

[Fenn]

From your description, I'd recommend Advance Wars, particularly the first one on the GBA. The basic setup is pretty simple, with only a few types of terrain, just eighteen unit types among land, air and sea, and relatively small maps, but this works to its advantage; it cuts out almost everything unnecessary to the TBS gameplay.

There's also a ranking system - on the normal difficulty you're ranked on number of turns taken, how many enemy units you can destroy in a single turn, and your own casualties. Hard mode only ranks you on turncount, but I found that just beating the Hard mode maps was challenging enough, nevermind sneaking a victory in fast enough. On some of the maps that boils down to a puzzle similar to a "mate in X turns" chess exercise, where you have to figure out what units to place where to clear a precise path to the enemy HQ. If you don't mind the cartoony art style it's a very, very good game.

[Mardoc]

Maybe Battle for Wesnoth would scratch your itch?  Open source turn-based hex tactics game, with lots and lots of scenarios.  I'm pretty sure there's a hard mode.  Not sure if cavalry/footmen/archers fits your 'combined arms' preference, but since it's open source it's free and you could try it out pretty easily.

Edit: There have been a few SG's played here at RB that might give you more perspective: One, Two,
Three.

[Dreylin]

FWIW, the new XCOM2 expansion has a one-shot daily challenge (I have not played any yet).

SteamWorld Heist might also scratch your itch; it is a campaign, but missions are self-contained and there are limited options.

[Bacchus]

Thanks all! Definitely enough to check out.

Huh, I for some reason thought that Wesnoth was something akin to Age of Wonders, with two levels of play. Will definitely check it out.

Does anyone have any experience with Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun?

[rho21]

Hmm.

Invisible, Inc. is a really good game that fits most of that bill. Reminds me of a turn-based Commandos. It has campaigns, but they're pretty short, like FTL.

Skulls of the Shogun might also work. It's a cartoonish turn-based strategy game.

To veer off course a little, how about Human Extinction Simulator? It's a cross of turn-based strategy and puzzle game. The scenarios are very varied (quick assault, grinding defence, escort) and can get really tricky.