I'm glad you went for non-combat, because combat's a staple in so many genres that could be removed to interesting effect. I initially was going for that with my game, but I didn't really have enough time so enemies just go boom.
I haven't played a lot of tactics games, so I don't have a lot to measure this up against. But it seems like you've done a great job at coming up with interesting scenarios. I appreciate that you get new skills as you go along to keep it fresh. Great job!