Ideally it wouldn't require a large playing area, but I am open to all options as long as it's portable.
Also, you have reminded me of Onitama which somehow didn't come to mind while thinking of games to match my description. It seems to be the perfect game in terms of strategic content, since the randomization provides minimal edge to an experienced player but it maintains all the strategy and perfect information.
Fox in the Forest is definitely a good option, and I'm interested in Arboretum but from what I've gathered it can be a lot to take in at first. I have yet to play it but from videos it seems like the rules are quite simple but the scoring (which is what you play to optimize) can be a bit to wrap your head around. It's been a while so I might be misremembering, do you think it would be easy enough to explain quickly?
What's funny is I own this game already and it's in my top three yet the strategy is so deep I hadn't even considered this until now! Now that you mention it though it is light and takes up little space, the actions are practically displayed on the tiles, and despite not having perfect information you'd have enough information to deduce what the best move would be while still having enough randomness that an inexperienced player has the ability to make a "comeback". This game just keeps getting better lol