Back up the fell to the dome
For nights the cloud rolls in

Eight browser tabs for a clouded sky
kept beside the brass telescope

Some nights the cloud sits low on the fell and the dome shutter stays shut, so Ermyn pulls the old laptop across the chart table. Her eight bookmarks run from a medieval empire and a Wild West frontier to two separate galaxies, a dinosaur park, a racing team and an ice-hockey club. Each of them runs in an ordinary browser tab, and not one charges a penny to start.

8games on this page
0downloads required
4with an optional phone app
Pardus key art
Ermyn's clouded-night galaxy

Pardus

Action-point space trading MMO · Deep space & far futures

A long-running space MMO built around Action Points, which suits Ermyn perfectly: every jump, trade or shot spends from a limited pool, so a short session still counts against pilots with more spare hours. Out among the linked sectors you can dig ore, turn it into goods, run cargo for profit, slip contraband past patrols or hunt down bounties, and alliances knit the pilots together.

Good for
Stargazers with short evenings who still want a real rivalry.
A typical evening with it
As long as your Action Points last
Where it can be opened
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Spend your first Action Points on short, safe trade runs.
  2. Learn which sectors want which goods before trying anything risky.
  3. Look for an alliance once the routes feel familiar.
Play Pardus freeOpens pardus.at in a new tab

Seven more bookmarks on the chart table

Imperia Online key artBattles & grand designs

Imperia Online

A medieval empire built in real time

A medieval empire that grows by the minute, not by turns. Starting from one village, you upgrade its economy, its barracks and its university, then haul catapults and trebuchets up to rival walls. A defeated neighbour can be turned into a vassal, so every war leaves a lasting mark on the map.

  • Short checks spread through the day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Strategists who want each conquest to matter for weeks.

Your first session
  1. Balance the economy before the barracks.
  2. Get the university working early.
  3. Keep siege engines for a target you have studied.
Imperia Online: start freeOpens imperiaonline.org
KingsAge key artBattles & grand designs

KingsAge

Village conquest in wood, clay and iron

Classic village conquest where wood, clay and iron are everything. Spearmen, swordsmen and cavalry drill in your yard, scouts look over a target before you commit, and in time noblemen take whole villages outright. Ermyn likes that the scouting comes first, much as she checks the sky before cranking the shutter.

  • Several short visits each day
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Players who like a slow, deliberate conquest.

Your first session
  1. Keep wood, clay and iron rising together.
  2. Always scout before you send troops.
  3. Save toward noblemen once your village is secure.
KingsAge: start freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/kingsage
WildGuns key artBattles & grand designs

WildGuns

Strategy for grabbing frontier land

A land grab out on the Wild West frontier. Three rival nations, each with its own strengths, wait for you to pick a side; then you stake out a camp, haul in timber and ore, and grow it into a stronghold before trading with, or raiding, the players around you on contested ground.

  • Short sessions a few times a day
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Strategists who fancy dust and horses over castles.

Your first session
  1. Read what each nation is good at before choosing.
  2. Build the camp up before you ride out.
  3. Trade with neighbours while you are still small.
WildGuns: start freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/wildguns
Nemexia key artDeep space & far futures

Nemexia

Round-based colony and fleet war

A sci-fi empire contest split into rounds on several servers, so every campaign has an end. You dig mines, keep a colony's factories busy and research your way to fleets, then strip rival planets of their stockpiles with an alliance at your back. A new round means a fresh start for everyone.

  • Daily check-ins, longer near the end of a round
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Players who like a campaign with a clear finish.

Your first session
  1. Put the first days into mines and production.
  2. Research before building a large fleet.
  3. Get into an alliance early in the round.
Play Nemexia freeOpens nemexia.2axion.com
iGP Manager key artSporting clubs & managers

iGP Manager

Running a motor-racing team

Here you sit on the pit wall instead of in the cockpit. Between races you steer car development and plan strategy, then make the pit calls as the race plays out in 3D against other managers in a live multiplayer league.

  • Race nights plus short planning visits
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Managers who would rather tune engines than kick a ball.

Your first session
  1. Learn how tyre and fuel choices change a race.
  2. Spend development on one area at a time.
  3. Watch your first races live to see your calls play out.
iGP Manager: start freeOpens igpmanager.com
Hockey Arena key artSporting clubs & managers

Hockey Arena

Ice-hockey club manager

An ice-hockey club to manage, with a match every single day and an open free-agent market that places no limits on signings. You pick the squad, set training and keep the finances healthy, all through a deliberately simple interface that suits a quick nightly look.

  • Ten minutes or so a day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Managers who like one match a night before bed.

Your first session
  1. Set training for the whole squad on day one.
  2. Check the free-agent list before every match.
  3. Keep an eye on the finances as the season runs.
Hockey Arena: start freeOpens hockeyarena.net/en
Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo key artFarms, towns & animal parks

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo

Building a zoo of prehistoric beasts

A zoo where the exhibits are dinosaurs. You hatch them from recovered fossils, build enclosures to suit each species and keep the park running as visitors arrive to see them. Research opens up further species, so the park keeps growing over many visits.

  • Short visits whenever you like
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves

Good for: Builders who want a zoo sim with a prehistoric twist.

Your first session
  1. Hatch from the fossils you already have first.
  2. Build each enclosure to suit its species.
  3. Put early research into the next species you want.
Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo: start freeOpens dinosaurparkprimevalzoo.upjers.com/en

All eight laid side by side on the chart table

Game on the listKind of game on the fellHow briskly it movesOther people in itA typical evening with itWhere it can be opened
PardusAction-point space trading MMOMeasured: every move spends pointsPlayer alliances across linked sectorsAs long as your Action Points lastDesktop browser
Imperia OnlineA medieval empire built in real timeSteady building, sudden siegesRival empires, with vassals made of the beatenShort checks spread through the dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
KingsAgeVillage conquest in wood, clay and ironPatient scouting, then a strikeNeighbours who may become targetsSeveral short visits each dayDesktop browser
WildGunsStrategy for grabbing frontier landBuilding between raidsThree rival nations on contested groundShort sessions a few times a dayDesktop browser
NemexiaRound-based colony and fleet warSteady production, sharp raidsAlliances within each roundDaily check-ins, longer near the end of a roundDesktop browser
iGP ManagerRunning a motor-racing teamLive races on a league calendarMultiplayer leagues of rival managersRace nights plus short planning visitsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Hockey ArenaIce-hockey club managerA match played every dayLeagues made up of other managersTen minutes or so a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Dinosaur Park: Primeval ZooBuilding a zoo of prehistoric beastsUnhurried park keepingAn online world of fellow park buildersShort visits whenever you likeDesktop browser; mobile app also available

Price of all eight: free to play, with optional purchases in each game.

01

Free from the very first click

All eight let you begin without paying anything, and anyone who never opens a shop still gets the whole heart of the game.

Every studio does sell extras, such as premium currency, cosmetic touches or ways to skip a wait. Ermyn leaves them alone; if a household shares one computer, spending can often be switched off in that studio's account settings.

02

Your first clouded evening

Each button lands on the game's own official site in a new browser tab; most of them ask for a quick registration before your empire, fleet, team or park appears.

Nearly every one begins with a tutorial. Ermyn reads hers through as carefully as a fresh star chart before trying anything of her own.

03

Which ones carry on while you sleep

Imperia Online, KingsAge, WildGuns, Nemexia and Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo keep building, producing and marching in your absence, so one look before bed and another over breakfast is often plenty.

Pardus runs on Action Points that refill over time, while iGP Manager and Hockey Arena keep to their own race and match calendars.

04

Guarding your sign-ins

Each studio runs a separate login, and Ermyn only ever types hers on that studio's genuine address. She also keeps a different password for every game and switches on the extra sign-in step wherever one is offered.

Real support staff never need your password. Strangers who offer premium currency in exchange for a sign-in want the account itself, and Ermyn tosses them in the stove with the old weather notes.

How Ermyn settled on these eight

  • All eight load inside a desktop browser window, putting the first trade run, siege or race one click from the bookmark bar.
  • Signing up never costs a thing, and each game gives its whole core to a player who ignores the shop entirely.
  • The list swings from quick daily matches to slow empire building, so there is a pick for a short gap in the cloud and one for a long overcast evening.
  • Their studios still run them, so the galaxies, leagues and frontier maps stay busy with real players.

No. Ermyn plays all eight inside a desktop browser. Imperia Online, iGP Manager, Hockey Arena and Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo also offer an optional phone app; Pardus, WildGuns, Nemexia and KingsAge are desktop browser games.

No. Starting costs nothing in every case, and the main game stays open without spending; anything in the studio shops is optional.

No. She only bookmarked them on the chart-table laptop. Each title belongs to the studio that made it, and every button here simply opens that official page.

No. Eight games means eight studios, and every one wants its own registration.

Hockey Arena, with its single daily match, or Pardus, where a session lasts only as long as your Action Points. The empire games reward regular check-ins over weeks.

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo, which is about building and caring rather than fighting. KingsAge, Imperia Online and WildGuns are the most warlike of the eight.

Yes. Pardus and Nemexia have alliances, iGP Manager and Hockey Arena run leagues of managers, and the three empire games are full of neighbours to ally with or fight.