Back to Pilchard Quay
Jowan's shelf in the harbour hut

Eight free games for when
the boats are in and the rain sets in

When the last boat is tied up and rain is drumming on the harbour hut, Jowan pulls his oilskin off the hook and opens a different kind of logbook: eight free browser games that keep going long after the lighthouse comes on. Two of them are gentle tending games with gardens and horses, two hand you a football club, and the rest are an empire through the ages, a castle war, a Roman arena and a colony among the stars.

8games on the hut shelf
3with an app in the store too
£0the cost of any sign-up here
Molehill Empire 2 key art
Like the gardens up the steps

Molehill Empire 2

Cottage gardening game · Farm, town & zoo

The closest thing on the shelf to the cottage gardens that climb the steps above our harbour. You sow the beds, keep the watering can busy and lift every harvest in time for the orders waiting, then put the takings into new crops and ornaments. Trade with other gardeners, and a tidy little plot slowly sprawls into something grand.

Good for
Players who enjoy short, frequent tending visits.
Typical session
A few minutes with the watering can, several times a day
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Plant whatever will be ready when you next look in.
  2. Fill orders to fund new crops and decorations.
  3. Swap surplus vegetables with neighbouring growers.
Play Molehill Empire 2 freeOpens molehillempire2.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more pinned up beside the tide table

Horse Farm key artFarm, town & zoo

Horse Farm

Horse-keeping sim

A stable where the horses come first. You brush, feed and school them, and the fields beyond the paddock grow the crops that pay for better stables and the next foal. The goals are gentle ones, so nothing hurries you along.

  • A short round of grooming and feeding
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: Anyone who wants a calm, animal-centred sim.

Your first session
  1. Groom and feed every horse before training.
  2. Grow crops to pay for stable upgrades.
  3. Take the gentle goals one at a time.
Play Horse Farm freeOpens horsefarm.upjers.com/en
Trophy Manager key artSport & management

Trophy Manager

Football manager

A football manager for anyone who wants to touch every dial. Matches can be watched live or replayed, you give detailed instructions during the game, run the transfer budget and set training for each player, and every two years you can apply to manage a national side.

  • A tactics session before kick-off, then the match
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: Managers who want fine control of tactics.

Your first session
  1. Set an individual training plan for key players.
  2. Watch the transfer budget before bidding.
  3. Use in-match instructions on match day.
Play Trophy Manager freeOpens trophymanager.com/uk
ManagerZone key artSport & management

ManagerZone

Long-running multi-sport manager

One of the oldest web-based sports managers still running. You balance the squad books, draft and coach players, add clinics and shops around the stadium, rewatch old fixtures to size up the next rivals and cast votes in federations alongside other managers.

  • A short check-in or a long scouting evening
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: Managers who like deep systems and an established crowd.

Your first session
  1. Balance wages against the club economy.
  2. Watch replays of the next opponent.
  3. Join a federation to meet other managers.
Play ManagerZone freeOpens managerzone.com
Heroes of History key artStrategy & war

Heroes of History

City-through-the-ages builder

Lead a civilisation forward through the ages while named heroes command its armies. You lay out the city, keep research moving to the next era and pick hero squads, and on the battlefield the timing of each hero's abilities decides the day.

  • A quick building round or a longer run of battles
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: City planners who fancy leading heroes into battle too.

Your first session
  1. Leave room in the city layout to expand.
  2. Push research towards the next era.
  3. Practise ability timing before tough fights.
Play Heroes of History freeOpens heroesgame.com
Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming key artStrategy & war

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming

Licensed castle-war strategy

Officially licensed, built in Unity and set in a world many players already know from the screen. You fortify your own castle, sign up commanders and push through a campaign against computer foes as player alliances wrestle for the wider map. It plays in a tab; a desktop app is optional.

  • Short build visits or a long alliance evening
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: Generals who would rather campaign across a world they already know.

Your first session
  1. Upgrade the castle before marching out.
  2. Recruit commanders that suit your army.
  3. Sign up with a lively alliance in week one.
Play Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming freeOpens got.gtarcade.com
Gladiatus key artRole-play & adventure

Gladiatus

Roman arena role-player

Rome's sand and sword, built around expeditions that run on a real-time clock and come home carrying gear and gold. Between them you face other players in arena rounds that settle themselves, and clear dungeons for the rarer equipment.

  • A minute to send out an expedition
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: Anyone happier with a quick daily look than a long sitting.

Your first session
  1. Send an expedition before you log off.
  2. Upgrade gear before stepping into the arena.
  3. Save dungeons for when your fighter is ready.
Play Gladiatus freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/gladiatus
Nemexia key artSpace & sci-fi

Nemexia

Star-colony strategy

A space empire strategy game played in rounds on several servers. You dig in a colony's mines and factories, research new hulls and assemble a fleet, then strike other players' planets for their resources, alliance beside you, until the round is called.

  • Regular short visits through a round
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits, and first moves

Good for: Players who like a set round with a clear ending.

Your first session
  1. Get the mines and production running first.
  2. Research before you build the fleet.
  3. Join an alliance before raiding.
Play Nemexia freeOpens nemexia.2axion.com

All eight chalked up like the tide times on the hut door

Game in the browserWhat sortHow fast it movesPlaying alongsideHow long a sitting runsPlatforms
Molehill Empire 2Cottage gardening gameGentle, a little and oftenSwapping produce with fellow growersA few minutes with the watering can, several times a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Horse FarmHorse-keeping simSoft and unhurriedA quiet stable of your ownA short round of grooming and feedingDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Trophy ManagerFootball managerMatch days with planning betweenLeagues run by real rival managersA tactics session before kick-off, then the matchDesktop browser
ManagerZoneLong-running multi-sport managerSteady, season after seasonFederations and an old-hand crowdA short check-in or a long scouting eveningDesktop browser
Heroes of HistoryCity-through-the-ages builderMeasured, one age at a timeLargely a campaign on your ownA quick building round or a longer run of battlesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Game of Thrones: Winter is ComingLicensed castle-war strategyReal time, with alliance surgesAlliances scrapping over the realmShort build visits or a long alliance eveningDesktop browser
GladiatusRoman arena role-playerTimed, in short burstsArena bouts plus a trading marketA minute to send out an expeditionDesktop browser
NemexiaStar-colony strategyRounds that run to a closeAlliances striking at other coloniesRegular short visits through a roundDesktop browser

Price, all eight: free to play, though each offers optional in-game purchases.

01

Nothing owed on the first night

Not one of these games charges you to start, and each offers a long, full game without spending: gardens, stables, clubs, cities and colonies are all there from day one.

Each studio keeps an optional shop open. Plenty of seasoned players never set foot in it, and where one computer serves the whole household, the settings can usually cap spending.

02

Setting out on night one

Each button opens the game's real home in a new tab, run by the studio that makes it. All eight ask for a quick free sign-up first, usually just an email and a password.

Almost all of them open with a guided tutorial, and it pays to sail through to the end: it shows each screen in turn and where every resource is earned and spent.

03

Quick peeks and rainy evenings

Most of the eight carry on with the tab closed: crops grow, horses rest, matches are played and expeditions return. One peek before work and another after tea keeps the whole fleet sailing.

Keep the brief visits for harvests, feeds and lining up the next task. Wet evenings with the kettle on suit the weighty calls, like entering a new era, signing a striker or launching a raid.

04

Keep your login battened down

Treat each password like the key to the harbour hut: it only goes into the login page of the studio that made the game. A different password for each game, plus a second sign-in step where the studio offers one, keeps your accounts far safer.

No genuine studio employee needs your password, ever. If a message waves free extras at you in exchange for logging in somewhere, it is a hook baited for your account; let it drift by and report it to the studio.

Why these eight earned a place in the harbour hut

  • Every one runs in a desktop or laptop browser, so the first evening needs no installer at all.
  • Registration is free across the whole shelf, and each game can keep you busy for weeks without spending anything.
  • They keep moving while you are away: crops ripen, foals grow, fleets fly, matches get played and expeditions come home.
  • Long-running studios look after all eight, so there are plenty of other players and regular updates.

No. A desktop browser opens all eight from the hut shelf, and three of them have an official phone app as well, for players who like one.

Joining is free and so is playing. Opening an account with any of them is free, and whether you ever buy anything inside a game is your call alone.

No. Separate independent studios made and still run all eight; this shelf simply points you to where they live.

No. Eight studios built them, so each game asks for its own free registration, much like every boat on the quay has its own mooring.

Three do: Molehill Empire 2, Horse Farm and Heroes of History each publish an official app next to the browser edition. Trophy Manager, ManagerZone, Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming, Gladiatus and Nemexia are made for the browser and feel happiest on a big screen.

Molehill Empire 2 or Gladiatus: watering a bed or sending out an expedition takes about as long as the kettle. Trophy Manager and Nemexia reward a longer evening of planning.

In most of them. Molehill Empire 2 has trading, both football games put you against other managers, Gladiatus has the arena, and Nemexia and Winter is Coming have alliances. Horse Farm and Heroes of History are mostly solo.