Back to Creasewater Wharf
Pinned up by Ottoline

Eight browser games pinned
from the wharf office noticeboard

The makers on the Creasewater work slowly, letting glue dry, glaze cool and paint settle, so Ottoline keeps eight free browser games pinned to the wharf office noticeboard for the waits in between. There are castles to raise, a medieval village of workshops, three wars of crowns and nations, a football club, a trading company among the stars and an empire of planets, and every one of them opens with a single click.

8games pinned by the wharf office
5with an official phone app too
Freeto join, every single one
My Little Farmies key art
A makers' favourite

My Little Farmies

Medieval village of workshops · Farm, town & zoo

The nearest thing on the board to life on the wharf itself. My Little Farmies is a medieval village sim where you plant fields, keep the workshops busy and turn raw goods into wares for the villagers. Nobody fights here: the settlement grows through its production chains, one finished batch at a time.

Good for
Makers who would sooner fill a workshop than an armoury.
Typical session
A few minutes to set the workshops, a return visit to collect
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Plant the quick fields first to learn the rhythm.
  2. Open a workshop as soon as the raw goods pile up.
  3. Plan each chain around when you can next look in.
Play My Little Farmies freeOpens mylittlefarmies.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more pinned along the noticeboard

Goodgame Empire key artStrategy & war

Goodgame Empire

A castle to build, wall and hold

A medieval castle that you build, wall and defend while the kingdom around it never sleeps. You train an army, forge alliances with neighbouring lords and fight for control of the land, balancing a strong keep against the troops you send out.

  • A short check on the keep, longer for a campaign
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who enjoy classic castle strategy.

Your first session
  1. Raise the walls before anything else.
  2. Keep the resource buildings ticking over.
  3. Join an alliance early for protection.
Play Goodgame Empire freeOpens empire.goodgamestudios.com
KingsAge key artStrategy & war

KingsAge

Villages won with wood, clay and iron

Wood, clay and iron keep a KingsAge village alive. From them come spearmen, swordsmen and cavalry; scouts go out before any attack, and with patience your noblemen can take over a neighbouring village for good instead of merely raiding it.

  • A quick look between other jobs
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Strategists who enjoy taking villages one by one.

Your first session
  1. Balance wood, clay and iron from day one.
  2. Send scouts ahead before any army leaves home.
  3. Save towards your first nobleman.
Play KingsAge freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/kingsage
Khan Wars key artStrategy & war

Khan Wars

Twelve medieval nations

Twelve medieval nations to choose from, each leaning towards economy, combat or trade. Khan Wars lets you raise armies from as many as twenty-eight unit types and sign up with a guild, which is where the citadel sieges and the long fights over territory happen.

  • Regular short visits over many weeks
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who like choosing a faction and sticking with it.

Your first session
  1. Pick a nation whose bonus suits how you play.
  2. Learn a few unit types well before recruiting widely.
  3. Sign up with a guild well before any siege.
Play Khan Wars freeOpens khanwars.com
Conflict of Nations key artStrategy & war

Conflict of Nations

Present-day war of nations

Grand strategy set in the modern era, ticking along in real time over a map of the whole world. Forces are built up, coalitions are agreed with other players and plans need to stay several moves ahead, since the map shifts whether you are looking or not.

  • Quick glances between the day's jobs
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Patient grand strategists.

Your first session
  1. Secure your home ground first.
  2. Talk to neighbours before you choose enemies.
  3. Plan moves that play out while you are away.
Play Conflict of Nations freeOpens conflictnations.com
Hattrick key artSport & management

Hattrick

Veteran football club management

Hattrick has kept football managers busy in browsers for years. Pick a weekly training focus and your whole squad drills that one skill; bid against other people for players in a shared transfer market; then hand out tactics and personal orders ahead of every fixture.

  • A short sit-down before each fixture
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Managers who enjoy slow, deep squad building.

Your first session
  1. Choose one training focus and keep to it.
  2. Study the transfer list for a while before bidding.
  3. Set individual orders ahead of each match.
Play Hattrick freeOpens hattrick.org/en
Prosperous Universe key artBusiness & tycoon

Prosperous Universe

Player-made space economy

Out among the stars, nothing reaches the market unless some real player has made it. Prosperous Universe has you running production chains, hauling cargo between stations, completing contracts and trading on an exchange where every price is set by the people playing.

  • Short visits to keep production moving
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who want a genuinely player-run economy.

Your first session
  1. Get one modest production chain running first.
  2. Take small contracts to learn the ropes.
  3. Watch the exchange before you sell in bulk.
Play Prosperous Universe freeOpens prosperousuniverse.com
Hyperiums Reborn key artSpace & sci-fi

Hyperiums Reborn

Space empire of planets

Hyperiums Reborn rebuilds a space strategy game first launched in 2001. You nurse planets into strength, trade off spending on industry against spending on defence, while alliances negotiate, bluff and fall out across rounds measured in months rather than days, on a map crowded with rival empires.

  • Little and often over a long round
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players drawn to slow, scheming empire politics.

Your first session
  1. Grow your planet economy before arming it.
  2. Make friends before you make claims.
  3. Pace yourself for a round that runs for months.
Play Hyperiums Reborn freeOpens reborn.hyperiums.com

All eight side by side on one board

Name of the gameGenre on the boardIts pace on the waterWho else is on the waterA sitting, give or takePlatforms for this title
My Little FarmiesMedieval village of workshopsUnhurried production chainsNeighbours building alongside youA few minutes to set the workshops, a return visit to collectDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Goodgame EmpireA castle to build, wall and holdSteady, with raids to answerAllied lords in a kingdom that never sleepsA short check on the keep, longer for a campaignDesktop browser; mobile app also available
KingsAgeVillages won with wood, clay and ironPatient, scout firstNeighbouring lords on one mapA quick look between other jobsDesktop browser
Khan WarsTwelve medieval nationsLong, faction-drivenGuild sieges on rival citadelsRegular short visits over many weeksDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Conflict of NationsPresent-day war of nationsReal time, planned well aheadCoalitions on a world mapQuick glances between the day's jobsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
HattrickVeteran football club managementA week at a timeLeagues filled by real managersA short sit-down before each fixtureDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Prosperous UniversePlayer-made space economyMeasured, market-ledEach buyer and seller is a living playerShort visits to keep production movingDesktop browser
Hyperiums RebornSpace empire of planetsSlow, political roundsAlliances that bargain and fall outLittle and often over a long roundDesktop browser

The cost, all eight together: free to play, with in-game purchases that remain optional.

01

Not a penny at the gangway

Nobody pays to join any game on this board, and month after month of play can go by without spending. Castles, villages, clubs and planets all arrive whole.

Each one has a shop counter for speed-ups and trimmings that nobody is obliged to visit. On a computer the whole family shares, spending can usually be switched off inside each account's settings.

02

Unfolding a fresh game

Each game's button takes you straight to the studio's own official site, opening a new tab so the wharf stays where you left it. An email address is enough to register there, and moments later a castle, a village, a club or a colony stands ready under the name you picked.

Each game starts you off with a guided tutorial. Follow it through to its final step: it shows where each menu lives and how the economy fits together.

03

Quick peeks and long evenings

Nothing on the board stops when you close the tab: fields grow, troops arrive, matches are played and cargo lands. A look over breakfast and another after supper keeps most of them ticking along nicely.

Spend the quick looks collecting, queuing orders and catching up with your alliance or guild. Keep the unhurried evenings for weighty calls, like laying a siege, bidding for a striker or opening a new production chain.

04

Locking each workshop door

Treat each login like the key to a separate workshop: it belongs to one studio, so enter it only on pages that studio runs itself. A fresh password per game, plus the extra sign-in check if a studio offers one, keeps all eight doors locked.

The real staff of a studio will never want your password. Any note that trades premium currency for your login is bait cast at the account itself: bin it and report the sender.

Why Ottoline pinned these eight

  • Each of them plays in the desktop or laptop browser you already own, so you can begin without fetching a single file.
  • Joining costs nothing anywhere on the board, and no corner of any of them is shut to people who never open their purse.
  • Crops ripen, columns of troops march and prices shift with the tab shut, so even a two-minute visit moves things forward.
  • Each has been looked after by its studio for years, so the players are settled and newcomers rarely struggle to find a helping hand.

No. Every game on the board runs in a desktop or laptop browser. Five of them, Goodgame Empire, My Little Farmies, Khan Wars, Hattrick and Conflict of Nations, have an official phone app as an optional extra.

No. All eight let you sign up for free and keep the whole game open, with their shops as optional extras.

No. Every game on the board belongs to an independent studio, and the buttons simply send you along to that studio's official site.

No. Eight studios means eight front doors, so expect a separate, free sign-up at each game you try.

Goodgame Empire, My Little Farmies, Khan Wars, Hattrick and Conflict of Nations each have an official phone app too, if you would rather carry them in a pocket than sit at a desk. KingsAge, Prosperous Universe and Hyperiums Reborn are browser games, best enjoyed at a computer.

My Little Farmies, where a quick round of collecting and restarting workshops takes a few minutes, or Hattrick, where match orders are a short weekly job. Hyperiums Reborn and Conflict of Nations reward longer planning.

Yes. Goodgame Empire has alliances, Khan Wars has guilds, Conflict of Nations has coalitions, Hattrick fills its leagues with human managers and every trade in Prosperous Universe is with a real player.