Back down to the siding
After the last truck is weighed

Eight browser tabs on the scale-house desk
for nights the slough goes still

Once the last grain truck has rolled off the scale and the frogs start up in the slough, Lorne leaves the elevator office lamp on and opens a browser. His eight free games run from a slow player-made economy and two sports front offices to medieval sieges, two very different quests and a Stone Age camp. Every one opens on its official site, and none asks a dollar to begin.

8games on this page
0dollars to start
6with an optional phone app
Sim Companies key art
Lorne's scale-house pick

Sim Companies

Economy sim with a player-made market · Business & tycoon

A multiplayer economy game that is slow on purpose, which suits anyone who has watched grain prices at an elevator. You start with raw inputs, turn them into finished products and finally stock your own retail outlets. Other players set every price you see, so when a figure jumps, somebody out there made it jump, and reading those moves becomes the real game.

Good for
Patient planners who like a long-horizon economy.
One sitting, roughly
Short daily check-ins, plus planning evenings
Runs on
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Begin with one raw input you understand before building a full chain.
  2. Watch the market a few days before setting your own prices.
  3. Open a retail outlet only once production can keep it stocked.
Play Sim Companies freeOpens simcompanies.com in a new tab

Seven more for when the grain trucks stop rolling

Imperia Online key artStrategy & war

Imperia Online

Real-time medieval empire

One village, a real-time clock and a long road to a medieval empire. You raise economic, military and university buildings, then roll catapults and trebuchets up to a rival's walls. Defeat carries weight here: a beaten player can end up as your vassal, and you can end up as theirs.

  • A handful of quick looks daily
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Strategists who want conquest with lasting consequences.

Your first session
  1. Put the first resources into economic buildings.
  2. Raise the university early so research keeps pace.
  3. Scout a neighbour carefully before wheeling out siege engines.
Play Imperia Online freeOpens imperiaonline.org
Tribal Wars 2 key artStrategy & war

Tribal Wars 2

Village conquest sequel

The sequel to a well-known village-conquest game. One medieval village becomes a base for recruiting troops and taking ground from the farms next door, while tribes time their attacks together across a world that keeps going for months. A tribe that talks well often beats one that simply trains more troops.

  • Daily visits, with planning nights
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Players who will stay loyal to a single months-long world.

Your first session
  1. Build the village economy before recruiting heavily.
  2. Find an active tribe in your first days.
  3. Learn who your neighbours are before picking a target.
Play Tribal Wars 2 freeOpens tribalwars2.com
Sokker key artSport & management

Sokker

Soccer club and academy manager

A soccer management game built around a youth academy: bring young players up through your own pipeline, design tactics in a dedicated editor and spend on the ground itself. Its 3D engine renders two league games every week, with international competition on top, and every club starts on equal footing.

  • A couple of visits a week
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Managers who enjoy growing talent at home.

Your first session
  1. Check what the academy is producing before spending on transfers.
  2. Spend time in the tactics editor before the first fixture.
  3. Grow the ground gradually as the club earns.
Play Sokker freeOpens sokker.org/en
BuzzerBeater key artSport & management

BuzzerBeater

Hoops general-manager sim

Here basketball is played from a desk upstairs, not on the hardwood. As general manager you set the depth chart, choose offensive and defensive formations, and draft, trade and train your roster. Games unfold in a live match viewer, and national tournaments add another stage to aim for.

  • Two or three looks a week
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Basketball fans who would rather run the team than shoot.

Your first session
  1. Set a depth chart that fits the players you have.
  2. Try both formation menus before tip-off.
  3. Treat the draft as a long-term plan, not a quick fix.
Play BuzzerBeater freeOpens buzzerbeater.com
Fallen Sword key artRole-play & adventure

Fallen Sword

Zone-by-zone levelling quest

A straightforward levelling quest with plenty under the hood. You hunt monsters zone by zone, from snowy peaks to volcanic plains, pick up blacksmithing and alchemy, fight duels against other players, and buy or sell at an auction house beside a market trading in buffs.

  • As long as an evening allows
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Players who enjoy a steady climb with depth behind it.

Your first session
  1. Clear the early zones before heading for the peaks.
  2. Choose a profession and stick with it for a while.
  3. Visit the buff market before a tough hunt.
Play Fallen Sword freeOpens fallensword.com
Kingdom of Loathing key artRole-play & adventure

Kingdom of Loathing

Stick-figure comedy quest

A comedy quest drawn in stick figures, where the six classes are jokes in themselves, with a Seal Clubber and an Accordion Thief on the roster. Fights are turn-based, the item list runs into thousands of absurd objects, and the systems underneath are deep enough that fans still pick them apart.

  • Any length you like
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Players who want jokes rather than spectacle.

Your first session
  1. Read the six class descriptions and pick the funniest.
  2. Take fights one turn at a time and read the item text.
  3. Hang on to strange items; plenty prove handy later.
Play Kingdom of Loathing freeOpens kingdomofloathing.com
Stonies key artFarm, town & zoo

Stonies

Stone Age tribe-and-camp builder

A Stone Age camp where every member of the tribe needs a job: gathering, crafting or research. As they learn, the camp spreads outward, and the daily survival chores give each visit a clear purpose while the technology ladder climbs one rung at a time.

  • About as long as a coffee break
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to & opening moves

Good for: Builders who like a hardy survival edge.

Your first session
  1. Give the whole tribe work from the first minute.
  2. Research better gathering tools before anything else.
  3. Push the camp outward only once stores can feed it.
Play Stonies freeOpens stonies-game.upjers.com/en

All eight lined up like grain cars on the siding

Game in the waiting-room stackSortTempoOther playersTypical sessionWhere it runs
Sim CompaniesEconomy sim with a player-made marketDeliberately slow, a season at a timeA market made entirely of other playersShort daily check-ins, plus planning eveningsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Imperia OnlineReal-time medieval empireReal-time growth over many daysRival rulers on a shared mapA handful of quick looks dailyDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Tribal Wars 2Village conquest sequelOne world that lasts monthsTribes that coordinate attacksDaily visits, with planning nightsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
SokkerSoccer club and academy managerTwice-weekly league fixturesLeague tables plus international competitionA couple of visits a weekDesktop browser
BuzzerBeaterHoops general-manager simScheduled games, set in advanceLeague play plus national tournamentsTwo or three looks a weekDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Fallen SwordZone-by-zone levelling questSteady, at your own speedPlayer duels, auctions and traded buffsAs long as an evening allowsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Kingdom of LoathingStick-figure comedy questTurn-based, never rushedA devoted community of veteran playersAny length you likeDesktop browser
StoniesStone Age tribe-and-camp builderA slow, rung-by-rung climb in know-howOther tribes online around youAbout as long as a coffee breakDesktop browser; mobile app also available

Price for every one of the 8: Free to play; optional in-game purchases.

01

Free from the first bushel

None of these eight asks for money at the door, and you can play them for seasons; leagues, sieges, quests, camps and markets are all in the free edition.

The studios earn from optional extras such as premium currency, cosmetics or shorter waits. Plenty of players never open the shop, and families who share the scale-house computer can often block spending from the studio's own account page.

02

Your first night at the scale house

The buttons lead to each game's official home in a fresh tab; expect a quick registration there before your club, village, camp or company shows up.

Most of them start with a guided opening. Stick with it to the end; a tutorial explains controls and resources quicker than trial and error.

03

Games that keep moving while you load the cars

Imperia Online and Tribal Wars 2 run in real time, so buildings finish and troops march while you are elsewhere, and Sokker plays its two league fixtures a week on its own schedule. Morning coffee and the evening news are usually check-ins enough.

Kingdom of Loathing is the opposite: it simply waits for your next turn, so it is ideal for an evening with nowhere to be.

04

Keep your logins locked like the elevator office

Every studio runs its own sign-in, so enter your details only on its genuine web address, never reuse a password between games, and say yes to two-step sign-in if the studio offers it.

No real support desk ever asks for your password. Someone offering free premium currency for your login wants your account, so leave the message unanswered.

How these eight earned a spot on the office shelf

  • Each one runs in a desktop browser tab, so the dusty scale-house computer needs nothing new before the first season.
  • Joining is free of charge, and the whole game remains open to anyone who never looks at the shop.
  • The pace runs from a soccer club with two fixtures a week to sieges that roll on in real time, so a short visit or a long evening both fit.
  • They are long-lived titles that their studios still keep online, which means other players are on the servers when you arrive.

No. All eight play in a desktop browser. Imperia Online, Tribal Wars 2, Sim Companies, BuzzerBeater, Fallen Sword and Stonies also offer an official phone app if you want one; Sokker and Kingdom of Loathing are played in the browser.

No. Each one is free to start and the main game stays free; anything in a shop is your own choice.

No. Independent studios make and run all eight, and this page only points you to their official sites.

No. They come from separate studios, so each game has its own registration.

Imperia Online and Tribal Wars 2 run in real time, and Sokker and BuzzerBeater play their scheduled games whether or not you are watching. Kingdom of Loathing waits for your next turn.

Stonies, with its small camp and steady chores, or Sim Companies if you like numbers and patience. Imperia Online and Tribal Wars 2 are the most combative of the eight.

Yes. Tribal Wars 2 has tribes, Sim Companies runs on a market of real players, Fallen Sword lets players duel and auction gear, and the two sports games put you in leagues with other managers.