Back to Tiltyard Meadow
Sir Wickham's pavilion shelf

Eight free campaigns for when
the lances are racked for the night

Once the last padded lance is racked and the feasting tent goes quiet, Sir Wickham pulls a different list from his saddlebag: eight free browser games that keep a campaign going long after the pennants come down. Three of them hand you villages, clans or a whole empire to command, two put you in charge of a racing team or a hockey club, and the rest are a farm, a joke kingdom and a comic hero on timed quests.

8games on the pavilion shelf
5with an official phone app too
£0to sign up for any of them
KingsAge key art
A castle game for a castle meadow

KingsAge

Medieval village conquest · Strategy & war

The nearest thing on the shelf to the castle on our hill. You begin with one village and its wood, clay and iron, train spearmen, swordsmen and cavalry, and always scout a neighbour before you march. When the moment is right, noblemen let you annex a whole village outright and fold it into your growing realm.

Good for
Players who enjoy patient, classic village-conquest strategy.
Typical session
A short check on your villages or a long planning evening
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Keep wood, clay and iron production balanced.
  2. Scout every target before sending troops.
  3. Save up for noblemen before you try to annex.
Play KingsAge freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/kingsage in a new tab

Seven more banners flying beside the lists

Vikings: War of Clans key artStrategy & war

Vikings: War of Clans

Norse clan strategy

Swap the pennants for longships. Here you build up a Norse stronghold, grow a Jarl through a branching set of skills and dispatch marches across the map, some to harvest resource tiles and some to hit rival holds, while whole clans brawl over the Place of Power, whose holders earn bonuses for their entire kingdom.

  • A few marches at a time, or a long clan evening
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: Anyone who wants a long clan war to belong to.

Your first session
  1. Upgrade the stronghold before raiding.
  2. Plan your Jarl skill tree early.
  3. Join an active clan as soon as you can.
Play Vikings: War of Clans freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/vikings-war-of-clans
Heroes of History key artStrategy & war

Heroes of History

Empire and heroes builder

A city that grows up through the ages of history, led into battle by named heroes. You plan the streets, keep the research marching on to the next era and choose which heroes form a squad, and in a fight it is the timing of their special abilities that wins the field.

  • A quick round of building or a longer string of battles
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: City planners who also fancy a scrap.

Your first session
  1. Lay out the city with room to grow.
  2. Keep research moving towards the next era.
  3. Learn each hero's ability timing before hard battles.
Play Heroes of History freeOpens heroesgame.com
My Free Farm key artFarm, town & zoo

My Free Farm

Classic farming game

Fields to sow, animals to rear and harvests to sell, presented without any frills at all. That modest look sits on top of a surprisingly deep farm economy, and timing your planting cycles well is what turns a few plots into a thriving holding.

  • Five minutes before supper
  • Desktop browser
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: Players who care more about depth than about looks.

Your first session
  1. Sow whatever will be ripe by the time you return.
  2. Add animals once the fields are steady.
  3. Plan planting cycles around when you can log in.
Play My Free Farm freeOpens myfreefarm.com
Kingdom of Loathing key artRole-play & adventure

Kingdom of Loathing

Stick-figure comedy role-player

Every jester at the feast would approve. A cult role-player drawn entirely in stick figures, it offers six joke classes such as the Seal Clubber and the Accordion Thief, turn-by-turn fights and silly items by the thousand, all resting on systems players have picked apart for years.

  • A handful of turns or a long silly evening
  • Desktop browser
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: Players who would rather laugh than watch spectacle.

Your first session
  1. Pick a class for the joke you like best.
  2. Read item descriptions; many are punchlines.
  3. Spend your daily turns before logging off.
Play Kingdom of Loathing freeOpens kingdomofloathing.com
Shakes & Fidget key artRole-play & adventure

Shakes & Fidget

Comic fantasy RPG

A cheeky fantasy role-player in which your hero rides off on quests that finish against a countdown. There are a dozen classes and none plays alike: a Druid can turn into a bear, a tiger or an eagle, and a Berserker strings attack after attack together before the opponent can answer.

  • Quick look-ins while a quest runs
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: Anyone who likes humour alongside a character sheet.

Your first session
  1. Compare the classes before choosing one.
  2. Match quest length to the time you have.
  3. Look for a guild once your hero has some gear.
Play Shakes & Fidget freeOpens sfgame.net
iGP Manager key artSport & management

iGP Manager

Racing team manager

A motorsport team manager with live multiplayer leagues and races shown in 3D. You never drive the car: you develop it, plan the strategy and make the pit calls while other managers do the same on the grid beside you.

  • Race days plus short development visits
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: Managers who prefer motorsport to a ball sport.

Your first session
  1. Join a league whose race times suit you.
  2. Spend on car development steadily.
  3. Plan tyres and pit stops before each race.
Play iGP Manager freeOpens igpmanager.com
Hockey Arena key artSport & management

Hockey Arena

Ice-hockey manager

Run an ice-hockey club that plays a fixture every day of the week. You choose the squad, set the training and keep an eye on the books, and any free agent who catches your eye can be signed at once, all through screens kept pleasingly plain.

  • Ten minutes before the puck drops
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it fits & your opening moves

Good for: Managers after a daily habit rather than a marathon.

Your first session
  1. Set the line-up before the daily match.
  2. Train the players you rely on most.
  3. Check the finances before signing free agents.
Play Hockey Arena freeOpens hockeyarena.net/en

All eight lined up like shields along the fence

Saddlebag pickType of campaignGait of playAllies and rivalsAn evening at the campaignPlays where
KingsAgeMedieval village conquestSlow and deliberateNeighbouring villages run by other playersA short check on your villages or a long planning eveningDesktop browser
Vikings: War of ClansNorse clan strategySteady, with big clan momentsClans locked in a power struggleA few marches at a time, or a long clan eveningDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Heroes of HistoryEmpire and heroes builderSteady, age after ageMostly a solo campaignA quick round of building or a longer string of battlesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
My Free FarmClassic farming gameGentle, a little each dayMostly a solo campaignFive minutes before supperDesktop browser
Kingdom of LoathingStick-figure comedy role-playerTurn-based, entirely at your paceA devoted community of long-time playersA handful of turns or a long silly eveningDesktop browser
Shakes & FidgetComic fantasy RPGRelaxed, quests run on a clockGuilds plus a duelling arenaQuick look-ins while a quest runsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
iGP ManagerRacing team managerLive races on a scheduleLive leagues of other managersRace days plus short development visitsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Hockey ArenaIce-hockey managerA fixture every single dayDaily duels with rival managersTen minutes before the puck dropsDesktop browser; mobile app also available

All eight cost nothing to start or to keep playing, though each sells optional in-game purchases.

01

Free from the first trumpet

Not a single game here charges to enter, and every one gives you a long, full campaign without spending; villages, clubs, fields and heroes are all there from the start.

Every studio does run a stall of optional extras. Plenty of hardened campaigners have never bought a thing there, and where a family shares one computer, the game settings often let you cap spending.

02

Riding out on the first evening

Each button sends you off, in a new tab, to the real home of that game, run by the studio itself. Before you play, each of the eight wants a short free sign-up, normally an email and a password.

Almost every game opens with a guided tutorial, and it repays you to see it through: it leads you round each screen and shows where the game's resources come from and go.

03

Short visits and long campaigns

With the tab shut, most of the eight carry on regardless: harvests ripen, marches arrive, races run and heroes ride home. Glance in over breakfast and again after supper and the campaign never stalls.

Keep the brief visits for gathering, harvesting and lining up the next order. Save whole evenings for the weighty calls: annexing a village, entering a new era or rethinking race strategy.

04

Guard your seal and your password

Treat each login like a knight treats a signet ring: show it only at the gate of the studio that issued it. A different password for every game, with the extra check of a second sign-in step if the studio has one, makes a far stouter shield.

Real studio staff never ask what your password is. Should a message offer gems or gold for nothing in return for your login, it is a trap aimed at the account; leave it unanswered and flag it to the studio.

Why Sir Wickham let these eight onto the shelf

  • A desktop or laptop browser runs every one of them, so night one starts without an installer.
  • Registration is free right along the shelf, and each game can carry you for weeks on an empty purse.
  • The campaigns tick on in your absence: fields ripen, war parties march, races get run and heroes ride home.
  • Seasoned studios keep all eight going, so there are crowds of fellow players and fresh updates.

No. A desktop browser handles every game on the shelf, and five of the eight offer an official phone app on top, should you want it.

Free to join and free to play. Signing up costs nothing for any game on the shelf, and anything bought inside a game is entirely your call.

No. Separate independent studios created and still run all eight; this shelf just shows you the way to their doors.

No. Eight different studios means eight separate free sign-ups, one per game.

Five come with an official app beside their browser edition: Vikings: War of Clans, Heroes of History, Shakes & Fidget, iGP Manager and Hockey Arena. KingsAge, My Free Farm and Kingdom of Loathing are built for the browser and sit most comfortably on a desktop or laptop.

Hockey Arena or My Free Farm: setting a line-up or tending the fields barely takes longer than lacing a gauntlet. KingsAge and Vikings: War of Clans reward a longer evening of planning.

In most of them. Vikings has clans, KingsAge has neighbouring villages, Shakes & Fidget has guilds and the arena, and both management games put you up against other managers. Heroes of History and My Free Farm leave you largely to your own devices.