Back to Glasshouse Fernery
While the seed trays germinate

Eight games on the herbarium desk
for the slow hours between waterings

Seeds keep their own time, so Septimus climbs the spiral iron stair to the herbarium gallery above the fernery and opens an old laptop among the pressed-flower folders. He has bookmarked eight free browser games there: two medieval realms, a football club, a sports manager, a park of hatched dinosaurs, a valley village, a war between the stars and a pirate sea. Each one wakes up inside an everyday browser tab, with no setting up.

8games bookmarked in the herbarium
5offer a phone app as well
3stay in the computer browser
Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo key art
The botanist's own pick

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo

Prehistoric park hatched from fossils · Farms, hamlets & zoos

Tree ferns are living fossils, which is why Septimus has a soft spot for this one. Recovered fossils are hatched into dinosaurs, each needing an enclosure that suits it, and the park grows outward as crowds arrive to stare. Research unlocks further species, so there is always another creature waiting in the next shell to crack.

Good for
Anyone who wants a park builder with a prehistoric twist.
Typical session
A few minutes morning and evening
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Hatch one or two species and settle them well.
  2. Build each enclosure to suit the animal inside it.
  3. Put research towards the species you want next.
Play Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo freeOpens dinosaurparkprimevalzoo.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more beside the pressed-flower folders

Travian Kingdoms key artBattles & kingdoms

Travian Kingdoms

Village realm with kings and governors

Everybody signs on as either a crowned king or a working governor, and the two jobs pull in different directions. Villages are founded one after another, trade routes are kept busy and borders are argued over in a round that runs for months, so patient planning beats a hasty rush.

  • One planning visit, then brief check-ins
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: Planners who enjoy a defined post within a larger alliance.

Your first session
  1. Decide between king and governor before the round grows.
  2. Settle a second village early.
  3. Keep trade routes moving between your villages.
Play Travian Kingdoms freeOpens kingdoms.com
Khan Wars key artBattles & kingdoms

Khan Wars

Twelve medieval nations at war

Twelve medieval nations are on offer, every one tilted towards economy, battle or commerce, and your realm grows from that first choice. Barracks can train as many as 28 kinds of unit, while a guild brings the numbers needed to besiege citadels and keep hold of land.

  • Brief visits to keep the realm ticking
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: Players who enjoy picking a side and sticking with it.

Your first session
  1. Read the nation bonuses before you settle.
  2. Grow the economy before you recruit heavily.
  3. Join a guild once your realm can hold its own.
Play Khan Wars freeOpens khanwars.com
Hattrick key artPitches & club desks

Hattrick

Long-running football club simulation

One training focus each week develops a single skill across the whole squad, so patience shapes the team. Players are bought and sold on a market shared with every other manager, and you set tactics plus individual orders before each match.

  • A look before and after each match
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: Managers after real depth and a transfer market run by people.

Your first session
  1. Pick one training focus and keep it for a while.
  2. Study the transfer market before bidding.
  3. Set match orders before every fixture.
Play Hattrick freeOpens hattrick.org/en
ManagerZone key artPitches & club desks

ManagerZone

Veteran web sports manager

One of the oldest web sports manager games, covering squad finances, drafting and training. You extend the ground with clinics and shops, watch recorded matches to scout opponents and vote alongside other managers in its federations.

  • Short sessions around match days
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: Managers who like a seasoned community and deep systems.

Your first session
  1. Keep the squad budget in balance first.
  2. Watch a rival's recorded match before facing them.
  3. Add ground facilities as income allows.
Play ManagerZone freeOpens managerzone.com
Sunrise Village key artFarms, hamlets & zoos

Sunrise Village

Calm farm-and-valley restoration

Hack back the brambles, mend a drowsy little village and follow a string of quests deeper into the valley. Fields and workshops keep humming between visits while you pick which overgrown patch to bring back next, much as Septimus chooses which bed to clear after the frosts.

  • Ten or fifteen minutes when it suits
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: Anyone wanting an easy-going sim with a tale to follow.

Your first session
  1. Tidy the plots closest to the village before wandering further.
  2. Keep crops and workshops running between visits.
  3. Follow the quest chain to see where to go next.
Play Sunrise Village freeOpens om.sunrisevillagegame.com
Planetarion key artStarfields & far planets

Planetarion

Round-based war between the stars

A long-serving war among the stars, fought by five races with fleets and plenty of alliance politics. Rounds last roughly two months before they close, which means a newcomer starts level with everyone instead of meeting empires that have dug in for years.

  • Regular check-ins during a round
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: People who prefer a game with a definite end to each round.

Your first session
  1. Join at the start of a fresh round, when all begin level.
  2. Compare the five races before you commit.
  3. Find an alliance early in the round.
Play Planetarion freeOpens planetarion.com
Seafight key artQuick action & arcade

Seafight

Pirate ship battles on open water

Captain a ship of your own, fight battles on the high seas and go hunting for buried treasure. Every voyage builds your name among the buccaneers, and upgrades keep the ship ready for the next broadside.

  • A few battles in a sitting
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your first steps

Good for: Players who fancy a swashbuckling sea adventure.

Your first session
  1. Learn to handle the ship in calm water first.
  2. Put early upgrades into the ship itself.
  3. Pick fights you can win while you learn.
Play Seafight freeOpens seafight.com

All eight laid out on the herbarium bench

Game on the herbarium shelfFamily of gameRate of growthShared with other playersA usual stroll through itWhere you can open the game
Dinosaur Park: Primeval ZooPrehistoric park hatched from fossilsSlow and steady, pen after penNeighbouring dinosaur keepersA few minutes morning and eveningDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Travian KingdomsVillage realm with kings and governorsMeasured, over a months-long roundAlliances that split duties between rolesOne planning visit, then brief check-insDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Khan WarsTwelve medieval nations at warSteady; the realm comes firstGuilds storming citadel wallsBrief visits to keep the realm tickingDesktop browser; mobile app also available
HattrickLong-running football club simulationWeekly, round the fixture listLeagues packed with human managersA look before and after each matchDesktop browser; mobile app also available
ManagerZoneVeteran web sports managerUnrushed, a season at a timeFederations with long-serving membersShort sessions around match daysDesktop browser
Sunrise VillageCalm farm-and-valley restorationGentle, one field at a timeOther villagers on the serverTen or fifteen minutes when it suitsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
PlanetarionRound-based war between the starsIntense across a two-month roundAlliance politics at every turnRegular check-ins during a roundDesktop browser
SeafightPirate ship battles on open waterBrisk, battle after battleOpen water crowded with rival captainsA few battles in a sittingDesktop browser

Price of all 8: free to play, each with optional in-game purchases on offer.

01

Nothing to pay at the spiral stair

Every one of these can be joined without charge and played for months: villages, realms, squads, enclosures, fields, fleets and ships are all part of the free game.

Each studio runs a shop alongside, with premium currency, shorter timers and cosmetic extras. Plenty of old hands have never bought a thing there, and on a family computer a spending lock usually hides somewhere in the account settings.

02

A first afternoon in the gallery

Press a button here and the official site of that game appears in a separate tab. You register there, and within minutes your realm, club, dinosaur park, village, fleet or ship is ready.

Nearly every one greets newcomers with a step-by-step tutorial. See it through; menus that look tangled at first fall into place much faster that way.

03

Games that grow while you water

Shut the laptop and most of the eight carry on: villages build, crops ripen, dinosaurs hatch, squads train and rounds tick on. Septimus looks in once after the morning watering and again at dusk, and that is usually enough.

Planetarion and the two medieval realms reward the closest attention, because other players act while you are away. Plan the bigger moves for times you know you can return.

04

Logins kept under glass

Each studio looks after its own logins, so only ever type your details on that studio's official site. Give every game a different password, the way Septimus labels every seed tray separately, and turn on a phone code wherever it is offered.

A real studio employee will never want your password. Anyone trading a pile of shiny premium currency for a login is angling for the account, so leave that message well alone, as Septimus would a slug on a fern.

Why these eight made the herbarium shelf

  • Each one opens in a normal computer browser tab, so a wet afternoon in the gallery starts with no setting up.
  • Signing up is free everywhere, and the heart of each game blooms happily for people who never set foot in its shop.
  • The spread is broad: realms to govern, clubs to coach, dinosaurs to hatch, a valley to mend, stars to fight over and seas to sail.
  • Real people share every server, so alliances, leagues, guilds and rival crews always have somebody at the other end.

No. All eight open in a desktop browser as they are. Travian Kingdoms, Khan Wars, Hattrick, Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo and Sunrise Village also have an optional phone app; ManagerZone, Planetarion and Seafight stay in the computer browser.

Joining is free for all eight, and you can play the core of each one without spending. Any extras are entirely your choice.

No. He only keeps the bookmarks; independent studios build and run each game, and a button here simply opens its official site.

No. They belong to different studios, so each title asks you to register afresh on its official website.

Sunrise Village or Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo, both calm and friendly. Planetarion and Khan Wars ask for the most planning.

Most do. Villages build, crops grow, matches are played and rounds move on, so look in at sensible times.

Plenty. Khan Wars has guilds, Travian Kingdoms and Planetarion have alliances, Hattrick and ManagerZone have leagues, and Seafight sets you among other captains.