Back to camp
Boots drying by the stove

Eight games for the
bunkhouse after the drive

Once the boom is tied off and the boots are steaming by the barrel stove, the drive crew fights over the one laptop in the bunkhouse. These are the eight free browser games they argue about: a hockey club with a game every night, a football academy, two factory-and-market economies, two castle wars, a galaxy that resets every couple of months and a zoo. Every one loads in a browser tab, and none charges a thing to begin.

8games on this page
0installs before you play
4offer a phone app on the side
Hockey Arena key art
The bunkhouse favourite

Hockey Arena

Ice hockey club manager · Sport & management

The crew's favourite argument starter: your ice hockey club takes the ice once a day, every day, so a fresh score is waiting with the morning porridge. Pick the lines, set training and keep the books balanced, and use the open free-agent market to sign anyone nobody else has tied down. The screens are kept plain on purpose, which leaves the thinking to you.

Good for
Managers who want a short daily routine rather than a marathon.
One evening’s play
A coffee-length look each morning
Where the crew plays it
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Set your lines before the first daily match.
  2. Watch the free-agent list for players other clubs overlooked.
  3. Keep an eye on finances before raising wages.
Play Hockey Arena freeOpens hockeyarena.net/en in a new tab

Seven more for when the river goes quiet

Sokker key artSport & management

Sokker

Football club and youth academy

A football manager built around growing players from the youth academy up. You draw your tactics in a dedicated editor, put money into the ground and watch matches play out in full 3D, two league games a week plus international fixtures.

  • Short visits before each match
  • Desktop browser
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Managers who enjoy raising talent from scratch.

Your first session
  1. Look at your youth academy before buying anyone.
  2. Build one tactic in the editor and test it for a few weeks.
  3. Spend on the ground once the gates start paying.
Play Sokker freeOpens sokker.org/en
Kapilands key artBusiness & tycoon

Kapilands

Factory and market economy

An economy game for anyone who likes a ledger more than flashy graphics. Raw materials go in, production chains turn them into goods, and those goods sell on a market priced by rival players, so undercutting a rival is part of the job, much like a sawmill bidding for logs.

  • Quick ledger checks through the day
  • Desktop browser
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Players who enjoy spreadsheets and price wars.

Your first session
  1. Learn one production chain before opening a second.
  2. Look at market prices first, then set your own.
  3. Keep cash aside for raw materials.
Play Kapilands freeOpens kapilands.com
Sim Companies key artBusiness & tycoon

Sim Companies

Slow-burn business builder

A multiplayer economy that is slow on purpose. Your company grows from raw inputs through production lines to retail shops, and since rival players set every price, the market shifts whenever they do. It suits someone who would rather plan a season than a minute.

  • Brief visits between shifts
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Players after a calm, long-horizon business game.

Your first session
  1. Start with one product and learn its inputs.
  2. Watch who is buying before you build retail.
  3. Reinvest steadily instead of all at once.
Play Sim Companies freeOpens simcompanies.com
Throne: Kingdom at War key artStrategy & war

Throne: Kingdom at War

Medieval sieges and Orders

Here you are a medieval Lord with production buildings to raise, several classes of troops to train and rival Lords to march on. Joining an Order turns gathered resources into crafted hero gear, and timed sieges decide who holds the throne, so turning up on schedule matters.

  • Daily, longer on siege days
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Strategists who like coordinated siege days.

Your first session
  1. Build production before a big army.
  2. Join an active Order early for cover.
  3. Save resources for hero gear ahead of a siege.
Play Throne: Kingdom at War freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/throne-kingdom-at-war
Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming key artStrategy & war

Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming

Licensed castle-and-commander strategy

An officially licensed strategy game set in a well-known world of rival houses. Raise a castle, hire commanders and push through a computer-run campaign as rival alliances battle for the shared map. It is built in Unity and plays in a browser tab.

  • Several look-ins between chores
  • Desktop browser
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Fans of a famous saga who want to fight over its map.

Your first session
  1. Follow the campaign to learn the menus.
  2. Recruit commanders that suit your troops.
  3. Find an alliance before the map gets crowded.
Play Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming freeOpens got.gtarcade.com
Planetarion key artSpace & sci-fi

Planetarion

Space war with a finish line

A veteran space war game in which every round lasts about two months and then ends, so newcomers always get a fresh start. You pick one of five races, build fleets and take part in alliance politics that decide who is left standing when the round closes.

  • Short visits through a round
  • Desktop browser
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Players who like a finish line instead of an endless grind.

Your first session
  1. Register as a new round opens its gates.
  2. Read up on the five races before choosing.
  3. Find an alliance in the first days.
Play Planetarion freeOpens planetarion.com
My Free Zoo key artFarm, town & zoo

My Free Zoo

Old-school animal park builder

An old-school zoo sim in which enclosures get laid out, animals move in and the park keeps spreading as long as the visitors leave smiling. Breeding, feeding and decorating give it a long, relaxed climb, which makes it the bunkhouse pick for a quiet night.

  • 15 to 30 minutes
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who likes it & first moves

Good for: Anyone who wants a calm builder with no battles.

Your first session
  1. Build a few simple enclosures first.
  2. Keep animals fed before buying new ones.
  3. Decorate once visitors start arriving in numbers.
Play My Free Zoo freeOpens myfreezoo.upjers.com/en

All eight lined up like logs on the bank deck

Game on the bunkhouse tableWhat the crew calls itSpeed of the currentWho else is in the bunkhouseOne evening’s playWhere the crew plays it
Hockey ArenaIce hockey club managerOne match every dayRival benches run by real peopleA coffee-length look each morningDesktop browser; mobile app also available
SokkerFootball club and youth academyLeague fixtures twice weekly, plus internationalsLeagues and international playShort visits before each matchDesktop browser
KapilandsFactory and market economySlow and calculatingPrices set by rival firmsQuick ledger checks through the dayDesktop browser
Sim CompaniesSlow-burn business builderDeliberately unhurriedA fully player-driven marketBrief visits between shiftsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Throne: Kingdom at WarMedieval sieges and OrdersTimed, organised campaignsOrders that besiege as oneDaily, longer on siege daysDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Game of Thrones: Winter is ComingLicensed castle-and-commander strategyReal time with alliance pushesAlliances carving up one mapSeveral look-ins between choresDesktop browser
PlanetarionSpace war with a finish lineTwo-month rounds, then a resetAlliance politicsShort visits through a roundDesktop browser
My Free ZooOld-school animal park builderEasy, like a slack-water eveningA veteran crowd of park keepers15 to 30 minutesDesktop browser; mobile app also available

Price tag on all 8: Free to play; optional in-game purchases.

01

No toll on this river

Nobody pays to start any game here, and nobody has to pay later either; the clubs, factories, castles, fleets and zoo all belong to the free version.

Every studio runs a shop on the side: premium currency, cosmetic odds and ends, timer skips. None of it is required. Plenty of players never buy any, and where a family shares one computer, purchases can often be switched off with the studio.

02

Your first night in a new game

Every button leads off to the game's official site in a new tab, where a quick registration comes before your rink, academy, factory, castle, fleet or zoo shows up.

Nearly all of them start with a guided first session. Follow it through; it teaches the menus faster than poking around in the dark.

03

Games that keep going while you sleep

Factories in Kapilands and Sim Companies keep producing, castles keep building and Planetarion fleets keep flying while the tab is closed. A visit after breakfast and one after supper usually covers it.

Hockey Arena plays every day and Sokker twice a week, so set your line-up before match time. Planetarion is easiest to join right as a new round opens.

04

Keep your sign-ins under lock

Treat every login like the key to a different cabin: enter it only on the studio's real website, never through a link that arrives in a message. Each game deserves a password nobody else shares, and if a studio lets you add a second login step, say yes to it.

Real studio staff never ask anyone for a password. A message trading bonus currency for your login details is bait on a hook, so let it drift past.

Why Brannock put these eight on the laptop

  • Every one opens in a desktop browser tab, so a crew member can play between supper and lights-out without installing anything.
  • Not one of them charges for an account, and a player can go the whole distance in each without opening its shop.
  • Most reward planning a week ahead, much like timing a drive to the spring freshet, more than fast fingers.
  • Each studio still runs its servers, so the rinks, markets, castles and star systems are busy with real people.

No. The bunkhouse laptop handles all eight in its browser. Hockey Arena, Sim Companies, My Free Zoo and Throne: Kingdom at War add an optional phone app; Sokker, Kapilands, Planetarion and Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming stay with the desktop browser.

Not a cent up front. The whole of each game can be played for free, and whatever its studio sells is an optional extra.

No. Brannock only drives logs. Each title comes from a separate studio, and the buttons here lead straight to those studios' official sites.

No. Eight separate studios mean eight separate sign-ups.

Kapilands, Sim Companies, Throne, Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming, Planetarion and My Free Zoo all carry on without you. Hockey Arena and Sokker play to a fixed schedule, so set the line-up beforehand.

My Free Zoo if you would rather build than fight, Hockey Arena if ten minutes a day suits you, and Planetarion when a fresh round has just begun.

Yes. Throne has Orders, Game of Thrones and Planetarion run on alliances, Kapilands and Sim Companies share one player market, and both sports managers fill their leagues with human managers.