Back to Slate Valley Steam
From the waiting-room timetable

Eight browser games to while away
the wait for the last train up the valley

When cloud settles on the mountain and the narrow-gauge engine has gone back to the shed, Ifor keeps a timetable of games that need nothing more than a browser tab. Eight are chalked up below, from a long war across 1914 Europe and a garden full of moles to a galaxy carved up by guilds and a pair of shooters that are over before the kettle boils. Every one is free to join.

8games on the timetable
0installers to wait for
Freeto join, all eight
Supremacy 1914 key art
The stationmaster's choice

Supremacy 1914

Grand strategy across 1914 Europe · Strategy & war

You take charge of one nation as Europe tips into 1914, on a map that moves in real time. Keep factories and farms supplied, raise armies and send them along the lines, and bargain with the players on your borders. Orders take hours to unfold, so a single match runs for days of careful moves, broken pacts and shifting alliances.

Good for
History lovers who enjoy the talking as much as the fighting.
Typical session
A few minutes, a handful of times a day
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to board; in-game purchases are optional extras.
Your first session
  1. Secure food and goods production before you build a large army.
  2. Write to the nations next door straight away; one early pact can guard a whole frontier.
  3. Set your orders before logging off, since troops keep moving while you are away.
Play Supremacy 1914 freeOpens supremacy1914.com in a new tab

Seven more on the departures board

Heroes of History key artStrategy & war

Heroes of History

Empire building with heroes

Raise a city and carry it forward era by era while recruiting famous figures from the past to lead your squads. Laying out districts and pushing research sit beside tactical battles on a grid, where the heroes you pick and where you place them decide the day.

  • Several brief calls a day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Builders who want a fighting side alongside the town planning.

Your first session
  1. Finish the opening campaign battles; they show how squads and hero skills fit together.
  2. Keep production buildings busy before spending on decoration.
  3. Level a small core of heroes properly rather than spreading upgrades thinly.
Play Heroes of History freeOpens heroesgame.com
Vikings: War of Clans key artStrategy & war

Vikings: War of Clans

Norse clan strategy

A Viking stronghold grows from a timber hall into a fortress while your Jarl climbs a skill tree. Marches head out to gather from the map or strike rival strongholds, and clans fight over a central seat of power whose bonuses reach the whole kingdom.

  • Quick look-ins between chores
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who want a long clan feud to belong to.

Your first session
  1. Sign up with a lively clan in week one, since members can hurry along each other's building.
  2. Upgrade storage and defences before you start raiding.
  3. Shape the Jarl skill tree around either building or fighting, not both.
Play Vikings: War of Clans freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/vikings-war-of-clans
Elvenar key artFarm, town & zoo

Elvenar

Fantasy city-builder

An elegant fantasy city grows street by street as you choose a faction, research magic and technology, and trade goods with the players around you. It is a gentle builder that rewards a tidy plan, with a wide and handsome world to explore at your own pace.

  • Short visits, now and then
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Anyone after a calm, good-looking city to tend.

Your first session
  1. Pick the faction whose look you like best; you will be staring at it for months.
  2. Leave room for roads before the town fills up.
  3. Trade spare goods with neighbours instead of waiting for them.
Play Elvenar freeOpens en.elvenar.com
Molehill Empire 2 key artFarm, town & zoo

Molehill Empire 2

Gardening sim

A small garden plot turns into a sprawling one as you plant beds, water them and harvest on time to fill orders. New crops and decorations unlock as you go, and you can trade produce with other gardeners, much like swapping over an allotment fence.

  • A few minutes, often
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who like short, frequent spells of tending.

Your first session
  1. Plant quick crops first so the beds keep turning over.
  2. Water everything before you log off.
  3. Keep an eye on orders and grow towards them.
Play Molehill Empire 2 freeOpens molehillempire2.upjers.com/en
Astro Empires key artSpace & sci-fi

Astro Empires

Galactic strategy

Bases spread across planets and moons on one shared map of the galaxy. You grow an empire world by world, build fleets and fight other players, usually alongside a guild that plans its wars together. A slow, patient game for anyone who likes a big map to carve up.

  • Short checks across the day
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who want a huge shared map and a guild to plan with.

Your first session
  1. Build up your home base before you claim a second world.
  2. Look for a friendly guild in your first week.
  3. Scout before you send a fleet anywhere.
Play Astro Empires freeOpens astroempires.com
TankTrouble key artAction & arcade

TankTrouble

Top-down tank arena

Little tanks roam a tight maze and every shell bounces off the walls, so a careless angle can come straight back at you. Duel friends on the same keyboard or take on opponents online, earning ranks and cosmetic parts for your garage.

  • 5 to 15 minutes
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Anyone after a quick, laugh-out-loud duel with a friend.

Your first session
  1. Practise bank shots off a single wall before longer ricochets.
  2. Keep moving; a still tank is the easiest target.
  3. Try a same-keyboard match with a friend to learn the controls.
Play TankTrouble freeOpens tanktrouble.com
Warmerise: Red vs Blue key artAction & arcade

Warmerise: Red vs Blue

Sci-fi shooter

A futuristic red-against-blue shooter you can join without registering, so you are in the fight within seconds. A free account unlocks and upgrades weapons as your kill count climbs, and vehicles add a little variety to the battlefield.

  • 10 to 20 minutes
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who want to be shooting almost at once.

Your first session
  1. Play a few matches before registering to see whether it suits you.
  2. Make a free account once you want to keep weapon progress.
  3. Stick close to teammates rather than charging alone.
Play Warmerise: Red vs Blue freeOpens warmerise.com

All eight side by side, like a printed timetable

GameGenrePacePlaying with othersTypical sessionWhere it runs
Supremacy 1914Grand strategy across 1914 EuropeSlow, played over daysTalks and treaties with rival nationsA few minutes, a handful of times a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Heroes of HistoryEmpire building with heroesSteady real timeAlliances made with other playersSeveral brief calls a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Vikings: War of ClansNorse clan strategyReal time with long marchesClans and kingdom eventsQuick look-ins between choresDesktop browser; mobile app also available
ElvenarFantasy city-builderCalm, timer-basedTrading with neighboursShort visits, now and thenDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Molehill Empire 2Gardening simRelaxed, timer-basedSwapping produce with other playersA few minutes, oftenDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Astro EmpiresGalactic strategySlow real timeGuilds that plan wars togetherShort checks across the dayDesktop browser
TankTroubleTank duels seen from aboveFast roundsFriends on one keyboard or online5 to 15 minutesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Warmerise: Red vs BlueSci-fi shooterFast matchesOnline team matches10 to 20 minutesDesktop browser

Cost, all 8: Free to board; in-game purchases are optional extras.

01

What free to play means on this board

Every one of the eight can be played for a whole season without spending; building, battling, gardening and planning are all there from the start.

Each studio also runs an optional shop, from premium currency to cosmetics and timers that finish sooner. Plenty of players never open it, and on a shared family computer the studio account settings can limit or switch off spending.

02

Boarding on the first evening

The button under each title opens the studio's own page in a new tab. Most ask for an email and a password, and your nation, garden or fleet is ready within a minute or two; Warmerise even lets you join a match before registering.

A short tutorial meets every newcomer. See it through on day one, because it brings in resources, menus and the team side one stop at a time.

03

Fitting play round the working week

The strategy and building picks carry on while you are away: crops ripen, marches arrive and armies keep moving. One look over breakfast and one after supper keeps you level with rivals.

Use quick visits for chores like collecting and queuing new work. Save the longer sittings for big decisions, such as a new era or a guild war, and keep the two shooters for a short break.

04

Keeping your login out of strangers' hands

Your login belongs to the studio, so only type it on the studio's own website. Give each game its own password, plus any two-step login the studio offers.

No genuine help desk ever needs your password. Anyone offering free premium currency in exchange for your login wants the account itself; ignore and report them.

Why these eight earned a place on the board

  • Each one opens in an ordinary computer browser, so there is no installer to sit through while the stove warms up.
  • Nobody is left on the platform for keeping their wallet shut: the full game is there from the first evening and the shops are optional.
  • The slow strategy picks keep ticking while the tab is closed, and the two shooters fill a ten-minute gap, so short visits count.
  • All of them come from studios with a long record of updates and a busy crowd of other players.

No. Each game loads in a current desktop browser. Six of the eight also have an optional mobile app; Astro Empires and Warmerise are played in the browser only.

Yes. Accounts cost nothing and every game is fully playable without spending; any shop inside is optional.

No. Eight independent studios make and operate them; every button on this page just leads to the official site of the studio concerned.

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

In the strategy and building games, construction, crops and marches carry on without you. TankTrouble and Warmerise only run while you play.

Warmerise, which lets you join a match without registering, or TankTrouble, with rounds of a few minutes. For something slower, try Elvenar or Molehill Empire 2.

Yes. Supremacy 1914 pits you against other nations, Heroes of History has alliances, Vikings: War of Clans has clans, Astro Empires has guilds, Elvenar and Molehill Empire 2 let you trade, and TankTrouble works on one keyboard or online.