Back to Almanac Hollow
Abner's wet-weather shelf

Eight free games in your browser
for days the almanac promises rain

When the almanac calls for a soaking and the hay is safe in the loft, Abner hangs his slicker on the porch hook and opens his laptop. His eight free picks wander from a medieval village and a park of hatched dinosaurs to a market economy, two sports clubs, a frontier town and a Norse kingdom. None of the eight wants an installer, and not one asks for a cent at the door.

8games on this page
5genres on the shelf
0installers needed
My Little Farmies key art
Abner's porch-step pick

My Little Farmies

Peaceful medieval village sim · Farm, town & zoo

Abner's choice for a soaked Saturday, because it is the closest any of them comes to life in the hollow. You till a medieval village's fields, staff its sheds and mills, and work each raw harvest up the chain into goods your villagers ask for. Nobody marches on your gates; the settlement widens only as quickly as your production can keep up.

Good for
Anyone who prefers a crafting bench to a battlefield.
Typical session
About fifteen minutes before supper
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Sow something on the very first day so the mills have grain to grind.
  2. Add buildings in the order the chain of goods calls for.
  3. Hold back a little surplus for whatever the villagers request next.
Play My Little Farmies freeOpens mylittlefarmies.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more while the rain barrel overflows

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo key artFarm, town & zoo

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo

Fossil-hatching park builder

Fossils go in, dinosaurs come out. You incubate prehistoric species from dig finds, fence each one into an enclosure shaped for its habits and keep the paths tidy for the crowds who wander through. Research is the long thread here, adding new species one discovery at a time.

  • Twenty minutes, give or take
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Zoo-sim fans who like their animals with a few more teeth.

Your first session
  1. Incubate a fossil right away so the park opens with a resident.
  2. Shape every enclosure around the animal that will live in it.
  3. Point the first research at whichever species you want next.
Visit Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo, no chargeOpens dinosaurparkprimevalzoo.upjers.com/en
Virtonomics key artBusiness & tycoon

Virtonomics

Economy and supply-chain sim

A whole economy wearing a spreadsheet's clothes: mines feed factories, factories feed shop chains, and farms sit somewhere in between. Every player's orders are settled together once each day, so the game pays off careful planning rather than quick fingers, and the buyers and rivals in each market are other people.

  • A short planning visit each day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Patient planners who like their business games thoughtful.

Your first session
  1. Build a single supply chain end to end before branching out.
  2. Lock in decisions ahead of the daily settlement, then review the results.
  3. Study what competitors are selling before choosing your market.
Play Virtonomics freeOpens virtonomics.com
PowerPlay Manager key artSport & management

PowerPlay Manager

Several-sport club manager

Hockey, football, handball and basketball clubs, all run from one login. You pick line-ups and settle tactics to face managers who are real people, write a training plan for every player and keep improving the arena as each season rolls into the next.

  • Ten to twenty minutes on most days
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Coaches who cannot choose just one sport.

Your first session
  1. Begin with the sport whose rules you know best.
  2. Write a training plan that fits each player and position.
  3. Put early money into facilities the whole roster benefits from.
Play PowerPlay Manager freeOpens ppm.powerplaymanager.com/en
ManagerZone key artSport & management

ManagerZone

Long-running sports manager

A sports manager with a long memory, among the earliest of its kind on the web. Balance the club's books, draft young talent and plan training, then grow the stadium with shops and clinics, rewatch matches to read an opponent and take part in federation votes.

  • Roughly twenty minutes
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Managers who enjoy layered systems and a seasoned community.

Your first session
  1. Get to know the club finances before making any signings.
  2. Replay your next opponent's last match before kick-off.
  3. Sign up with a federation to learn from long-time managers.
Play ManagerZone freeOpens managerzone.com
The West key artRole-play & adventure

The West

Frontier character RPG

Saddle up on the frontier and grow a character the patient way. Pick a class, take on jobs around the territory to earn skill points, dress your cowboy in better kit, and enlist in a fort whose members battle other forts for land.

  • A handful of short rides each day
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Role-players happy to grow one hero over many months.

Your first session
  1. Compare the classes before you commit to one.
  2. Favour jobs that raise the skills your class leans on.
  3. Enlist in a fort when your cowboy can hold a position.
Play The West freeOpens the-west.net
Tanoth key artRole-play & adventure

Tanoth

Timed-quest fantasy RPG

Pin a quest from the board, go about your day and come back when the clock says the adventure is done. Levels bring attribute points, ruin crawls turn up legendary equipment, duels decide your rank, and guild mates gather for boss battles.

  • A peek at breakfast, lunch and bedtime
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Anyone after a light daily dose of fantasy adventure.

Your first session
  1. Choose quests that finish about when you next look in.
  2. Place attribute points to match the hero you have in mind.
  3. Find a guild before the first boss appears.
Play Tanoth freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/tanoth
Vikings: War of Clans key artStrategy & war

Vikings: War of Clans

Norse stronghold strategy

Norse longhouses, a Jarl to train and a kingdom split between clans. You expand the stronghold, spend points along the Jarl's skill tree and dispatch marches to harvest map tiles or hit rival holdings, while whole clans contest the Place of Power for its realm-wide bonuses.

  • Quick visits between chores, several a day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it is for & how the first day goes

Good for: Players who want a clan to fight beside for the long haul.

Your first session
  1. Strengthen the stronghold before sending marches far afield.
  2. Settle on one branch of the Jarl tree and follow it through.
  3. Find an active clan early for cover and good advice.
Visit Vikings: War of Clans, no chargeOpens plarium.com/en/game/vikings-war-of-clans

All eight in one row, like preserves along the pantry shelf

Game in Abner’s margin notesSort of game, by Abner’s reckoningHow brisk it runsCompany at the table, or notOne sitting, roughly timedScreens and devices it runs on
My Little FarmiesPeaceful medieval village simSlow, by the seasonsFellow villagers building alongside youAbout fifteen minutes before supperDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Dinosaur Park: Primeval ZooFossil-hatching park builderEasygoing, steadily expandingCrowds of visitors touring your parkTwenty minutes, give or takeDesktop browser; mobile app also available
VirtonomicsEconomy and supply-chain simOne settlement each dayRival companies run by real peopleA short planning visit each dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
PowerPlay ManagerSeveral-sport club managerMatch by match through a seasonLeagues run by real human managersTen to twenty minutes on most daysDesktop browser
ManagerZoneLong-running sports managerUnhurried and detail-heavyFederations and a loyal veteran crowdRoughly twenty minutesDesktop browser
The WestFrontier character RPGPatient, built around your characterForts that battle as a groupA handful of short rides each dayDesktop browser
TanothTimed-quest fantasy RPGLaid-back, quests on a timerGuild raids and duel rankingsA peek at breakfast, lunch and bedtimeDesktop browser
Vikings: War of ClansNorse stronghold strategyA campaign that runs for monthsClans contesting a shared kingdomQuick visits between chores, several a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available

Price of all 8: free to play, though in-game purchases are offered.

01

Free from the first field to the last

Each title on the shelf opens free and stays playable for months without spending; villages, dinosaurs, clubs, quests and clan wars are all part of the no-cost game.

The studios earn their keep from optional add-ons such as special currencies, cosmetic trimmings and timer skips. Lots of players ignore the store completely, and a household sharing one computer can usually turn purchases off through the account settings on the studio site.

02

The first wet morning

Each button here takes you to the official website of its game in a fresh tab. Most will want a quick registration before your village, park, club or hero shows up.

Almost all of them open with a short tutorial. See it through, since a ten-minute walkthrough explains menus and materials better than an hour of guesswork.

03

Games that grow while you muck out the barn

My Little Farmies, Dinosaur Park, Tanoth and The West keep going without you: crops ripen, eggs hatch, quests and jobs wrap up by themselves. One look before the morning chores and another after supper usually covers it.

Virtonomics, PowerPlay Manager and ManagerZone run on their own rhythm of daily updates and fixtures, so plan around those dates. Vikings: War of Clans prefers a few quick visits spread through the day to keep marches on the move.

04

Keep your logins as dry as the almanac

Each studio keeps its own sign-in, so only type your login where the address bar shows that studio's own domain. Never reuse one password across two games, and accept the extra verification code whenever a studio puts one on the table.

No real helpdesk will ever want your password. Messages offering bonus treasure in trade for a login are bait for a hijacked account, so delete them unanswered.

How a game earns a spot on Abner's rainy shelf

  • Each opens in an everyday desktop browser tab, so a drizzly morning starts with one click instead of a download bar.
  • Joining costs nothing, and the full main game stays open to anyone who leaves the in-game store alone.
  • A few suit a glance between chores and a few suit a whole evening of planning, so whatever the weather, one of them fits.
  • Every studio here still keeps its servers running, which means real neighbours, rivals and teammates on the other end.

Not a thing: a desktop browser handles all eight. On phones, My Little Farmies, Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo, Virtonomics and Vikings: War of Clans can also be played through their own optional mobile app, while PowerPlay Manager, ManagerZone, The West and Tanoth stay in the desktop browser.

Nothing to begin, and the main game of each is open without spending; any purchase is optional and up to you.

No. Outside studios design and operate all eight; each button on this shelf simply opens that studio's official site.

No. Separate studios run them, so every game needs its own registration.

My Little Farmies, Dinosaur Park, Tanoth and The West keep growing in your absence, and Virtonomics resolves everyone's moves in a single daily update.

Try My Little Farmies for quiet fields and mills, or Dinosaur Park if fencing enclosures appeals more than ploughing. Vikings: War of Clans is the most combative game on the shelf.

Yes. The West has forts, Tanoth has guilds, Vikings has clans, ManagerZone has federations, PowerPlay Manager has leagues of real managers, and Virtonomics has markets built by its players.