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Strategy in a single tab

Four games to keep in a tab
for foggy evenings indoors

Some evenings call for a slow plan rather than quick reactions. These four free-to-play strategy games all open in a browser tab and all reward a bit of patience: one raises a medieval castle, two drop you into a modern base that needs defending, and the last puts you in charge of a railway company. Signing up costs nothing in every case.

Goodgame Empire key art
01 · Castle-building strategy, medieval

Goodgame Empire

You begin with a modest wooden keep and grow it into a walled castle with farms, workshops, barracks and towers. Soldiers are trained, walls are manned, and the kingdom map around you fills with other players, so raids, events and alliance scraps keep every week ticking over.

Good for
Anyone who enjoys building defences as much as planning an attack.
Typical session
Two or three brief looks a day
Where it runs
Desktop browser, with a mobile app as well
Cost
Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Keep food and timber running ahead of your troop count, or the castle stalls.
  2. Put men on the walls early, because a bare castle is noticed within hours.
  3. Find a busy alliance quickly; members send defence and advice when you need it.
Open Goodgame Empire, freeOpens empire.goodgamestudios.com in a new tab
Base Attack Force key art
02 · Modern-warfare base strategy

Base Attack Force

You lay out a modern military base, dig in defences and roll out tanks, aircraft and infantry against other players in real time. Production lines, research and radar all matter, and clans trade intelligence about who is worth raiding and who is better left alone.

Good for
Players who like tinkering with base layouts and testing them in live raids.
Typical session
Five to fifteen minutes
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Put resource buildings behind your defences, never out on the edge.
  2. Scout a target before committing units; a blind attack usually loses them.
  3. Spend early research on production, then on armour, rather than spreading it thinly.
Open Base Attack Force, freeOpens baseattackforce.com in a new tab
Combat Siege key art
03 · Siege and base warfare

Combat Siege

A sister of the modern-warfare format, built around sieges: fortify a compound, mass artillery and armour, and crack open the defences of rival commanders. Rebuilding after a hit is part of the rhythm, and alliance members cover each other while repairs run.

Good for
Commanders who like a scrap and do not mind rebuilding afterwards.
Typical session
Ten minutes at a time
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Repair damaged defences before launching anything new of your own.
  2. Keep a reserve of units at home; an empty garrison invites a visit.
  3. Read the alliance chat, as it is where the useful warnings turn up first.
Open Combat Siege, freeOpens combatsiege.com in a new tab
Rail Nation key art
04 · Railway company strategy

Rail Nation

You start with one station and a slow engine, then grow a railway that hauls goods between cities as the eras roll forward from steam to diesel. Routes, timetables and city investment all count, and associations pool their effort to take the top honours of each era.

Good for
Planners who enjoy routes, cargo and a long patient climb.
Typical session
A handful of short check-ins daily
Where it runs
Desktop browser, with a mobile app as well
Cost
Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Work through the opening tasks, which teach cargo and upgrades in a sensible order.
  2. Join an association in your first era; shared goals pay far better than going alone.
  3. Upgrade a handful of good routes instead of scattering engines across the map.
Open Rail Nation, freeOpens rail-nation.com in a new tab

The four lined up for comparison

Goodgame EmpireBase Attack ForceCombat SiegeRail Nation
GenreCastle-building strategy, medievalModern-warfare base strategySiege and base warfareRailway company strategy
PaceSteady real timeReal time, quick turnaroundsReal timeSlow, era by era
Company along the wayAlliances across a shared kingdomClans and co-ordinated raidsAlliances pulling on one ropeAssociations working on shared goals
Typical sessionTwo or three brief looks a dayFive to fifteen minutesTen minutes at a timeA handful of short check-ins daily
Where it runsDesktop browser, with a mobile app as wellDesktop browserDesktop browserDesktop browser, with a mobile app as well
CostNothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.Nothing to pay to play; the in-game shop is optional.

What free to play amounts to

All four open without payment and stay playable for a long stretch without any spending at all; nothing essential sits behind a paywall.

A shop does sit inside each game, stocked with premium currency, ornaments and ways to skip a timer. Plenty of players leave it shut, and where a computer is shared with younger members of the household it is worth capping what the studio account can spend.

Getting under way on the first evening

Press the link under any of the four and the studio's own site opens in a fresh tab. You register there, usually with an email address, and your first castle, base or station is ready within a minute or two.

Each game opens with a guided tutorial. Work through it on your first visit, because it introduces resources, building and co-operation in an order that makes later sessions much quicker.

Fitting a game around the week

These worlds keep running while you are elsewhere. Buildings finish, units train and freight moves with the tab shut, so a look in the morning and another after supper keeps everything on course.

Short visits are for the chores: collect what is finished, queue the next jobs and answer your alliance. Save the longer evenings for the decisions that matter, such as a new front, a redesigned base or a push into the next era.

Looking after your logins

Every account belongs to the studio that made the game, so type your password only on that studio's own pages. Give each game a different password and switch on two-factor security wherever it is offered.

Real support staff never ask for a password in chat or by email. Treat any offer of free premium currency in exchange for your details as a try at taking the account.

What earned these four a place here

  • Each one loads in an ordinary computer browser, with no launcher and no install.
  • Signing up is free and the games stay playable without spending; the in-game shop is there only if you want it.
  • Progress carries on after you close the tab, so a five-minute look still moves things along.
  • All four have run for years with settled communities and studios that keep shipping updates.

Nothing whatsoever. Each of the four opens inside an ordinary computer browser as it is.

Yes. Registering and playing cost nothing, and every in-game shop is optional.

Not one of them. Outside studios build and run these titles, and our links only open their own sites for you to register on.

No. Each game keeps its own sign-up, so that is four registrations in all.

Yes. All four suit ordinary laptop screens, though a mouse beats a trackpad for the building ones.

Rail Nation, since nobody can attack your trains. Goodgame Empire sits in the middle, while the two base-warfare games are the rowdiest.

Timers, training and freight carry on without you, so a morning and evening visit is plenty to keep pace.