Back up the cobbles to Wunderkammer Lane
Catalogued after closing time

Eight odd treasures
from the curator's writing desk

When the last candle in the gallery is pinched out, Erasmus settles at his roll-top desk with an old laptop and a cup of tea. His drawer of eight bookmarks is as mixed as any cabinet: a stick-figure comedy, island trade in the Mediterranean, empires marching through the ages, vampires against werewolves, a mole-dug garden, a galaxy, a Stone Age camp and a football club. Every drawer opens straight into a browser tab, and starting any of them is free.

8games on this page
0downloads needed
3with an optional phone app
Kingdom of Loathing key art
The curator's star exhibit

Kingdom of Loathing

Stick-figure role-player full of jokes · Quests & characters

A cult comedy adventure sketched in stick figures, and the closest the internet comes to a cabinet of curiosities. Six joke classes await, Seal Clubber and Accordion Thief among them; battles go turn by turn and the item list runs into the thousands, each odder than the last. Under the jokes sit deep systems that players have studied for years, which is exactly why Erasmus keeps going back.

Good for
Players who would rather laugh than gawp at graphics.
Typical session
As long or short as you like
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Pick a class for its jokes as much as its skills.
  2. Read the item descriptions, because half the fun is in them.
  3. Use every one of the day’s turns before you close the tab.
Play Kingdom of Loathing freeOpens kingdomofloathing.com in a new tab

Seven more labelled and pinned in the drawer

Ikariam key artSieges & statecraft

Ikariam

Island-hopping trade empire

A strategy game set among ancient Mediterranean islands, where each island yields only one luxury good. That single rule pushes you into trade: you run cargo routes between your towns, research new ideas and, when talks fail, lay siege to rival ports.

  • Brief look-ins dotted across the day
  • Desktop browser
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Players who enjoy an economy that steers the fighting.

Your first session
  1. Discover the one luxury good your island turns out.
  2. Set up a second town early to open a trade route.
  3. Keep your harbour defended before sending ships away.
Play Ikariam freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/ikariam
Heroes of History key artSieges & statecraft

Heroes of History

Empire builder with named heroes

Here one civilisation marches from age to age, and named heroes take command of its troops. Streets and districts are yours to plan, research nudges the next era closer, and in battle the moment you fire each hero's ability can swing the result.

  • 15 to 30 minutes
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Builders who want a city with a fighting edge.

Your first session
  1. Plan roads and space before the city fills up.
  2. Keep research moving so the next age is never far off.
  3. Learn each hero's ability before leaning on it in battle.
Play Heroes of History freeOpens heroesgame.com
BiteFight key artQuests & characters

BiteFight

Gothic vampire and werewolf feud

Gothic horror in a browser tab: you join one side of an endless war between vampires and werewolves. Your character sets out on timed hunts to grow stronger, picks fights with players from the other camp and climbs a ranking ladder that never resets.

  • Three or four brisk visits daily
  • Desktop browser
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Night owls who like a darker, simpler adventure.

Your first session
  1. Choose your side with care; the feud shapes everything.
  2. Match hunts to the time before your next visit.
  3. Build strength before challenging other players.
Play BiteFight freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/bitefight
Molehill Empire 2 key artAllotments, towns & menageries

Molehill Empire 2

Allotment gardening sim

A gardening game about beds, watering cans and good timing: harvest each crop when it is ready and fill the orders waiting on your bench. Fresh seeds and garden ornaments unlock along the way, neighbours swap produce with you, and a pocket-sized patch grows into a rambling estate.

  • Five to ten minutes, several times a day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Players fond of short, regular stints with the watering can.

Your first session
  1. Sow seeds that will be ripe by the time you look in again.
  2. Water every bed you plant.
  3. Fill easy orders first to build up your stock.
Play Molehill Empire 2 freeOpens molehillempire2.upjers.com/en
DarkOrbit key artOrbit & starships

DarkOrbit

Veteran space MMO

A long-running space MMO where you fly one ship through a galaxy shared with other pilots. You mine, fight and fit upgrades between sectors, and in time you sign up with a company that joins in large-scale battles across the star map.

  • Thirty minutes or more at a sitting
  • Desktop browser
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Pilots after a crowded galaxy and a squadron of friends.

Your first session
  1. Mine and trade in safe sectors first.
  2. Put early upgrades into your own ship.
  3. Sign up with a busy company after a few calm sorties.
Play DarkOrbit freeOpens darkorbit.com
Stonies key artAllotments, towns & menageries

Stonies

A Stone Age clan’s camp, built up

Flint, firewood and first ideas: your Stone Age clan forages, makes tools and studies the world around it, and the camp spreads outward with each new discovery. Daily survival jobs and one early invention after another keep the clan moving forward.

  • 15 to 20 minutes
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Builders who like a survival flavour in their sim.

Your first session
  1. Give every member of the tribe a task.
  2. Keep food and materials topped up before you research.
  3. Widen the camp only when the tribe can keep up.
Play Stonies freeOpens stonies-game.upjers.com/en
Sokker key artPitch-side & boardroom

Sokker

Running a football club from the dugout

A football manager built around a youth academy and matches shown in full 3D. You shape tactics in a dedicated editor, invest in the ground and follow two league fixtures a week, with international competition on top.

  • Quick look-ins, longer whenever a match is played
  • Desktop browser
Whom it suits & a first evening with it

Good for: Managers happiest growing a squad from raw youngsters.

Your first session
  1. Look through your youth academy straight away.
  2. Set up a simple tactic before tinkering.
  3. Spend on the ground slowly in your first season.
Play Sokker freeOpens sokker.org/en

The whole drawer laid out on one catalogue card

CurioIts drawer in the catalogueHow fast it goesWho else is in the roomA usual stayWhere Erasmus plays it
Kingdom of LoathingStick-figure role-player full of jokesUnhurried, turn by turnA long-running community of devoted playersAs long or short as you likeDesktop browser
IkariamIsland-hopping trade empireSlow and economicTrade partners and rival portsBrief look-ins dotted across the dayDesktop browser
Heroes of HistoryEmpire builder with named heroesSteady building, timed battlesAlongside fellow builders of empires15 to 30 minutesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
BiteFightGothic vampire and werewolf feudHunts that run on a timerDuels and a standing ladderThree or four brisk visits dailyDesktop browser
Molehill Empire 2Allotment gardening simUnhurried, in short little spellsProduce swapped over the garden fenceFive to ten minutes, several times a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
DarkOrbitVeteran space MMOCalm mining, sudden dogfightsCompanies that fight in big battlesThirty minutes or more at a sittingDesktop browser
StoniesA Stone Age clan’s camp, built upPatient, chore by choreYour own tribe at your own pace15 to 20 minutesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
SokkerRunning a football club from the dugoutLeague fixtures twice a weekLeagues of rival managersQuick look-ins, longer whenever a match is playedDesktop browser

Cost of all eight: nothing to play, though each has optional in-game purchases.

01

Free from the first label to the last

Erasmus has not spent a penny on the eight, and the free versions hold months of quests, harvests, fixtures and sieges.

Every studio keeps a shop of optional extras: premium currency, cosmetic outfits, timer skips. He walks past them all, and on a family computer most studios let you lock spending away in the account options.

02

Opening night with a new drawer

Our buttons send you to each official home page in a fresh tab, where a brief sign-up usually comes first. Then your hero, garden, clan or club is ready.

Nearly all of them start with a tutorial. Erasmus treats it like a museum label: read it to the end before improvising.

03

Which ones tick on while you sleep

Molehill Empire 2, Stonies, Ikariam and BiteFight keep going without you: beds ripen, chores finish, ships sail and hunts come home. A look while the kettle boils and another before bed is usually plenty.

Kingdom of Loathing hands out a daily ration of turns instead, and Sokker runs to its fixture list. Heroes of History and DarkOrbit reward a longer sitting when you have one.

04

Keep your logins in a locked case

Logins belong to each studio separately, so only ever enter yours on the genuine address of the game. Erasmus never reuses a password between titles and switches on two-factor login at every studio that has it.

Real support staff never request a password. Notes dangling free gems before you in return for a login are bait set for your account, and Erasmus drops such notes straight into the wastepaper basket.

How Erasmus chose what went in the drawer

  • Every pick loads in a desktop browser tab, which puts the first harvest, sea voyage or kick-off one click away.
  • Signing up is free, and a visitor who never touches the in-game shop still gets the full game underneath.
  • The drawer runs from a joke-packed stick-figure quest to patient island trade, so there is something for a lively night and something for a sleepy one.
  • Their studios still look after them, so the islands, leagues and star maps are full of living players.

No. Erasmus opens all eight in a plain desktop browser tab. Heroes of History, Molehill Empire 2 and Stonies also offer an optional phone app; Kingdom of Loathing, Ikariam, BiteFight, DarkOrbit and Sokker are desktop browser games.

No. Starting costs nothing in each case, and the main game never sits behind a paywall; anything extra is a choice.

No. He only wrote the labels. Outside studios create and maintain all eight, and our buttons just lead to their official pages.

No. Eight titles from different studios mean a fresh sign-up for each.

Molehill Empire 2 or BiteFight, both built for quick visits. Ikariam and Sokker reward regular check-ins over weeks.

Molehill Empire 2 or Stonies, both about tending rather than fighting. DarkOrbit and BiteFight are the most combative of the eight.

Yes. DarkOrbit has companies, Ikariam has rival ports, BiteFight has duels, Molehill Empire 2 lets gardeners trade and Sokker has leagues of rival managers.