Back to Citronbay Harbour
When the midday heat stops the picking

Eight games in the grove hut
for the hottest hour on the terraces

Around noon the stone steps get too hot even for a donkey, so Scalino sets his lemon basket down, hangs his straw hat on a nail and ducks into the whitewashed hut at the top of the groves. An old laptop on a lemon crate there keeps eight free browser games: a garden of planting beds, two farms, a medieval village of wood and clay, three kingdoms fighting over a map and a gothic feud between vampires and werewolves. Each opens in a plain tab while the cicadas drone outside.

8games kept in the grove hut
4also offer an optional phone app
3are all about growing things
Molehill Empire 2 key art
Scalino's noon favourite

Molehill Empire 2

Garden plot grown bed by bed · Farm, town & zoo

Scalino spends his mornings among lemon terraces, so naturally his favourite indoor game is a garden. Planting beds are sown and watered, every crop is picked on time to fill orders, and new crops and decorations unlock as the plot grows. Other gardeners trade with you, and a tidy patch slowly sprawls into a big one, much as the groves crept up the cliff.

Good for
Anyone who likes little and often: water, pick, fill an order, done.
Typical session
Several quick watering rounds a day
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Water the first beds before sowing more.
  2. Fill the easiest orders first to grow the plot.
  3. Swap spare crops with other gardeners.
Play Molehill Empire 2 freeOpens molehillempire2.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more on the crate beside the picking baskets

Farmerama key artFarm, town & zoo

Farmerama

Bright, cheerful farm of fields and animals

A bright, cheerful farm of fields to plant and harvest, animals to raise and corners to decorate, with seasonal events coming round through the year. Scalino opens it when he fancies farm work that never leaves dust on his hooves.

  • A few short visits to plant and harvest
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Players after an easygoing, colourful farm.

Your first session
  1. Sow the fastest crops first.
  2. Add a few animals once the fields are going.
  3. Look in on each seasonal event.
Play Farmerama freeOpens farmerama.com
My Free Farm key artFarm, town & zoo

My Free Farm

Plain farm hiding a deep economy

A long-running farm of fields to sow, animals to raise and harvests to sell. Its plain look hides a deep economy that rewards careful planning of every planting cycle, rather like timing the lemon picking so no crate goes to market half full.

  • Planning visits between harvests
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Planners who care more about the numbers than the paintwork.

Your first session
  1. Learn how long each crop takes to grow.
  2. Sell a harvest when the price suits you.
  3. Plan your sowing a few days ahead.
Play My Free Farm freeOpens myfreefarm.com
KingsAge key artStrategy & war

KingsAge

Medieval village grown on timber, clay and iron

A medieval village grows on wood, clay and iron here. Spearmen, swordsmen and cavalry train at home, scouts look over every target before a single soldier sets out, and noblemen take whole neighbouring villages outright, so the realm spreads like houses stacking up a cliff.

  • Quick looks to queue buildings, longer sittings to plan an attack
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Anyone fond of the old village-annexing style of strategy.

Your first session
  1. Keep timber, clay and iron coming in before you train troops.
  2. Send scouts ahead of every army.
  3. Save for noblemen once home is secure.
Play KingsAge freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/kingsage
Vikings: War of Clans key artStrategy & war

Vikings: War of Clans

Norse clan war around a stronghold

A Norse stronghold to raise, a Jarl who grows stronger through a skill tree and marches sent out to gather from tiles or raid rivals. Whole clans scrap over the Place of Power, whose bonuses reach every corner of the kingdom, on a far colder sea than the one below the terraces.

  • Daily check-ins with a clan
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Players who want to settle into one clan for the long haul.

Your first session
  1. Find a clan in your first days.
  2. Plan where the Jarl skill points go.
  3. Gather from tiles before you think about raids.
Play Vikings: War of Clans freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/vikings-war-of-clans
Throne: Kingdom at War key artStrategy & war

Throne: Kingdom at War

Medieval kingdom of orders and timed sieges

Production buildings and troop training at home, marches against rival Lords abroad. Join an Order, craft hero gear from gathered resources and turn up on time for the sieges that decide who sits on the throne.

  • Regular visits, plus siege evenings with your Order
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Strategists who enjoy turning up on cue for an organised siege.

Your first session
  1. Get production buildings running first.
  2. Look for an Order that is active.
  3. Turn gathered resources into hero gear.
Play Throne: Kingdom at War freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/throne-kingdom-at-war
Total Battle key artStrategy & war

Total Battle

Tactical empire on a living shared map

City development and army command share one living map with other players. It suits strategists who like competition stacked in layers, where a well-built city and a well-led army count for as much as each other, like a sturdy harbour wall and a well-trimmed boat.

  • Looks in at breakfast, noon and supper
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Strategists with a competitive streak.

Your first session
  1. Grow the city before marching far from it.
  2. Work out which troops beat which.
  3. Keep an eye on the map around your borders.
Play Total Battle freeOpens totalbattle.com
BiteFight key artRole-play & adventure

BiteFight

Night feud between fang and fur

The dark corner of the lemon crate: choose vampires or werewolves in their standing feud, go out on timed hunts to build power, duel players from the other camp and work up a ladder with no reset date. Scalino only plays it with the shutters wide and the afternoon light pouring in.

  • Quick hunts between other jobs
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits on the bay, and how to begin

Good for: Players wanting a shadowy role-playing game with simple rules.

Your first session
  1. Choose your side carefully.
  2. Use hunts to build up power.
  3. Pick opponents close to your own strength.
Play BiteFight freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/bitefight

All eight side by side on the lemon crate

Game on Scalino’s listKind of game, in a lemon’s breadthPace, as Scalino times itWho climbs with youOne sitting in the grove hutWhere it runs, hut or pocket
Molehill Empire 2Garden plot grown bed by bedGentle, with harvests on a timerFellow gardeners to swap crops withSeveral quick watering rounds a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
FarmeramaBright, cheerful farm of fields and animalsRelaxed, field by fieldNeighbouring farmers on the same serverA few short visits to plant and harvestDesktop browser
My Free FarmPlain farm hiding a deep economySteady, ruled by planting cyclesOther farmers in the same marketPlanning visits between harvestsDesktop browser
KingsAgeMedieval village grown on timber, clay and ironSteady, one village at a timeNeighbouring realms on one mapQuick looks to queue buildings, longer sittings to plan an attackDesktop browser
Vikings: War of ClansNorse clan war around a strongholdLong, clan-driven campaignsClans fighting for one kingdomDaily check-ins with a clanDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Throne: Kingdom at WarMedieval kingdom of orders and timed siegesOrganised, built around siege timesOrders of Lords working togetherRegular visits, plus siege evenings with your OrderDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Total BattleTactical empire on a living shared mapLayered, city and army togetherA shared map full of rival empiresLooks in at breakfast, noon and supperDesktop browser; mobile app also available
BiteFightNight feud between fang and furShort timed hunts, quick duelsRival players on a persistent ladderQuick hunts between other jobsDesktop browser

Price for all 8, as Scalino found it: free to play, with optional in-game purchases.

01

Free from the bottom step

Scalino has not spent a cent on the eight, yet months of play are waiting in the free versions: the beds, fields, villages, clans, orders, empires and hunts are all there without paying.

Each studio also runs its own shop selling premium currency, shortcuts on timers and cosmetic bits. Many long-standing players never buy from it; on a computer shared at home, check each studio account for a way to lock spending.

02

Your first noon in the grove hut

Each button below leads to that game's official home, which pops up in a second tab next to the bay. Sign up over there and your garden, farm, village, stronghold, kingdom, empire or hunter appears a minute later.

Almost all of them begin with a brief tutorial. Sit through every screen of it; the menus click into place much faster than they would by poking around on your own.

03

Worlds that keep turning while the lid is shut

Closing the laptop does not pause any of the eight. Crops ripen, orders wait, troops train, marches arrive and sieges are fought while the hut is empty.

A look before the morning picking and another once the evening boats are in is usually plenty. The garden and the farms reward regular visits; the kingdoms reward knowing when your clan or Order needs you.

04

Keep your sign-ins as tidy as a lemon crate

Enter each studio's login only on that studio's real web address, and never let two games share one password. If a studio can text a code to your phone at login, turn that on.

Nobody who truly works for a studio asks you for a password. Anyone dangling free premium currency in return for it is after the account, so let them drift past like the sea breeze through the pergola.

How eight games earned a place on the lemon crate

  • A browser tab on the hut laptop is all each one needs, so the noon break begins the moment Scalino lifts the lid.
  • Joining costs nothing anywhere on the crate, and a player who never touches a studio shop still reaches the core of every game.
  • The mix runs from planting beds and two farms to a medieval village, Norse clans, a besieged throne, a tactical empire and a night feud of fangs and claws.
  • Living players fill each world, so clans, orders, trading gardeners and rival hunters are never short of company.

No. All eight load in a plain tab of a desktop browser, nothing more. Molehill Empire 2, Vikings: War of Clans, Throne: Kingdom at War and Total Battle also have an optional phone app; KingsAge, Farmerama, BiteFight and My Free Farm are played in a browser on a computer.

No. Signing up is free for every game on the crate, and the core of each can be played without spending; any extras are up to you.

No. He just keeps the bookmarks tidy. Independent studios make and run all eight; every button here just walks you over to that game's official site.

No. Several separate studios are behind them, so each game you try wants its own registration on its own site.

Molehill Empire 2 and Farmerama are the gentlest of the eight. KingsAge is a friendly way into strategy, while Vikings: War of Clans, Throne: Kingdom at War and Total Battle reward players who enjoy working with a clan or an Order.

Yes. Crops grow, troops train, marches land and hunts finish while the laptop is shut, so look in at sensible times.

Yes. Molehill Empire 2 has gardeners trading with one another, the strategy titles put everyone on shared maps, and BiteFight pits you against rivals on its ladder.