Back to Cabertoss Glen
Chalked up by Struan

When the last caber falls,
eight free games on the tent pole

Once the heavy events are done and the pipers have packed away their drones, Struan pins eight free games to the noticeboard inside the judges' tent. They run from a countryside estate, a Stone Age camp and a zoo to a frontier land-grab, a feud of vampires and werewolves, dark-fantasy dungeons, scrap-built battle cars and a trading company among the stars. Crossout alone wants a free download for a Windows PC, or a PlayStation or Xbox, while the other seven run in a browser tab.

8games on the tent noticeboard
2with an official phone app too
Freeto join, all eight
Big Farm key art
The steward's own pick

Big Farm

Countryside estate · Farm, town & zoo

Of all eight, this is the one that looks most like the glen on an ordinary Tuesday. Big Farm is an easy-going farming sim: sow and harvest crops, raise animals and grow a few fields into a thriving countryside estate, with cooperative play for anybody who would like a neighbour lending a hand. Nothing hurries you, so the farm grows exactly as fast as you care to tend it.

Good for
Players who like calm, cheerful sims.
Length of a turn
A few minutes for a harvest round, an evening for redrawing the estate
Plays on which devices
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Plant quick crops first to learn the rhythm.
  2. Bring livestock in once the crops are paying for themselves.
  3. Team up with neighbours when you feel ready.
Play Big Farm freeOpens bigfarm.goodgamestudios.com in a new tab

Seven more pinned round the tent pole

Stonies key artFarm, town & zoo

Stonies

A settlement in the Stone Age

A camp at the very dawn of human history. In Stonies your tribe gathers food, crafts tools and works on research, and the camp spreads outwards as their knowledge grows. Day-to-day survival keeps everyone busy, while the long haul up the technology ladder gives the whole game its direction.

  • Short check-ins to hand out tasks
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to, and your opening moves

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

Your first session
  1. Give every member of the tribe a job.
  2. Keep food and materials coming in.
  3. Spend research where the camp is weakest.
Play Stonies freeOpens stonies-game.upjers.com/en
My Free Zoo key artFarm, town & zoo

My Free Zoo

Zoo building, the traditional kind

An old-school zoo builder with no rush in it. Mark out enclosures, settle animals into them and keep the paying public cheerful while the park creeps across the map. Breeding, feeding and decorating make up a long, easy progression, one new enclosure after another.

  • A quick feeding round, or a long session redesigning paths
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Best suited to, and your opening moves

Good for: Players who like a gentle, old-school zoo builder.

Your first session
  1. Start with a few hardy animals.
  2. Keep every enclosure fed and clean.
  3. Decorate once the visitors arrive.
Play My Free Zoo freeOpens myfreezoo.upjers.com/en
WildGuns key artStrategy & war

WildGuns

Wild West land-grab

Frontier strategy with three nations at odds, and each one brings different strengths to the dusty map. You put up a camp, haul in raw materials, build it bigger and then either trade with the camps nearby or ride out to raid them over land that several sides are claiming.

  • Regular short visits to keep the camp busy
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your opening moves

Good for: strategists who fancy dusty frontier towns and saloons.

Your first session
  1. Choose a nation whose strengths suit you.
  2. Get the raw materials flowing early.
  3. Decide who to trade with before anyone raids you.
Play WildGuns freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/wildguns
BiteFight key artRole-play & adventure

BiteFight

Role-play in a gothic horror world

A darker, simpler role-playing game set in a war between vampires and werewolves that never ends. Timed hunts build up your strength, you square up to players from the other side in person, and a ladder that never resets keeps score of the whole feud.

  • Set off a hunt, come back when it ends
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your opening moves

Good for: Players who want a darker, simpler browser RPG.

Your first session
  1. Pick your side, vampire or werewolf.
  2. Send out timed hunts to grow stronger.
  3. Choose your duels with care.
Play BiteFight freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/bitefight
Drakensang Online key artRole-play & adventure

Drakensang Online

Dark-fantasy action role-play

Real-time fighting through a dark fantasy world, played right in the browser. Settle on a character class, build its skills the way you like to fight and gather a party of other players for the dungeons that would flatten a lone hero.

  • A dungeon or two per sitting
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your opening moves

Good for: Players who like action RPGs.

Your first session
  1. Try a few classes before you settle.
  2. Learn the skills before pushing deeper.
  3. Find a party for the harder dungeons.
Play Drakensang Online freeOpens drakensang.com
Crossout key artAction & arcade

Crossout

Post-apocalyptic vehicle combat

Crossout is the only one here you have to download first. Out in a ruined wasteland you weld armoured battle vehicles together from salvaged parts, choose weapons and armour plates to suit, then roll into arenas full of other players. The garage runs so deep that tinkering can take up half the evening.

  • A handful of arena rounds per sitting
  • Free PC download (Windows); also on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S
Best suited to, and your opening moves

Good for: Tinkerers who enjoy building a machine and then seeing whether it survives.

Your first session
  1. Fetch the free client from the official site.
  2. Build a sturdy, simple vehicle first.
  3. Tweak the design after every round.
Play Crossout freeOpens crossout.net
Prosperous Universe key artBusiness & tycoon

Prosperous Universe

A space economy built by players

A space economy in which nothing exists until some real player has produced it. You keep production chains turning, ship cargo from station to station, take on contracts and buy and sell on an exchange where the people playing decide every price.

  • Brief check-ins so the factories keep running
  • Desktop browser
Best suited to, and your opening moves

Good for: traders who want an economy run entirely by players.

Your first session
  1. Get one small production chain running.
  2. Take modest contracts to learn the ropes.
  3. Watch the exchange before selling in bulk.
Play Prosperous Universe freeOpens prosperousuniverse.com

All eight lined up like competitors at the start

Name on the cardKind of eventTempo of the gamePlayers alongside youLength of a turnPlays on which devices
Big FarmCountryside estateEasy-going, entirely your tempoNeighbours who farm togetherA few minutes for a harvest round, an evening for redrawing the estateDesktop browser
StoniesA settlement in the Stone AgeSlow and steadyA tribe that grows with youShort check-ins to hand out tasksDesktop browser; mobile app also available
My Free ZooZoo building, the traditional kindRelaxed and longVisitors to keep happyA quick feeding round, or a long session redesigning pathsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
WildGunsWild West land-grabEven-paced, with raids to fend offThree nations fighting over a single mapRegular short visits to keep the camp busyDesktop browser
BiteFightRole-play in a gothic horror worldTimed outingsOther players to challengeSet off a hunt, come back when it endsDesktop browser
Drakensang OnlineDark-fantasy action role-playQuick fights in real timeParties that clear dungeons togetherA dungeon or two per sittingDesktop browser
CrossoutPost-apocalyptic vehicle combatArena battles that finish fastEvery arena filled with real opponentsA handful of arena rounds per sittingFree PC download (Windows); also on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S
Prosperous UniverseA space economy built by playersSlow and steered by the marketEvery trader is a real playerBrief check-ins so the factories keep runningDesktop browser

What all 8 cost: nothing to play, though each sells optional in-game extras.

01

Free at the tent flap

Joining any game on this board costs nothing, and each one keeps going for a long while without a single purchase. Farms, camps, zoos and fleets all arrive complete.

Every studio runs a shop of boosts and frills that nobody has to set foot in. On a family computer, check each account for a setting that switches spending off.

02

Stepping into a new game

Each button sends you to the studio's official site in a separate tab, so the glen waits behind it. Most sign-ups ask for little beyond an email address; Crossout's site is also where its free Windows client lives.

Each game opens on a guided first lesson. Let it run to its finish, since the closing part shows you the menus and how the economy fits together.

03

A quick look or a long evening

Most of the board keeps moving with the tab closed: crops grow, hunts end and cargo docks. A glance with breakfast and another once supper is cleared keeps those ones in good order.

Use the quick glances for collecting and queuing jobs. Keep long evenings for weightier decisions: a fresh enclosure, a string of dungeons or a full rebuild of your Crossout car.

04

Keep every sign-in to itself

Each account belongs to one studio, so type its password only on pages that studio runs. A different password for every game, and the extra sign-in check where a studio offers one, keeps all eight locked.

Studio staff have no need of your password. Any note promising bonus gems or gold in exchange for a sign-in is bait for the account itself, so bin it and report whoever sent it.

Why Struan pinned these eight

  • Seven of them start inside the computer browser already on your desk; Crossout, the odd one out, is fetched free for a Windows PC or played on a PlayStation or Xbox.
  • There is no charge to join a single one of them, and each can be enjoyed for months on end with the purse left shut.
  • Crops ripen, hunts come home and cargo lands while the tab is shut in most of them, so even a short visit moves things on.
  • None of these is new to the board: their studios have tended them for years, so each has a settled crowd and a first-timer soon finds a friendly hand.

Only for Crossout, which comes as a free Windows PC download and also runs on PlayStation and Xbox. Big Farm, Stonies, My Free Zoo, WildGuns, BiteFight, Drakensang Online and Prosperous Universe all open in a computer browser with nothing extra.

No. All eight are free to sign up for and free to keep playing, with their shops as optional extras.

No. Each was made by a separate, independent studio, and the buttons are only signposts pointing to that studio's official site.

No. Eight games from separate studios means eight separate sign-ups, each of them free.

Stonies and My Free Zoo each come in an official mobile app besides the browser edition. Big Farm, WildGuns, BiteFight, Drakensang Online and Prosperous Universe are played in a computer browser, and Crossout needs a Windows PC, a PlayStation or an Xbox.

A harvest round on Big Farm, a feeding round in My Free Zoo or a timed hunt in BiteFight fits into a few minutes. Drakensang Online, Crossout and Prosperous Universe repay a proper session.

Yes. Big Farm has cooperative play, WildGuns sets three nations against each other, BiteFight and Crossout pit you against real opponents, Drakensang Online has co-op dungeons and every deal in Prosperous Universe is struck with another player.