Walk back down to Autumn Post Lane
Pelham's after-hours shelf

Eight browser games to open
once the last letter has gone

When the final sack has left on the evening mail train and the counter lamp is turned low, Pelham reaches for the parcel shelf where he keeps eight free browser games. There is a jigsaw table that cuts any photo into pieces, two farms of very different temperaments, a veteran sports club, three wars fought across modern and alternate maps, and a slow empire of planets. Not one of them needs anything installed before you begin.

8games on Pelham's shelf
2also come as an app
Freeto open, every one
Jigsaw Planet key art
The postmaster's own pick

Jigsaw Planet

A library of online jigsaws · Puzzle & casual

Pelham turns old picture postcards into evening puzzles here, and so can you. Jigsaw Planet is a free library of online jigsaws that you can start without signing up. Before each one you choose how many pieces and what cut shape you want, then drag and rotate them into place against a quiet timer. You can also upload a photo of your own and have it cut into a puzzle.

Good for
Anyone who wants a calm, absorbing puzzle without signing up to anything.
Typical session
Ten minutes for a small puzzle, an evening for a big one
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Start small, with few pieces, until dragging and turning them feels natural.
  2. Pick a classic cut shape before trying the trickier ones.
  3. Upload a favourite photo once you know how many pieces suit you.
Open Jigsaw Planet free of chargeOpens jigsawplanet.com in a new tab

Seven more parcels waiting on the shelf

My Free Farm key artFarm, town & zoo

My Free Farm

Classic farming simulation

Plain to look at, but the economy underneath runs remarkably deep. Fields are sown, animals raised and every harvest sold, and the best farms belong to players who map out their planting cycles in advance rather than simply clicking faster.

  • Short visits timed around each harvest
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Players who value depth and planning over bright presentation.

Your first session
  1. Sow a few dependable crops before branching out.
  2. Note how long each crop takes and plan visits around it.
  3. Add animals once the fields bring in a steady income.
Open My Free Farm free of chargeOpens myfreefarm.com
Farmerama key artFarm, town & zoo

Farmerama

Light-hearted farming game

The cheerful cousin of the shelf: a colourful little farm where you plant, harvest, raise friendly animals and decorate every corner exactly as you like. Seasonal events bring fresh things to grow and build as the year turns.

  • A glance before work and another at teatime
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Anyone after a sunny, low-pressure farm to tend in spare minutes.

Your first session
  1. Plant your first fields and learn the harvest timings.
  2. Take in a few animals as soon as you can feed them.
  3. Save decorating for once the farm runs smoothly.
Open Farmerama free of chargeOpens farmerama.com
ManagerZone key artSport & management

ManagerZone

Running a club across several sports

A veteran among web-based sports managers that still has a busy community. You handle the squad economy, drafting and training, add clinics and shops around your ground, scout rivals by replaying their recorded matches and vote in federations with other managers.

  • A few minutes most days, longer before big fixtures
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Managers who enjoy deep systems and a long-serving community.

Your first session
  1. Settle on a training plan and give it time to show results.
  2. Watch a recorded match of your next opponent before picking a side.
  3. Spend on the ground gradually as income grows.
Open ManagerZone free of chargeOpens managerzone.com
Base Attack Force key artStrategy & war

Base Attack Force

Strategy around a modern army base

A modern-military strategy game about one base and the ground around it. You gather resources, build up and defend your position, and press any advantage you win alongside the alliance you choose to join, holding the line together when rivals come calling.

  • Short visits dotted through the day
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Players who like contemporary warfare and holding a position.

Your first session
  1. Put resource buildings first in the opening days.
  2. Strengthen your defences before you look for a fight.
  3. Find an active alliance and learn how it plays.
Open Base Attack Force free of chargeOpens baseattackforce.com
Iron Order 1919 key artStrategy & war

Iron Order 1919

Grand strategy in a dieselpunk world

An alternate history in which the Great War never quite ends. You build up a province economy, research new technology, trade, and occasionally double-cross, during real-time matches, while ordinary infantry march beside towering walking iron Titans.

  • Several short visits a day while a match runs
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Strategists who want the early twentieth century with a dieselpunk twist.

Your first session
  1. Grow the province economy before raising a large army.
  2. Choose a research path and keep to it.
  3. Treat every coalition promise with a little caution.
Open Iron Order 1919 free of chargeOpens ironorder1919.com
Conflict of Nations key artStrategy & war

Conflict of Nations

Grand strategy on today’s world map

A modern-era grand strategy game played out in real time across a whole world map. You build your forces, forge coalitions with other players and try to think several moves ahead of everyone else on the map.

  • Regular short visits over a match lasting weeks
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Patient grand strategists who enjoy thinking a few days ahead.

Your first session
  1. Study your neighbours before committing troops.
  2. Build the economy that will pay for your forces.
  3. Talk to other players early; coalitions decide a great deal.
Open Conflict of Nations free of chargeOpens conflictnations.com
Hyperiums Reborn key artSpace & sci-fi

Hyperiums Reborn

Building an empire among the planets

Hyperiums Reborn is a redesigned return of a space strategy veteran that first ran in 2001. You grow planets, balance economy against defence and play the diplomacy between alliances across rounds that run for months at a time.

  • A thoughtful visit or two a day
  • Desktop browser
Who it is for & how to begin

Good for: Players who enjoy slow, political empire games among the stars.

Your first session
  1. Develop your first planets before reaching further out.
  2. Keep defence in step with the economy.
  3. Get to know an alliance early in the round.
Open Hyperiums Reborn free of chargeOpens reborn.hyperiums.com

All eight laid out on Pelham's sorting table

Game on the shelfWhat kind of gameIts paceOther players you will run intoAn ordinary sittingWhere to open it
Jigsaw PlanetA library of online jigsawsYour own pace, with a timer for companyPuzzles shared by a large communityTen minutes for a small puzzle, an evening for a big oneDesktop browser
My Free FarmClassic farming simulationPlanned around planting cyclesA long-standing community of farmersShort visits timed around each harvestDesktop browser
FarmeramaLight-hearted farming gameRelaxedSeasonal events shared by the whole farm worldA glance before work and another at teatimeDesktop browser
ManagerZoneRunning a club across several sportsSeason by seasonFederations and leagues of real managersA few minutes most days, longer before big fixturesDesktop browser
Base Attack ForceStrategy around a modern army baseSteady real timeAlliances of players defending togetherShort visits dotted through the dayDesktop browser
Iron Order 1919Grand strategy in a dieselpunk worldReal-time matchesCoalitions that may not stay loyalSeveral short visits a day while a match runsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Conflict of NationsGrand strategy on today’s world mapReal time on a world mapCoalitions across a shared worldRegular short visits over a match lasting weeksDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Hyperiums RebornBuilding an empire among the planetsSlow rounds lasting monthsAlliance diplomacy at the heart of itA thoughtful visit or two a dayDesktop browser

Cost of all 8: free to play, with in-game purchases that are optional.

01

Nothing to pay at the counter

Signing up is free everywhere on the shelf, and the farms, matches, maps and puzzles all open in full without spending anything.

Most of the studios run an optional shop for shortcuts or decorations. Plenty of veteran players have never bought a thing there, and households sharing a computer can often switch purchases off in the account settings.

02

Opening a new parcel

Each game's button opens the studio's official site in a fresh tab. Most ask for an email address to register, although Jigsaw Planet lets you start a puzzle straight away.

Nearly every game guides newcomers through a short tutorial. Stay with it to the end; it walks you through the menus and the economy step by step.

03

Between collections and after supper

The farms, the club, the wars and the planets all keep moving while the tab is closed. Peeking in at breakfast and again after supper keeps everything moving nicely.

Spend the quick visits gathering harvests, lining up orders and catching up with allies. Keep the long evenings for the big decisions, such as a new round of planting, a transfer or a change of strategy.

04

Keeping your key safe

Your sign-in for each game is held by the studio behind it, so only ever enter it on the web address that studio publishes. A different password for every game, plus two-step sign-in where a studio provides it, keeps intruders out.

No genuine member of a studio team will ask what your password is. A message offering free extras for your login details is a trap for the account itself: leave it unanswered and report the sender.

Why each of the eight earned a pigeonhole

  • All of them open in an ordinary laptop or desktop browser, so the kettle has barely boiled before you are playing.
  • Not one of the eight charges to join, and each stays fully playable for people who never open its shop.
  • Farms, clubs, bases and planets keep working with the tab closed, so even a few minutes after the evening round moves them along.
  • The studios behind them have kept these games running for years, which means settled communities and rules that rarely lurch.

No. Every one runs in a computer browser tab, and two of them can also be had as an official app.

Not to join or to play. Every one of the eight is free, and the full game is open without spending; any in-game purchase is entirely optional.

No. Every one is made and run by its own independent studio; the buttons here simply carry you to the official site of that studio.

No. Eight different studios mean eight separate free registrations, one at each official site.

Iron Order 1919 and Conflict of Nations can also be played through official apps. The remaining six are browser games, best enjoyed at a desk or on a laptop.

Jigsaw Planet, where a small puzzle takes minutes and needs no sign-up, or Farmerama for a relaxed farm. The war games and Hyperiums Reborn reward longer planning.

In most of them, yes. The war games have alliances and coalitions, Hyperiums Reborn turns on alliance diplomacy, ManagerZone has federations, and Jigsaw Planet shares puzzles made by its community.