Back to Swan Punt Meadow
Percival's landing-stage list

Eight free games for the hours
when the punt bobs idle on its rope

Between hires, Percival props his pole against the willow and unfolds a different list: eight free browser games, every one of them a world that carries on while the river does its slow work. Two are parks full of animals, two are long wars between clans and tribes, two hand you a club to manage, and two are economies built entirely by their players.

8worlds on the landing list
5also offered as phone apps
£0to register with any studio on the list
Zoo 2: Animal Park key art
The swan's own favourite

Zoo 2: Animal Park

Zoo tycoon · Farm, town & zoo

A bird who spends his days among ducks, grebes and the odd heron was always going to put a zoo first. In Zoo 2 you breed animals and give each a home, see that the visitors are fed and widen the park one enclosure at a time, while care rounds, decorating and steady new arrivals give it the long, easy rhythm of an afternoon on the river.

Good for
Animal lovers happy to tend one park over many weeks.
Typical session
A short care round or a long build
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Look after the animals you already have first.
  2. Keep the visitors fed before you decorate.
  3. Open new enclosures one at a time.
Play Zoo 2: Animal Park freeOpens zoo2animalpark.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more worlds moored along the bank

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo key artFarm, town & zoo

Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo

Dinosaur hatchery and park

Fossils go in and dinosaurs hatch out. Dinosaur Park asks you to raise a fitting enclosure for every species, keep the park running smoothly as visitors arrive, and spend research on the next creature to bring back. It suits anyone who enjoyed the zoo but wants the herds older and far larger.

  • A few calm minutes or a long evening
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Zoo builders who want a prehistoric twist.

Your first session
  1. Hatch the fossils you already hold.
  2. Build each species an enclosure that suits it.
  3. Put research into the next species early.
Play Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo freeOpens dinosaurparkprimevalzoo.upjers.com/en
Vikings: War of Clans key artStrategy & war

Vikings: War of Clans

Norse war strategy

A Norse stronghold to raise and a Jarl to level along a skill tree. Marches leave the gates to strip resources from map tiles or to raid rival players, and clans fight over the Place of Power for bonuses felt across the whole kingdom. Finding an active clan matters more here than anything you build alone.

  • Quick check-ins plus the odd long night
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Anyone who wants a clan and a war that lasts.

Your first session
  1. Strengthen the stronghold before you march.
  2. Spend Jarl skill points with a plan.
  3. Join an active clan early on.
Play Vikings: War of Clans freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/vikings-war-of-clans
Tribal Wars 2 key artStrategy & war

Tribal Wars 2

Village-conquest strategy

A small medieval village that grows into a regional power. You put up buildings, raise an army and seize land from the villages next door, while tribes coordinate their attacks across a world that runs for months. Patience and a dependable tribe count for far more here than quick reflexes ever will.

  • Short visits, every day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Rivals who will stay the course of one long world.

Your first session
  1. Grow the village economy first.
  2. Find a tribe before the borders close in.
  3. Plan attacks with your tribe, not alone.
Play Tribal Wars 2 freeOpens tribalwars2.com
Trophy Manager key artSport & management

Trophy Manager

Football club manager

A football club with live or replayable matches and detailed instructions for how your side should play. You run the budget on the transfer market, set individual training programmes and, every two years, may apply for a national-team job. Fine control over tactics is the whole appeal of this one.

  • Ten minutes either side of kick-off
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Managers who want close control of tactics.

Your first session
  1. Learn the match instructions before the first fixture.
  2. Give key players their own training plan.
  3. Watch the budget in the transfer market.
Play Trophy Manager freeOpens trophymanager.com/uk
BuzzerBeater key artSport & management

BuzzerBeater

Basketball front office

Basketball from the general manager's chair. You order the depth chart and pick formations for attack and defence, then work the draft, swap players and train the roster, and every game plays out in a live match viewer. National tournaments give each season something bigger to aim at.

  • Short visits on game days
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Basketball fans who want a GM's job, not a player's.

Your first session
  1. Set the depth chart before the first game.
  2. Pick formations that suit your roster.
  3. Train for the long season, not one match.
Play BuzzerBeater freeOpens buzzerbeater.com
Kapilands key artBusiness & tycoon

Kapilands

Factory-and-market sim

Factories, production chains and a marketplace where every rival is another player. You purchase raw materials, turn them into goods and compete on price against other firms. Graphics are few and figures are plentiful, which is exactly how its regular players like it.

  • A careful half hour
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Players who enjoy spreadsheets more than scenery.

Your first session
  1. Open with a single plain production chain.
  2. Check market prices before you sell.
  3. Expand only once the first chain pays.
Play Kapilands freeOpens kapilands.com
Prosperous Universe key artSpace & sci-fi

Prosperous Universe

Interplanetary trade sim

Out in space, not one commodity exists until some real player manufactures it. You run production chains on distant planets, ship cargo, fulfil contracts and trade on an exchange whose prices are set entirely by players. A ledger in orbit, and rather proud of it.

  • Planned sessions, checked daily
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & where to start

Good for: Traders who want every price set by a real rival.

Your first session
  1. Work through the guided opening.
  2. Fill early contracts to build a name.
  3. Watch the exchange before you specialise.
Play Prosperous Universe freeOpens prosperousuniverse.com

All eight at a glance, like the punt-hire board

Game on the landing listKind, per PercivalPace on the riverCompany on boardOne afternoon’s goWhere it moors
Zoo 2: Animal ParkZoo tycoonUnhurried, visit by visitMostly your own park, at your own speedA short care round or a long buildDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Dinosaur Park: Primeval ZooDinosaur hatchery and parkUnhurried, fossil by fossilA solo park with visitors at the gatesA few calm minutes or a long eveningDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Vikings: War of ClansNorse war strategySteady, with sudden raidsClans fighting over one kingdomQuick check-ins plus the odd long nightDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Tribal Wars 2Villages to seize and holdSlow-burning, over monthsTribes planning attacks togetherShort visits, every dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Trophy ManagerManaging a football club from the benchMatch-day rhythmA league of human managersTen minutes either side of kick-offDesktop browser
BuzzerBeaterBasketball front officePatient, one season at a timeLeagues and national tournamentsShort visits on game daysDesktop browser; mobile app also available
KapilandsFactory-and-market simDeliberate, sums before sceneryA market run by other playersA careful half hourDesktop browser
Prosperous UniverseInterplanetary trade simSlow, planned like a timetableEvery trade is with another playerPlanned sessions, checked dailyDesktop browser

Price of all 8: free to join; each game sells optional extras inside.

01

Free from the very first afternoon on the bank

Not a single one of the eight asks a joining fee, and each one can be played a long way without spending; the parks, armies, clubs and companies all come complete.

Each studio keeps a side counter of optional speed-ups and trimmings. Plenty of long-time players never open it, and a few of these games let a household set spending limits in the settings.

02

Untying the rope on day one

A button here hands you over to the studio's own official site in a fresh tab, where a short free sign-up comes first, normally nothing more than an email address and a password.

Most open with a guided tutorial, and it is worth punting through to the end of it: it walks you round the screens and explains how each world earns and spends.

03

Short drifts and long voyages

The river keeps flowing when you are away, and so do these: animals grow, troops march, factories produce and matches get played. A look in the morning and another in the evening keeps everything afloat.

Use the short visits for collecting, feeding and queueing the next job, and keep the longer evenings for the bigger calls, such as a new enclosure, a clan attack or a change of tactics.

04

Keeping each mooring key safe

Each login is the property of the studio behind that one game, so type it only into that studio's genuine web address. A different password for each game, plus two-step sign-in wherever a studio offers it, keeps you far safer.

No real member of any studio's staff will ever want your password. Messages offering free premium currency in exchange for login details are after the account, so ignore them and report them.

How these eight earned a place on the landing stage

  • Every one opens in a desktop browser, so the first afternoon needs no installer and no waiting about.
  • Joining costs nothing anywhere on the list, and each can be played for months without paying.
  • Most keep moving while the tab is shut: animals grow, armies march and matches get played while you are out on the water.
  • Established studios run all eight, which means settled communities, regular updates and worlds that are not about to vanish.

No. Every one of the eight runs in a desktop browser, and five also come as an official phone app if you would like one.

Yes, both to join and to keep playing. Nothing on the list charges for signing up, and buying anything in a game is always your own choice.

No. Each game is made and looked after by its own independent studio, and the buttons here only point the way to them.

No. Eight different studios stand behind these games, and each wants a free registration of its own.

Zoo 2: Animal Park, Dinosaur Park: Primeval Zoo, Vikings: War of Clans, Tribal Wars 2 and BuzzerBeater have official apps alongside the browser version. Trophy Manager, Kapilands and Prosperous Universe live in the browser alone, so a desktop or laptop serves them best.

Zoo 2 or Dinosaur Park, where a few minutes is enough to feed the animals and open a new enclosure. Kapilands and Prosperous Universe reward a longer, more careful sitting.

In nearly every one. Vikings has clans, Tribal Wars 2 has tribes, both sports games put you against other managers, and every trade in Kapilands and Prosperous Universe is with another player. The two parks are mostly played at your own pace.