Back to Swelltide Cove
Wenlo's flat-day shelf

When the swell switches off,
Wenlo opens one of these eight in the shack

Some mornings the cove goes glassy and still, the boards stay in the rack and Wenlo carries his laptop up the shack ladder instead. On this shelf sit his eight free flat-day picks, from a frontier camp and a kingdom under siege to an ice rink, a basketball club, a star empire, a stick-figure quest, a garden and a busy hospital, and every one opens in an ordinary browser tab.

8games on the shack shelf
5also with a studio phone app
Freeto join, all eight of them
Molehill Empire 2 key art
Behind the sea wall

Molehill Empire 2

Plot-by-plot gardening sim · Farm, town & zoo

Wenlo's favourite flat-day patch, a cousin of the sandy beds he weeds behind the sea wall. Sow your beds, keep the watering can busy and pick each crop the moment it ripens so the orders get filled, then spend the takings on new seeds and garden ornaments. Swapping with fellow growers turns a starter plot into a rambling one, and little-and-often visits suit anyone with a tide to watch.

Good for
Anyone who enjoys popping back often to water and pick.
Typical session
Short visits to water and harvest
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Sow no more beds than you can keep watered.
  2. Fill the easy orders first to build up a float.
  3. Swap spare crops once the shed starts overflowing.
Play Molehill Empire 2 freeOpens molehillempire2.upjers.com/en in a new tab

Seven more for when the waves stay away

WildGuns key artStrategy & war

WildGuns

Prairie camp strategy

Sun-baked prairie, about as far from a wet cove as anywhere gets. Pledge yourself to one of three rival nations, each with its own edge, and grow a frontier camp on the raw materials you bring back; trading, building and raids then decide who holds the land everyone else wants.

  • A few brief check-ins through the day
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Strategy fans who fancy a dusty western backdrop.

Your first session
  1. Compare all three nations before you pledge to one.
  2. Keep timber and ore coming in before building big.
  3. Barter early so raiding is never the only way to grow.
Play WildGuns freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/wildguns
Throne: Kingdom at War key artStrategy & war

Throne: Kingdom at War

Castle-and-siege kingdom MMO

Castle walls instead of sea walls. Keep the workshops and farms turning, drill your troops and go up against rival Lords; inside an Order you forge equipment for your hero from what you have gathered and ride out together when a siege for the throne opens on its timer.

  • Regular visits, longer around sieges
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Planners who like their sieges organised and on the clock.

Your first session
  1. Keep every workshop busy from day one.
  2. Find a lively Order before the first siege opens.
  3. Save materials for hero equipment that suits your army.
Play Throne: Kingdom at War freeOpens plarium.com/en/game/throne-kingdom-at-war
Hockey Arena key artSport & management

Hockey Arena

Daily ice-hockey management

Ice hockey for days when the sea is as still as a frozen rink. There is a fixture every single day, so you name the line-up, plan training, pick up free agents with no strings attached and balance the club books, all on screens kept plain on purpose.

  • A short look each day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Managers after a daily habit rather than an all-nighter.

Your first session
  1. Name the line-up before the daily face-off.
  2. Train a handful of key players hard.
  3. Scan the unattached players for cheap signings.
Play Hockey Arena freeOpens hockeyarena.net/en
BuzzerBeater key artSport & management

BuzzerBeater

Basketball GM simulation

Your seat is the general manager's desk rather than the bench. Decide who starts and who waits in reserve, set out shapes for both ends of the floor, work the draft and the trade market, run training, and then follow every game in a live match viewer while the cove stays flat outside.

  • Short check-ins, longer when there is a match
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Basketball fans who would rather run the club than shoot the hoops.

Your first session
  1. Settle your starters before tip-off.
  2. Test both formations before settling on one.
  3. Train for next season, not just the next result.
Play BuzzerBeater freeOpens buzzerbeater.com
OGame key artSpace & sci-fi

OGame

Long-haul space strategy MMO

The old favourite of space strategy: mines, research trees and fleets that need genuine hours to reach their target, which leaves them exposed while under way. Seasoned commanders send a probe first and tuck their ships safely away overnight, the same way Wenlo never leaves a board below the tideline.

  • A daily visit to line up research and launches
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Careful planners who want every move to matter.

Your first session
  1. Get the mines humming before anything else.
  2. Send a probe ahead of any fleet.
  3. Never leave ships parked where a raider can find them overnight.
Play OGame freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/ogame
Kingdom of Loathing key artRole-play & adventure

Kingdom of Loathing

Stick-figure comedy adventure

Everyone here is a stick figure, and the six classes are jokes, Seal Clubber and Accordion Thief among them. Behind the daft turn-based scraps and the thousands of ridiculous items lie systems that players have studied for years, so it rewards anyone who would take a good gag over flashy graphics.

  • As short or long as you fancy
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Players who would rather laugh than be dazzled.

Your first session
  1. Pick a class for the joke, then learn its tricks.
  2. Read item descriptions: half the fun is there.
  3. Spend your daily turns before you log off.
Play Kingdom of Loathing freeOpens kingdomofloathing.com
Kapi Hospital key artBusiness & tycoon

Kapi Hospital

Cheerful hospital tycoon

A cheerful hospital to run while the waves take the day off. Patch up each patient who comes through the doors, take on nurses and doctors, fit out rooms with new kit and add wings as you go, while research brings fresh treatments for an ever-longer queue.

  • Short rounds to treat and restock
  • Desktop browser
Who it suits & your first moves in the shack

Good for: Fans of management games with a light touch.

Your first session
  1. See to the waiting room before buying new kit.
  2. Take on staff to match each new wing.
  3. Put early takings into research for new cures.
Play Kapi Hospital freeOpens us.kapihospital.com

All eight on one shack noticeboard

Game on Wenlo’s shelfType of game, roughlyHow quickly it moves, set to setOther players onlineHow long you sit inScreens it opens on, laptop to phone
Molehill Empire 2Plot-by-plot gardening simGentle, with harvests to timeSwapping crops with fellow growersShort visits to water and harvestDesktop browser; mobile app also available
WildGunsPrairie camp strategyReal time, built up over daysThree nations squabbling over the same dustA few brief check-ins through the dayDesktop browser
Throne: Kingdom at WarCastle-and-siege kingdom MMOReal time, with sieges on a clockOrders of Lords riding out togetherRegular visits, longer around siegesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Hockey ArenaDaily ice-hockey managementA fixture every day of the weekLeagues of real-life rival managersA short look each dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
BuzzerBeaterBasketball GM simulationSteady, game by gameLeagues plus national tournamentsShort check-ins, longer when there is a matchDesktop browser; mobile app also available
OGameLong-haul space strategy MMOSlow, flights take real hoursOne universe, many rival empiresA daily visit to line up research and launchesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Kingdom of LoathingStick-figure comedy adventureTurn-based, at whatever speed suitsA long-standing, chatty player communityAs short or long as you fancyDesktop browser
Kapi HospitalCheerful hospital tycoonSteady, ward by wardA shared world of rival hospitalsShort rounds to treat and restockDesktop browser

What all 8 cost: nothing to play, with optional in-game purchases.

01

Nothing to pay at the shack door

All eight let you in free of charge, and you could play right through the summer without spending a thing; every garden, camp, club and ward is the full game.

Each studio also runs a side counter selling time-savers and cosmetic extras, which is entirely optional. Many old hands have never visited it, and where one laptop is passed round the family, the account options often let you cap what gets spent.

02

Your first flat morning

Every button opens the studio's own site in a fresh tab beside this one. Register there with your email and you soon have a plot, a camp, a club or a planet with your name on it.

All eight start you off with a guided opening. Stick with it until it finishes, because it shows each menu in turn, much as Wenlo shows a first-timer where to lie on the board before the first wave.

03

Quick looks and long sessions

None of the eight stops when you close the tab: seedlings sprout, columns march, fleets cross the void and matches get played. One visit with breakfast and another as the bulbs come on keeps everything on an even keel.

Keep the quick peeks for picking crops, lining up builds and replying to allies or rival managers. Save a proper wet afternoon for the weighty calls, such as a siege, a trade or a new ward.

04

Keep your sign-in dry

Each game's account lives with its own studio, so your password should only ever go into that studio's genuine web address. Give each game a different password, and if a studio offers a second step at sign-in, switch it on.

No genuine moderator needs your password. If a stranger offers a heap of premium currency for your sign-in details, they mean to walk off with the account: block and report.

Why these eight made it onto the shack shelf

  • Each one opens in an everyday browser on a laptop or desktop, and you are making your first move before the kettle on the shack stove has boiled.
  • Nobody pays to join any of the eight, and patient players get a long way in every one with the shop left shut.
  • Gardens, camps, clubs, wards and fleets keep growing with the tab shut, so a two-minute look between tides still gets something done.
  • All eight have been running for years, so the regulars know their way around and newcomers are rarely left floundering.

No. A computer browser is enough for all eight, and Molehill Empire 2, Throne: Kingdom at War, Hockey Arena, BuzzerBeater and OGame also have a phone app from their studio.

No. Registration is free in every case, each game can be played without paying, and anything bought inside it is entirely up to you.

No, and nor did Swelltide Cove. Eight separate studios built these games and still look after them, and every button here simply points to the right studio's official website.

No. Eight games come from eight separate studios, so you register with each studio on its own.

Molehill Empire 2, Throne: Kingdom at War, Hockey Arena, BuzzerBeater and OGame each have a studio phone app as well as the browser version, while WildGuns, Kingdom of Loathing and Kapi Hospital are browser games that sit best on a laptop or desktop screen.

Molehill Empire 2 and Hockey Arena, because a minute of attention a day keeps both in good shape. OGame and Throne: Kingdom at War pay back longer, planned sessions.

Yes. Throne: Kingdom at War has Orders, Molehill Empire 2 has trading between gardeners, Hockey Arena and BuzzerBeater have leagues of other managers, and OGame and WildGuns put you among rival players.