.png)
Top 10 Games to Play in Your Web Browser to Pass the Time in 2024
- Jordon Olson
- Sep 1, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 26, 2024
Without a quality gaming PC or competent console, the only other option for modern gaming is to do so in an internet browser. Thankfully, the demand for these free and easily accessible games has led many independent developers to create games that can run in browsers worldwide. This list is here to inform the community of browser games that are still worth playing, and their quality if they are.
This list will cover only the following:
Games that are easily accessible, free, and can still be played
Games that don't require an excessive amount of technical knowledge to enjoy
Games that can run on a low-end device well enough to provide a pleasant experience
Note: This list does not include mobile game versions. If you have a phone and need to play a game, go to your OS app store and download something.
10. slither.io
slither.io (Steve Howse, 2016) is an arcade-style action game in which you control a snake, known as a "slither". As this snake, you have one goal: be the biggest slither. You accomplish this goal by forcing enemy players to run into your side by blocking their path and collecting colored dots they drop upon death. You must avoid being trapped by or running into other worms, which becomes significantly more difficult as the game progresses due to the player snake becoming increasingly larger. As a saving grace, however, you may lap over yourself, allowing you to escape what would otherwise be a sticky situation.
This game seemingly lacks public online multiplayer, instead having players face off against AI-controlled worms. However, there are ways to play with real-life players, and the game's AI is convincing enough for most people to never notice that fact. slither.io is not the first "become the biggest" style arcade game, but it is one of the most popular. Similar games include the older Agar.io, the ad-infested Paper.io, Hole.io, and countless others. They are a fun way to get that oft-desired adrenaline rush if that's what you look for in your games. If you're looking for something to play to pass a bit of time, this is a good place to start.
9. slowroads.io
Slow Roads is a relaxing driving simulator. The game is fully customizable, allowing players to drive how they want to drive. This is less of a game and more of a relaxation tool, but it is quite fun to take your choice between one of three vehicles cruising down an infinite road. If you want to use it as a screensaver or for some other purpose, you can toggle a setting so that the vehicle will drive on its own.
This game is by far one of the most beautiful for browser. It can run on a wide range of devices, and you can fully customize the graphical quality of the game. You can make the game feel as though you're driving through a lush forest or a hot desert, among many other scenarios. The level of detail (namely, flora) is also customizable, and the game uses seeded generation the likes of which are seen in games such as Minecraft or Terraria.
8. yorg3.io
Tower defense-style games are by no means uncommon, especially as Web games. After all, in the late 2000s, the world was blessed with the legendary Bloons Tower Defense when Adobe Flash was a commodity. YORG.io 3 (Tobias Springer, 2019), the sequel to YORG.io (there is no YORG.io 2, sadly), is a base building/tower defense game that revolves around protecting your Crystal from zombies at night. These same concepts have been explored by other browser games such as Zombs.io, Taming.io, and MooMoo.io, to name a few.
What YORG.io 3 does differently is, well, multiple things. The game features an online multiplayer mode allowing you to collaborate with or play against friends or strangers. It also features resource automation, similar to games like Factorio. Its performance is optimal even on older machines, and it features game modifications to further enhance the experience. Its only drawbacks are a lack of replayability, high difficulty spikes, and a small player base, though you can help with the latter. It is also available on Steam, though like a later entry in this list, that version is not free.
The only game on this list to be released this year, Infinite Craft (Neal Agarwal, 2024) is rather unique. Its gimmick is combining items, similar to games like Little Alchemy and others. However, in Infinite Craft, there is no limit to the number of items you can create as the game's code features Artificial Intelligence to determine its items. Despite this, though, item combinations are not random - combining the same items always returns the same result.
Infinite Craft, like many browser games, suffers heavily from a lack of replayability. There is no defined goal in this game, as it is purely a sandbox for combining items. You can be the first to discover an item, but this has become significantly more difficult to accomplish since the game was released. Beyond that and a small but dedicated community, there isn't much keeping players playing this game.
Idle/Incremental games are one of the most common genres for browser games, and Clicker Heroes (Playsaurus, 2014) is one of the most successful in the genre. You play as an unnamed, seemingly omnipotent being, on a quest to kill monsters and earn a profit. You attain your goals by first killing things by hand, and with subsequent levels, hiring Heroes to do the killing for you. As you progress through the game, progression becomes significantly more difficult, requiring players to Ascend to restart their journey but in a more powerful form. The game has no set ending, instead being defined by silly things like strange mathematical concepts and limitations and the existence of the word "Infinity".
If you had to choose one idle game to dedicate yourself to, I strongly recommend Clicker Heroes if you don't need to finish a game to be satisfied. I find great pleasure in watching numbers go up, and making deals with deities is always a fun endeavor when it has no real-world consequences. There is even a limited form of online multiplayer so you can play it more efficiently with your friends! The game is still updated semi-regularly, and it has console releases and a sequel on PC. My only gripe is that you can pay money to advance more quickly.
By far the oldest game on this list, NationStates (Max Barry, 2002) is a simulation game where you run your own country. You can select its ideals and answer Issues to develop statistics and policies. You can collect Trading Cards of other nations to build a collection and partake in the in-game economy. You can join regions full of like-minded players, and you can use it as a creative writing outlet to publish fictional works about your nation. There is also a massive community that you can engage and interact with, leaving many possibilities for roleplaying and other group activities. Today, there are nearly 300,000 (!!) concurrent players, and the game has not ceased in growth.
While being one of my favorite browser games, NationStates is high on this list because it is very difficult to maintain engagement with and learn the ropes. Like a select few other games on this list, I have written a comprehensive strategy guide for the game, allowing newcomers to more easily enjoy the game. NationStates is a very dense, complex game that, despite being simple to navigate and play, has an unholy amount of underlying features and hidden systems that, once delved into, are nice to game. If you don't have the time to sink into this slow-burn game, though, then this isn't for you.
4. Wordle
Puzzle games are one of the most common browser game genres, and Wordle (Josh Wardle / The New York Times, 2021) is most definitely one of those. Wordle is a game you can play once a day to attempt to solve the day's word in six guesses or fewer. If you've a thorough comprehension of the English language, then this game can be a fun commitment. Unlike some of the other games on this list, it forces you to think, and most people agree that brain games are healthy. That was why Brain Age was one of the most popular games on the Nintendo DS, right?
If you struggle with word games, you might not get the most fun out of this stellar but simple game. However, I have written a comprehensive strategy guide for it right here on Glorbo, so you can get help here if need be. This game's only flaw is that it is dreadfully slow-paced; it is one five-letter word every twenty-four hours! Thankfully, many knockoffs available on the Web have circumvented this, allowing you to play practically infinite Wordles in a day. Go solve today's Wordle - it's a good habit to make.
Do you enjoy rhythm games? Have you ever gone to your local arcade, played Dance Dance Revolution, and said "Man, I really would like to play something like this on my antiquated, dusty laptop"? If so, then this is the game for you! Friday Night Funkin' (Newgrounds, 2020) is a DDR-like rhythm game with a story and an immense amount of natively implemented modifications. This game has all the internet humor of the standard Newgrounds game while making callbacks to previous works and remaining unique.
Friday Night Funkin' is a rhythm game featuring a small set of songs in the base game, experienced through a sort of story mode. These songs range in difficulty from a beginner level to mind-numbingly difficult. In addition to the base game, there are hundreds of quality game modifications (hosted in-house at Newgrounds) allowing you to use the game's mechanics to play new - or old - songs. If you like difficulty (or enjoy pain), many of these mods pride themselves on being practically impossible for a newcomer to complete. Even four years after the game's release, the modding scene is still active, and the game is still fun - especially if you haven't played it before. I recommend giving it a try if you've some free time.
While Clicker Heroes has already been covered in this list, Cookie Clicker (Dashnet, 2013) is one of its few predecessors. This game was coded in JavaScript in a single evening way back in 2013 and has evolved a lot in the eleven years since its release. It has become iconic and is by far the most popular incremental game on the Web. It had 50,000 players on its first night, and millions more have played it since. Orteil - the game's lead developer - has kept up with the times and is rather active in the community. He maintains the game well, implementing community suggestions and working on updates even to this day.
I placed Cookie Clicker above Clicker Heroes due to its popularity, lack of pay-to-win content, and the fact that this game can be completed much more easily than its counterpart at number 6. While it does take a while, it is possible and even feasible to attain 100% completion in Cookie Clicker. It is tedious and requires consistent effort over some time, but if you think you can handle a small, simple, fun commitment, then this game is for you. The game even supports mods, though it is not as official as the above entry in this list. There is also a Steam release for $5 with a wonderful soundtrack composed by C418 (best known for the Minecraft soundtrack). If you want an idle game to waste time in, then there isn't any better idle game than Cookie Clicker available in your browser.
1. paper-io.com
Though Cookie Clicker may be by far the best idle browser game, Paper.io 2 (Voodoo, 2019) is our pick for the best overall. In this game, you control a colored square with your mouse (or arrow keys) on a large, round sheet of blank paper. Your goal: take control of as much of the map as possible while leaving nothing for your opponents. You face off against AI-controlled enemies with the option to play with your friends via the Party feature in standard modes. There are many non-standard modes available, including fan favorite World Domination where you play as a real-life territory (like Germany or Canada) and earn points for your country's team. These points are tracked on a leaderboard, which resets often enough to deter cheaters.
Paper.io 2's website has the game and its various modes alongside hosting the original Paper.io and a few other minigames to pass the time. No matter your computer's performance, this game will most certainly run well on it. There are many adjustable settings to guarantee full compatibility between devices, and the game's mostly offline nature allows you to play it even with limited connectivity. There is no in-game chat or toxic usernames like other entries on this list, and the advertisements are minimal, serving only to ensure the site can run independently. If you're looking for a game to play for free in a web browser, this should be your first pick if you need to try something new. It even has mobile and console releases!
Of course, this list is purely subjective, and your favorite game might not be here. Regardless of whether you see something you know here or not, I implore you to try these games at some point. It'll be worth your while. Also, kudos to my buddy Cameran for his help in finding the best games for this review. We've spent several years playing loads of these browser games, and these are - in my opinion - the best we've found (though not our favorites). Enjoy the read.
Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)
Websites such as Kongregate, Coolmath Games, Newgrounds, and many others host loads of independently developed games that can be played in your browser. If you want something unique instead of something mainstream, I recommend checking these sites out.
Showdown! (best known as Pokémon Showdown) is a Pokémon battle simulator where you can create teams and battle against other players. That's about all you can do with it, but the strategizing is remarkably deep and the gameplay is entertaining.
Grindcraft and other games developed by Playsaurus (the developers of Clicker Heroes, number 6 on the list) are all quality experiences and can provide loads of fun...if you can get them to work or find them on the internet.
Ninja.io is an entertaining, fast-paced 2D shooter featuring a wealth of weapons and - most notably - online multiplayer. However, like other online shooters, its concurrent player count is steadily diminishing.
Bonk.io is a competitive physics game. It is fun, though lacks depth and has the same player count issues as Ninja.io.
BrainChef is a dying/dead MMORPG that is very simple to play and resets once a month... when the servers are being paid for. Right now, the game's URL returns a server error, which is quite sad - I enjoyed the game.
Defly.io is a fun one. You control a helicopter on a 2D plane (pun intended) and your objective is to build a base and control as much of the map as you can. It is similar to Paper.io in that way, but the main difference is that your helicopter is weaponized.
This has been a comprehensive list of some quality browser games that anyone can easily play for free. If you're looking for something free to play to pass the time, then I strongly recommend picking something from the above list. Thank you for reading.
Comments