Best browser strategy games
Free strategy and city-building games that run in a web browser, no download needed, ranked by our review score.
Updated · Ranked by our review scores. Partner links never change the order. How we rate
Scores on this list come from our research reviews: official sources and player reviews, not our own play time. Each score follows a fixed formula. When we play a game, its score can change and the order with it.
At a glance
| # | Game | Our score | Pay to win | Steam reviews | Min. RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heroes of History | 8.0 | Strong | — | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| 2 | Elvenar | 7.4 | Mild | — | — | 328.6 MB |
| 3 | Forge of Empires | 7.2 | Strong | — | — | 503.4 MB |
| 4 | Grepolis | 7.2 | Strong | — | — | — |
| 5 | Tribal Wars | 6.8 | Strong | 71% of 845 | 512 MB | 200 MB |
Our ranking
Ranked by our review scores1. Heroes of History
8.0/10Best for city building with historical heroes
InnoGames mixes city building through the ages with collecting historical heroes for real-time battles, Arena PvP and Alliance wars. Besides the browser, it runs on Windows and Mac through Plarium Play and on mobile, with shared progress. Antimatter buys random hero summons with a 0.5% base 5-star rate.
Pay to win: StrongLoot boxes: Yes2. Elvenar
7.4/10Best for city building without PvP combat
InnoGames' fantasy city builder lets you play as elves or humans in a browser or on iOS and Android with one account. Its guides describe no battles against other players: you research, explore provinces, trade and join a Fellowship. Diamonds buy speed-ups, premium expansions and luck-based event chests with no listed odds.
Pay to win: MildLoot boxes: Yes3. Forge of Empires
7.2/10Best for building a city through the ages
InnoGames' city builder takes a city from the Stone Age into future eras, with plunder raids, a PvP Arena and Guild Battlegrounds. Diamonds buy speed-ups and random prize-wheel spins with no listed odds, and event boosts carry into PvP, so it rates as strongly pay to win.
Pay to win: StrongLoot boxes: Yes4. Grepolis
7.2/10Best for ancient Greek war strategy
InnoGames' strategy MMO set in ancient Greece has run in browsers since 2009: you grow a polis, recruit land, naval and mythical units, pick a patron god and fight other players in alliances. Gold buys advisors that make troops fight 20% stronger on PvP worlds.
Pay to win: StrongLoot boxes: Yes5. Tribal Wars
6.8/10Best for long PvP campaigns
InnoGames' medieval strategy MMO has run in browsers since 2003, and each world is a persistent PvP map where tribes conquer each other's villages. Premium Points turn into resources, faster builds and automation with no permanent cap.
Pay to win: StrongLoot boxes: Yes
How we ranked these browser strategy games
This list holds the free strategy games we have reviewed that run in a desktop web browser: 5 so far. The order follows review scores only, and ties are listed alphabetically. Partner links never change the order.
OGame and Ikariam are in our catalog too, but app-store ratings are too few for our research score, so they have no rank here yet.
PvP and money
Elvenar has no battles against other players, per InnoGames' guides, and rates as mildly pay to win. The others are built around PvP, where money buys speed, resources or combat boosts, so they rate as strongly pay to win.
FAQ
What is the best browser strategy game?
On our ranking, Heroes of History, with 8.0 out of 10. The score comes from a research review and can change once we play it.
Do these games need a download?
No. All of them run in a desktop web browser. Each also has iOS and Android apps, and Heroes of History and Tribal Wars have PC clients as well.