Back to Frostspire Library
Merribind's snowed-in reading list

Eight browser games shelved
for the nights when Hollowrime is buried in snow

When drifts close the road up to the spire and the telescopes fog over, Merribind props the brass-rimmed glasses on a pile of atlases and opens a browser tab instead. Pinned to the card desk is a reading list of eight free browser games that keep turning while the dragon sleeps: a Great War with walking iron machines, a modern base under siege, a space war that runs in rounds, a medieval village, a horse farm, a football club, a basketball front office and a whole economy run by players.

8games on the reading list
6that also travel as phone apps
0fees to sign up for any title
Planetarion key art
Pick of the star charts

Planetarion

Space war fought in rounds that end · Space & sci-fi

Merribind keeps the great orrery turning; this is the closest thing to it on the list. You choose among five races, assemble fleets and bargain inside alliances through a space war that lasts roughly two months before it closes. Because every round resets, a newcomer starts level with the crowd rather than facing players dug in for years, and the run-up to a round's close is when the star charts get busy.

Good for
Players who want a clear finish line instead of an endless climb.
Typical session
A daily look, more as the round winds down
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Read about all five races before choosing one.
  2. Join an alliance within your first week.
  3. Watch fleet timings closely as the round draws to its close.
Play Planetarion freeOpens planetarion.com in a new tab

Seven more titles pinned under the reading lamp

Iron Order 1919 key artStrategy & war

Iron Order 1919

Great War that never ended, with iron Titans

Here the Great War never stopped and infantry march beside walking iron Titans. Build a province economy, research, trade and betray rivals in real-time matches, then queue orders before the reading lamp goes out so the front keeps moving overnight.

  • A handful of short visits from dawn to bedtime
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Strategists who want the Great War with a dieselpunk twist.

Your first session
  1. Grow your province economy before raising Titans.
  2. Open talks with neighbours early in the match.
  3. Queue longer orders before you step away.
Play Iron Order 1919 freeOpens ironorder1919.com
Base Attack Force key artStrategy & war

Base Attack Force

Modern base-building war

Modern military strategy centred on one base: gather resources, raise defences, and press an advantage with the help of an alliance. It suits a player who likes to fortify a corner first, the way Merribind guards the rare-books shelf before anything else.

  • Short checks, longer planning sittings
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who enjoy contemporary-war strategy.

Your first session
  1. Put resources into defences before attacking anyone.
  2. Ask a busy alliance to take you in before your first raid.
  3. Keep production running between visits.
Play Base Attack Force freeOpens baseattackforce.com
My Little Farmies key artFarm, town & zoo

My Little Farmies

Medieval hamlet of fields and workshops

Sow the strips of farmland, keep the workshops busy and turn grain, wool and timber into wares for the townsfolk of a medieval hamlet that grows through production chains rather than battles. It has the patient rhythm of rebinding old books: one careful step leads neatly to the next.

  • Short tending visits, longer layout sessions
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Quiet builders who prefer a workbench to a battlefield.

Your first session
  1. Get one production chain working before adding another.
  2. Keep fields planted so workshops never sit idle.
  3. Follow the early tasks to learn each building.
Play My Little Farmies freeOpens mylittlefarmies.upjers.com/en
Horse Farm key artFarm, town & zoo

Horse Farm

Stable yard and paddock keeper

Brush, feed and school your horses while barns, paddocks and fields spread out around the stable. Harvests and better stalls pay for every new foal, and the goals nudge rather than push, which makes it a calm companion for an evening when the snow is falling soft against the window.

  • Brief rounds of brushing and harvesting
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players after a soft, animal-centred sim.

Your first session
  1. Care for your first horse before expanding the stable.
  2. Sow the fields early so the harvest pays for the next stall.
  3. Use the gentle goals to learn the farm.
Play Horse Farm freeOpens horsefarm.upjers.com/en
Online Soccer Manager key artSport & management

Online Soccer Manager

Football manager with real licensed clubs

Choose a real licensed club, pick the shape and the matchday plan, haggle over transfers and send scouts out looking for promising youngsters, then test it all in leagues against other human managers. A full season can be under way before the kettle in the reading room has boiled.

  • A few minutes per matchday
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Managers who want to start a season quickly.

Your first session
  1. Pick a club whose budget suits your patience.
  2. Set tactics before every match.
  3. Scout young players for later seasons.
Play Online Soccer Manager freeOpens en.onlinesoccermanager.com
BuzzerBeater key artSport & management

BuzzerBeater

Running a basketball club from the front office

Sit in the front office instead of on the court: arrange the depth chart, choose an offensive and a defensive formation, draft, trade and train, then follow games in a live match viewer. It rewards the kind of tidy record-keeping a librarian dragon admires.

  • Short lineup checks, live games to watch
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Hoops fans who would sooner run the roster than shoot the ball.

Your first session
  1. Settle the depth chart first, then experiment with formations.
  2. Train a few players with clear roles.
  3. Watch a live game to see your tactics play out.
Play BuzzerBeater freeOpens buzzerbeater.com
Virtonomics key artBusiness & tycoon

Virtonomics

Multiplayer economy simulation

Factories, mines, farms and retail chains link into supply chains in an economy run by players. A single daily server tick settles every decision, so planning beats clicking, and it fits a reader who likes to sketch tomorrow on a notepad tonight.

  • One planning sitting a day
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Planners who like a slow economy they can study like a ledger.

Your first session
  1. Start with one supply chain you understand.
  2. Check market prices before setting your own.
  3. Plan each day around the server tick.
Play Virtonomics freeOpens virtonomics.com

The whole reading list on one catalogue card

Title on the listGenre, as Merribind shelves itPace, by the librarian’s clockFellow borrowers onlineA Hollowrime evening’s sittingWhere Merribind reads it
PlanetarionSpace war fought in rounds that endRounds that close after roughly two monthsAlliance diplomacy and its feudsA daily look, more as the round winds downDesktop browser
Iron Order 1919Great War that never ended, with iron TitansLive matches that run while you sleepShifting coalitions and broken pactsA handful of short visits from dawn to bedtimeDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Base Attack ForceModern base-building warSteady building and raidsAlliance playShort checks, longer planning sittingsDesktop browser
My Little FarmiesMedieval hamlet of fields and workshopsRelaxed, no combatA shared world of villagesShort tending visits, longer layout sessionsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Horse FarmStable yard and paddock keeperEasy goals, nothing hurriedNeighbouring stables run by other playersBrief rounds of brushing and harvestingDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Online Soccer ManagerFootball manager with real licensed clubsA new season under way in minutesLeagues full of real rival managersA few minutes per matchdayDesktop browser; mobile app also available
BuzzerBeaterRunning a basketball club from the front officeA steady weekly calendar of gamesLeagues and tournaments between nationsShort lineup checks, live games to watchDesktop browser; mobile app also available
VirtonomicsMultiplayer economy simulationEverything settles at one daily tickMarkets set by the players themselvesOne planning sitting a dayDesktop browser; mobile app also available

Price of all eight: free to play, with in-game purchases left optional.

01

No fee at the card desk

Nothing on the list charges an entry fee, and each game can be played for months without spending; farms, fleets, clubs and companies all arrive complete.

Each studio runs a little counter of shortcuts and cosmetic extras next to the game itself. Plenty of veterans never open it, while a shared family computer will often take a spending limit set on the account screen.

02

Opening the first volume

Each button on the reading list carries you off to the maker's own official site, leaving this page open behind it. Sign up over there using an email address, and soon a village, a squad or a fleet is waiting with your name on its spine.

Every title has a guided first chapter for newcomers. Read it through, because it reveals the menus and the economy one chapter at a time, the way Merribind shelves a new set one volume after the other.

03

Quick glances and long snowed-in nights

All eight keep turning with the tab shut: armies advance, crops ripen, transfers close and goods pile up in storage. A peek with the morning porridge and one more by lamplight usually covers it.

Use the quick glances to collect, queue builds and trade a message with allies. Save a proper snowed-in evening for the weighty choices: a new production chain, an alliance pact, a fresh formation.

04

Keeping your card safe

Each sign-in belongs to the studio that runs its game, so type it only at that studio's real web address. Merribind keeps a separate key for every locked glass case in the stacks; give each game its own password too, and switch on a text or app check at sign-in wherever one is offered.

Real studio staff never need your password. Merribind would bar the stacks to any stranger swapping glittering in-game riches for a borrower sign-in, and you should report such offers the same day.

Why Merribind pinned these eight above the returns cart

  • Each title loads inside an everyday computer browser, so the opening move is only a page load away.
  • Not one entry on the list charges to join, and a steady player can read deep into the middle chapters of every game while ignoring its shop.
  • Squads, stables, fleets and factories carry on after you shut the tab, so a glance between shovelling the steps and supper still turns a page.
  • Each game has run for years under the same studio, with settled regulars who are used to helping a newcomer find the right shelf.

No. All eight run in an ordinary computer browser tab. Iron Order 1919, My Little Farmies, Horse Farm, Online Soccer Manager, BuzzerBeater and Virtonomics also have an official mobile app.

None of them. Signing up and playing cost nothing on every title, and any in-game extra is your decision alone.

No, and neither did Frostspire Library. An independent studio of its own builds and runs every title on the list, and every link on this page goes straight to its maker.

No. Every studio keeps its own list of players, so each of the eight needs a free sign-up of its own.

Iron Order 1919, My Little Farmies, Horse Farm, Online Soccer Manager, BuzzerBeater and Virtonomics also come as an official phone app. Base Attack Force and Planetarion live only in the browser, and Merribind reads them on a big screen at the desk.

Horse Farm or Online Soccer Manager, where a short visit covers the day's grooming or a matchday lineup. Planetarion, Virtonomics and Iron Order 1919 reward longer sittings.

Yes. Planetarion and Base Attack Force run on alliances, Iron Order 1919 on coalitions, both sports managers on leagues of human rivals, and the Virtonomics market is made entirely of players.