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Gardens, farms and cities in a tab

Three browser games
for growing something slowly

A garden teaches patience, and so do these three. Each is a free-to-play browser game about growing something over weeks: a fantasy city of elves or humans, a family farm in the countryside and a village that becomes an empire. They run in a normal browser tab and cost nothing to begin.

Elvenar key art
01 · Fantasy city builder

Elvenar — a fantasy city to raise

Pick elves or humans and lay out a graceful city street by street, with workshops, homes and enchanted buildings fed by an ever-growing research tree. Trading with neighbours fills the gaps in your own production, and new chapters keep adding fresh districts to plan.

Good for
Planners who enjoy arranging a city as neatly as a flower bed.
Typical session
Around 15 to 20 minutes
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to join and play; any in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Decide on elves or humans before anything else, as the two grow in different styles.
  2. Keep a clear ring of ground around the main hall for later upgrades.
  3. Help a few neighbours each visit; it is free and they tend to return the kindness.
Play Elvenar freeOpens en.elvenar.com in a new tab
Big Farm key art
02 · Farming simulation

Big Farm — fields, barns and harvests

Inherit a modest family farm and slowly turn it into a thriving country estate with fields, orchards, livestock and workshops. Orders from the village keep the days purposeful, and seasonal events bring new decorations and small goals.

Good for
Anyone who likes a cheerful, low-pressure place to tend each day.
Typical session
About 10 minutes at a time
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to join and play; any in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Plant whatever will ripen around the hour you expect to drop back in.
  2. Complete village orders early, since they fund new fields and barns.
  3. Hold back a corner of land for the buildings that unlock further on.
Play Big Farm freeOpens bigfarm.goodgamestudios.com in a new tab
Travian key art
03 · Ancient empire strategy

Travian — villages, alliances and war

Choose a tribe and raise a small village into a network of towns, balancing farms, woodcutters and soldiers on a shared map. Over a long server round, alliances cooperate and compete for the honour of completing a great wonder.

Good for
Committed strategists who enjoy a long game with a close-knit alliance.
Typical session
Several short check-ins daily
Where it runs
Desktop browser
Cost
Free to join and play; any in-game shop is optional.
Your first session
  1. Raise resource fields evenly in the first days so nothing becomes a bottleneck.
  2. Look for an active alliance near your village as early as you can.
  3. Build a cranny and keep defences in mind before neighbours grow strong.
Play Travian freeOpens travian.com in a new tab

The trio at a glance

Elvenar (city builder)Big Farm (farming)Travian (strategy)
GenreFantasy city builderFarming simulationAncient empire strategy
PaceUnhurried and orderlyEasy-goingSlow real time
Playing with othersFellowships and trading neighboursFarming cooperativesAlliances working towards a shared goal
Typical sessionAround 15 to 20 minutesAbout 10 minutes at a timeSeveral short check-ins daily
Where it runsDesktop browserDesktop browserDesktop browser
CostFree to join and play; any in-game shop is optional.Free to join and play; any in-game shop is optional.Free to join and play; any in-game shop is optional.

Nothing to pay at the gate

None of the three asks for money to create an account or to carry on playing. Whole seasons can pass without spending a thing.

Inside each game sits a studio-run store selling shortcuts and ornaments, and it is entirely optional. Ignoring it costs you nothing, though families sharing one machine may want to lock down purchase settings on the new account.

Starting out

The button next to each title takes you to the studio homepage in another tab. Sign-up happens on that site, normally with an email, and a first plot of land is ready almost at once.

Stick with the opening quests for the first session. They introduce building, production and neighbours in the order the game expects, which saves confusion later.

Growing things in a busy week

All three keep ticking over while the tab is closed. Crops ripen, workshops finish and troops travel, so two or three brief visits a day are plenty.

Use short visits for collecting and queuing new jobs. Leave weightier decisions, such as a big expansion or joining a new group, for an evening with more time.

Keeping your logins safe

Logins are held by each studio, so type them only on that studio's homepage. A separate password per game helps, as does any extra verification step the studio provides.

Real helpdesk staff will not request a password through chat or mail. Strangers promising treasure if you share sign-in details want the account, not to help.

Why these three earned a lantern

  • They all load inside a desktop web page, so there is no separate program to fetch.
  • Joining costs nothing, and months of steady progress are possible with the wallet left shut.
  • Every one keeps working while you are away, so even a short visit shows progress.
  • Years of updates lie behind each, along with communities that are still busy today.

No. Each game runs in a regular desktop browser without a separate client.

Yes. Registration and play are free, and the optional in-game shops can be ignored entirely.

No. Separate studios build and host them; this page just points you at their homepages, and registration happens over there.

Sadly not. Three publishers means three separate sign-ups.

No. Buildings and harvests carry on while you are away, and a handful of visits a day is enough.

Big Farm is the softest start. Elvenar suits those who like careful city planning, and Travian is best for players ready for a long alliance game.

Elvenar and Big Farm have no end date and grow over months. Travian is played in server rounds that typically run for several months.