These are the six browser RPGs our desk has played longest. Some ask for a few clicks before breakfast; others want a whole evening and a steady mouse hand. Each card tells you the flavour, the weekly time it asks for, and the kind of player who will get the most from it.
Start here01A stick-figure RPG with six absurd classes, a daily budget of adventures and thousands of ridiculous items. Under the jokes sits one of the most carefully built progression systems on the web, including Ascension, where you start over with harder rules and keep your treasures. Gentle on time, generous to free players.
Best action02Bigpoint's isometric action RPG brings real-time combat, distinct classes and cooperative dungeons to a dark fantasy world called Dracania. It is the busiest, flashiest game on our shelf, and the one that most rewards a free evening, decent headphones and a group of friends who like loot as much as you do.
Funniest tavern03Based on a webcomic that parodies big fantasy MMOs, Shakes & Fidget sends your hero on tavern quests that resolve on a clock while you get on with your day. A cast of classes that genuinely fight differently, an arena, guilds and dungeons stuffed with parodies make it the perfect ten-minute companion.
Trader's choice04Hunted Cow's long-running HTML5 RPG is a monster-hunting journey across realms from snowy peaks to volcanic plains, with crafting professions, player duels and a lively economy built around an auction house and a market in buffs. Old-fashioned in the best sense, and wonderfully social.
Gentle planner05Gameforge's fantasy adventure in the mystical kingdom of Aris is built on quest-board jobs that resolve over real time. You raise attributes as you level, pull legendary gear from ruin crawls, duel for ranking and team up in guilds for boss fights. Calm, considered and pleasantly undemanding.
Arena pick06Gameforge's Roman RPG mixes history, legend and fantasy across a sprawling empire. Timed expeditions tick down in real time and return with gear and gold, arena rounds against other players resolve automatically, and dungeons hold the rarer loot. A straightforward, satisfying loop for players who like a ranking to chase.
