Managerial games

Pirates – Tides of Fortune is a complex and charming browser game released by Plarium Games. In this game you are a commander of your own haven (base of operations), where your goal is to expand, conquer and form brotherhoods with other players.
Tides of Fortune allows you to take several approaches on your gameplay; economical, defensive and offensive. The game leaves you enough room to learn how to fend for yourself during the first few levels, so you don’t have to worry about getting raided and pillaged by other players right off the bat.

➔ Main points:

• Classical strategy browser game.
• Fetch resources (or steal them), recruit an army of pirates and build your fleet.
• Complete daily missions to earn even more resources and units.
• Funny, entertaining, multilanguage voice-over (in pirate tongue too!).
• Much appreciated humoristic approach.

Stormfall: Age of War is a browser-based MMO strategy game by developer Plarium.
In the game you must create and upgrade your castle, while also building an army to pillage the castles of other players and defend yourself from their attacks.

While the combat mechanics of Stormfall are not particularly interesting, there is enough to do in this well-crafted game to make up for it.
Between the endless buildings, units and skills to construct and upgrade within your castle, and the different kinds of conquests to plan and execute outside it, the game can almost feel too busy for a beginner.

However, this also ensures that you won’t get bored of Stormfall too quickly – there’s almost always something new to learn.

➔ Main points:

• Classical fantasy browser game by Plarium
• You'll have the chance to meet Oberon, the sarcastic, world-weary soldier who will guide you through the quests while poking fun at you, other non-playable characters and even the game itself
• Lots of things to do, even for beginners: events, daily missions, pillages (both PvE and PvP)
• Recommended for people looking for a game to play for more than a couple of minutes per day.

Stormshot: Skull Isle Odyssey is a casual free-to-play game from FunPlus Entertainment (a company you might already know for other games like State of Survival or King of Avalon).

It is set in a world of pirates, hidden treasures, monsters and beautiful beaches, recreated with convincing graphics and dialogues... don't get us wrong: we're still talking about a casual game for PC and mobile devices, so don't expect the immersive experience of a full-featured MMORPG, but for the intended use of this game (killing some time during the lunch break, for example), the technical and story-telling aspects were quite enjoyable.

Regarding the gameplay, Stormshot is basically two-games-in-one: there will be the physics-based strategic shooting puzzles, and the city-building aspect.

The puzzles are the most enjoyable part: they are made in the style of Angry Birds, the iconic game that kinda invented this genre many years ago. There are hundreds of levels, very different one from another, very coloured, fun and sometimes humorous, granting a unique and fun experience every single time.
The city-building aspect is what we already know so well: gather resources, wait, build stuff, wait, wait more time, upgrade stuff, and so on... While many people do love this kind of dynamics, we felt it wasn't really necessary in a game like this, and we would have preferred to just have the excellent puzzles without being forced to play all the rest.

War Commander charges you with the role of Commander over a growing platoon of vehicles and military personnel. The game runs in a browser based platform so almost no download is needed and you can play right away. Chrome or Firefox is recommended. War Commander will be instantly likeable for anyone who enjoyed Starcraft. This is a budget version of the similar mechanics and gameplay found in Starcraft, build a base, hire troops and defend it. There is a pleasing aspect of finding resources, gathering them and securing access to defend your supply base. The game delivers well enough to enjoy PvP action in a simple environment with a lot of playability for a long time to come. There's always something to do, units to upgrade, weapons to research and players to attack. If you're looking for a game that offers action, this is one that doesn't need huge memory or graphic intensive computers, which makes it fun and appealing to a lot of people.

A fun to play game with lively graphics, Big Farm comes in as a good competitor to the run of the mill farming games. Based on the concept of balancing your resources and making your farm blossom, the game offers a number of avenues which you can take up to maximize your profits. Crops can be grown and harvested and animals can be raised while using fertilizers and other boosters.

Big Farm also offers the players to enjoy a few multiplayer game modes in which they can apply their expertise and achieve the objectives before their rivals to win. They can also play together as a team and expand their farms the best they can. Big Farm is very simple to play on one hand, and offers unique building upgrades on the other, making it a really fun game to play.

➔ Main points:

• A farming game with colorful graphics.
• Engaging multiplayer element.
• Fun gameplay.
• Easily understandable objectives.
• Graphic details could have been better.

Imperia Online is a free browser-based MMO belonging to the evergreen genre of city-building strategy games.
It will require you to establish a financially strong state with a good army.
Manpower can be deployed to fasten the collection of resources, and consequently improve the rate of your kingdom's progress.

The menus in the game become quite congested with the passage of time so a detailed tutorial is given right at the start to ease you into the game and give a better understanding of the in-game options.

The graphics of Imperia Online are well done despite its age (the game was first released in 2005), which is a sign of the good support given from the developers during all these years in terms of upgrades and improvements.

➔ Main points:

• Manage your economy and prepare a strong army.
• A detailed tutorial to bring you into the game.
• Deploy manpower to gather resources.
• The positioning of buildings cannot be dictated.

League of Angels is an acceptable turn-based MMORPG on rails for the casual player. Everything is clearly explained and marked and there is virtually no learning curve. There are plenty of things to do, including the usual daily events, dungeons to explore, world bosses, various PvP modes and mini-games along the lines of Bejeweled and Farmville – but not much original thought has gone on here.

The graphics and music are of reasonable quality, but while the game runs well the gameplay itself leaves much to be desired. The automated play style means that the main game pretty much plays itself, and the combat mechanics determine battle outcomes from gear and character skill sets rather than any strategy on your part.

Furthermore, the game places paying players at a distinct advantage over the free to play crowd, who will soon hit daily limits and won’t get access to the best weapons, armor and mounts. Serious gamers up for a challenge may want to look elsewhere.

Rail Nation is a managerial browser game by Travian Games that allows the player to create a railroad empire - growing the business while earning money and prestige.

You’re given control of everything and anything – however small – that may have something to do with the growth of a rail empire. Buying and upgrading locomotives and cars is key to this, but the game also includes the construction of new railroad to expand the reach of your control, the search for new technologies and even the administration of your central station.

To make it even more exciting is the subdivision of the game into historical eras, each characterized by specialized trains and infrastructure.

Rail Nation is a title that is not afraid to expect more from the player than just time – and we’re not talking about money either. Unlike many other titles, progression is dictated by more than the hours you spend playing. Overall, the game requires strategy and analysis before it rewards you with satisfactory results.

➔ Main points:

• A pacific, strategy browser game which doesn't rely on warfare but on cooperation.
• Diplomacy will be your key to victory.
• Different eras with new goods to transport and trains.

Soldiers Inc is a free-to-play strategic management game set in the near future, in a land where there is an ongoing war for control of resources.
In between the quests that we will be assigned, we will turn our little camp into a base of operations in all respects, with reservoirs, troops, vehicles, and ammunition.

The Plarium title simply brings the formula that has already been proven in many medieval strategic games into a futuristic world, where battles are fought with guns instead of hand-to-hand.
Graphically, the game holds its own, presenting detailed scenarios with dozens of animations that make each scene believable.

Soldiers Inc is a well-done strategy game: fun, but as often happens, it doesn't offer anything new to the genre.
Of course, it offers a new setting; it's up to you to decide if that is enough.

➔ Main points:

• - Futuristic war\strategy browser game
• - Join the great war for predominance on oil rigs and other resources
• - War has never been funnier: Plarium's humoristic approach pervades every aspect of the gameplay, thanks to the fully-voiced dialogues and grotesque quest characters.

Developed by Plarium, Sparta: War of Empires offers enjoyable albeit rather typical browser game entertainment, which is a mixture of strategy and war, with a few characteristics that set it apart from its brethren.

In addition to the usual game processes and progression, Sparta: WOE gives you the added option of enlisting help from King Leonidas and his Spartan army, using a combination of strategy and diplomacy.

Graphically, the game is very well presented: the artworks are rather inspired and the environment and design of the buildings work well.
Finally, the fully voiced dialogues and immersive soundtrack add more points to the atmosphere.

Sparta: War of Empires is good title – even if ultimately it does not offer anything special, the setting in historical Greece brings a little novelty of its own, and all the traditional aspects of a browser game are implemented in a convincing manner.

➔ Main points:

• Classical war browser game set in ancient Greece.
• Continuous updates from the developers and special events.
• All the traditional elements of browser-based games are implemented in a thoughtful manner: dialogues are fully voiced and artworks extremely well made.
• Purists of the genre will love this, although it may disappoint people looking for something new.