Back to Glitter Skate Hall
Twirla's locker-room noticeboard

Lockers shut, canopy lights low:
eight free games for the ride home

When the last song fades and the canopy lights dim, Twirla pins eight free games to the noticeboard beside the lockers. They run from comic quests and a Roman arena to a space fleet, a tank garage, a scrap-built battle car, an empire marching through the ages, a football side and a quiet farm; seven open straight in a browser tab, and Crossout comes as a free Windows PC download or on consoles.

8games on the noticeboard
7open in a browser tab
6different kinds of game
Shakes & Fidget key art
Twirla's top pin

Shakes & Fidget

Comic fantasy role-play · Role-play & adventure

Twirla's favourite for the bench outside, because it never takes itself seriously. Send your hero out on a timed quest, lace up for a few laps and come back to see how it went. There are a dozen classes to choose from, each with its own tricks: Druids swap between bear, tiger and eagle shapes mid-fight, while a Berserker piles several swings into one go.

Good for
Anyone who wants giggles alongside the stat screen.
Typical session
A quest or two between other things
Where it runs
Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Cost
Free to play; optional in-game purchases.
Your first session
  1. Pick the class whose style makes you laugh first.
  2. Send your hero on a quest and come back when its timer ends.
  3. Join a guild once you have a few levels behind you.
Play Shakes & Fidget freeOpens sfgame.net in a new tab

Seven more cards pinned up beside the lockers

Heroes of History key artStrategy & war

Heroes of History

Empire builder with hero squads

An empire builder that walks a whole civilisation forward through the ages. You lay out the city, keep the research line moving and recruit named heroes to lead its armies, then fight battles where the timing of each hero's ability decides how the field turns.

  • A build queue and a battle per visit
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: City planners who like a battle now and then.

Your first session
  1. Lay out the first streets with room to grow.
  2. Keep the research line busy so the next era opens.
  3. Get the measure of a single hero’s tricks before rounding up a whole squad.
Play Heroes of History freeOpens heroesgame.com
DarkOrbit key artSpace & sci-fi

DarkOrbit

Space combat MMO

A long-running space game with no canopy overhead, only stars. You fly your own ship from sector to sector, mining ore and trading shots, upgrade the hull as you go and sign with a company for the huge battles where whole fleets of real pilots meet.

  • A mining run or a battle or two
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Sci-fi fans who want a ship of their own.

Your first session
  1. Mine in quiet sectors before picking a fight.
  2. Spend early upgrades on the ship you fly most.
  3. Join a company to learn the bigger battles.
Play DarkOrbit freeOpens darkorbit.com
Gladiatus key artRole-play & adventure

Gladiatus

Roman arena role-play

Rome's arena, played in short bursts. Send your gladiator off on an expedition and, when its real-time countdown runs out, they march back with gear and gold. In between, bouts against other players resolve automatically, and the dungeons hold the scarcer equipment.

  • A few minutes, a couple of times a day
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who prefer short daily visits to long sessions.

Your first session
  1. Send out an expedition as soon as you arrive.
  2. Fit the gear it brings back before your first arena round.
  3. Try a dungeon once your gladiator can hold their own.
Play Gladiatus freeOpens gameforge.com/en-US/play/gladiatus
Hattrick key artSport & management

Hattrick

Football management sim

A football management game that moves at the pace of a real season. Every week the whole squad drills one chosen skill, you compete with real managers for players on a shared transfer list, and hand out tactics and personal instructions before kick-off.

  • Ten minutes on training day, more before kick-off
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Managers who want depth and a market of real bidders.

Your first session
  1. Choose a training focus and stay with it for several weeks.
  2. Watch the transfer market for a while before you bid.
  3. Give your key players individual orders before the match.
Play Hattrick freeOpens hattrick.org/en
Crossout key artAction & arcade

Crossout

Vehicle combat

The one download on the board. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland you build armoured battle cars from scavenged parts, bolt on weapons and plating however you like, then drive into arenas against other players. Customisation runs deep, so time in the garage can match time in the fight.

  • A few arena battles per sitting
  • Free PC download (Windows); also on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S
Good for & first steps

Good for: Tinkerers who like to build something and then test it under fire.

Your first session
  1. Get the free game from its official site on a Windows PC, or from your console store.
  2. Start with a simple, sturdy build before experimenting.
  3. Change one part at a time so you know what made the difference.
Play Crossout freeOpens crossout.net
Tanki Online key artAction & arcade

Tanki Online

Tank combat MMO

A tank battle game that runs straight in a browser tab. Mix and match hulls and turrets in the garage, then improve them with your battle earnings. Climbing the ranks unlocks stronger parts, and the fighting runs across deathmatch and capture-style modes, so each promotion opens something new.

  • A handful of quick battles
  • Desktop browser; mobile app also available
Good for & first steps

Good for: Players who want real tank fights without leaving the browser.

Your first session
  1. Pair a light hull with a turret you can aim easily.
  2. Spend battle earnings on the parts you use most.
  3. Try the capture modes once you know the maps.
Play Tanki Online freeOpens tankionline.com/en
My Free Farm key artFarm, town & zoo

My Free Farm

Classic farming sim

A long-running farm game with no frills and plenty of depth. You plough and sow, keep livestock and take every crop to market, and the plain look hides an economy that rewards planning your planting cycles carefully. It is the calmest card on Twirla's board, made for after a loud night.

  • A harvest and a replant per visit
  • Desktop browser
Good for & first steps

Good for: Planners who value depth over decoration.

Your first session
  1. Plant a crop that ripens before your next visit.
  2. Hold off on the livestock until the fields turn a profit.
  3. Sell at a good moment rather than all at once.
Play My Free Farm freeOpens myfreefarm.com

The noticeboard at a glance, card by card

Title on the boardGenre, in briefHow quick a turn isWho you play amongSession length, roughlyWhere you can launch it
Shakes & FidgetComic fantasy role-playShort quests on a timerGuilds and an arena of real playersA quest or two between other thingsDesktop browser; mobile app also available
Heroes of HistoryEmpire builder with hero squadsSteady, era by eraPlayed in a world alongside other playersA build queue and a battle per visitDesktop browser; mobile app also available
DarkOrbitSpace combat MMOQuick fights, long campaignsCompanies of pilots in large battlesA mining run or a battle or twoDesktop browser
GladiatusRoman arena role-playDaily check-ins on a timerArena opponents, plus a trading floor for playersA few minutes, a couple of times a dayDesktop browser
HattrickFootball management simOne week at a timeA shared transfer market and rival managersTen minutes on training day, more before kick-offDesktop browser; mobile app also available
CrossoutVehicle combatQuick arena battlesReal opponents in every arenaA few arena battles per sittingFree PC download (Windows); also on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S
Tanki OnlineTank combat MMOFast team battlesTeams of real playersA handful of quick battlesDesktop browser; mobile app also available
My Free FarmClassic farming simSlow and steady, field by fieldPlayed at your own paceA harvest and a replant per visitDesktop browser

What all eight charge: nothing to begin, though each sells optional extras in-game.

01

Nothing to pay on the way in

All eight cost nothing to join or to carry on playing; the quests, battles, farm and football side all come in full without spending.

Every game keeps a side counter selling speed-ups and dressing-up extras. Lots of seasoned regulars walk straight past it, and anyone sharing a computer can usually set spending limits in the account settings.

02

From the board to the game

Tap a card's button and the game's official site pops up in its own tab. Hand over an email there and you could be in your first quest within minutes; for Crossout, the same site hands you the free PC download.

All of them begin with a tutorial. Skate through it to the finish, since it explains the menus and the in-game economy one small piece at a time.

03

A quick lap or a long session

Most of the board carries on without you: quest timers run out, expeditions return, crops ripen and the training week rolls on. A look before work and another after tea keeps you up to date.

Use short visits for collecting and queueing. Save longer evenings for the bigger calls, like a new hero squad, a fresh vehicle build or a transfer bid.

04

Lock your login like a locker

Your account sits with that game's publisher, so enter your details only at the web address the publisher gives. Pick a separate password for each title, never one recycled from another, and say yes to the extra sign-in code when a game offers it.

No genuine member of staff will ever ask for a password. If a stranger dangles premium currency in return for your password, it is the account they want: report them to the game and roll away.

How a game earns a pin on the board

  • Seven of the eight load in an everyday browser window and the eighth is a free PC or console download, so the first match is only minutes away.
  • None of them asks for money at the start, and plenty of regulars play for months without ever opening a shop.
  • Quests, crops, training weeks and expeditions keep running after you close the tab, so a quick look on the way home still finds something finished.
  • All eight have years of seasons behind them, so each has a settled crowd of players to team up with or measure yourself against.

Seven of them need nothing extra: Shakes & Fidget, Heroes of History, DarkOrbit, Gladiatus, Hattrick, Tanki Online and My Free Farm all load in a computer's browser. Crossout is the one to fetch first, as a free Windows PC download, and it is on PlayStation and Xbox too.

Not to get going. Signing up and playing cost nothing anywhere on the board, the whole game is open without spending, and shop items are always optional.

No. Twirla only runs the hall on the boardwalk. Each game comes from its own publisher, and every button here leads to that game's official site.

No. Each title has a separate account with its own publisher, so expect to register eight times, without paying once.

Shakes & Fidget, Heroes of History, Hattrick and Tanki Online have official mobile apps alongside the browser edition. DarkOrbit, Gladiatus and My Free Farm are browser games best played on a computer, and Crossout runs on a Windows PC, PlayStation or Xbox.

Gladiatus or Shakes & Fidget, where an expedition or a quest runs on its own timer, or a quick harvest on My Free Farm. DarkOrbit, Crossout and Tanki Online are better when you have a proper session free.

Yes. Shakes & Fidget has guilds, DarkOrbit has companies, Gladiatus and Hattrick set you against other players, and Crossout and Tanki Online fill their battles with real opponents. Heroes of History and My Free Farm can be enjoyed at your own quieter pace.