Real-time strategy games you can play in your browser, with no download

This page is written by the team behind Battle of Castles, one of the seven games below. We say it here rather than at the bottom. The other games are described from their own websites, read on 4 November 2026, including the places where they do better than ours.

A real-time strategy game no longer needs a gaming PC and a big download. All seven games below open in a web browser tab and are free to play. They split into two families: classic RTS, where you gather resources, build a base and train an army, in the line of StarCraft or Age of Empires; and quick map-control games, where you skip the base and fight over places on the map in matches of a few minutes. The short answer:

• Closest to StarCraft, with campaigns and a map editor: Strata War.
• Huge armies and big maps, in the line of Supreme Commander: BrowserRTS.
• Classic fantasy RTS, nine factions: Shards of Stone.
• Age of Empires in pixel art, workers and town centre included: Tiny RTS.
• Front lines and barracks, on desktop or mobile: Holdfront.
• Towers and roads on a live public map, with alliances: Kiomet.
• A 1v1 or 2v2 duel between castles, in nine minutes, on a phone or a computer: Battle of Castles.

Play Battle of Castles in your browser: free, no account, nothing to download.

The seven games side by side

"Free" means the game can be played without paying. Some sell extra content or perks: check each site before you pay for anything.

Classic RTS: base, economy, army

1. Strata War

Strata War describes itself as "a free-to-play real-time strategy (RTS) game in the tradition of StarCraft": you gather ore and crystal, build a base, scout under fog of war and lead an army against an opponent doing the same. It has six factions, five story campaigns, skirmish against the computer, online matches from one against one up to eight players, and a map, mission and campaign editor. It shows no ads. The first two campaigns, skirmish, online games for up to four players and the editor are free; the other campaigns and hosting games for five to eight players come with a one-off purchase or a monthly subscription. After your first visit, skirmish, replays and the editor also work offline.

Pick it if you miss StarCraft and want the whole thing, campaigns included, in a tab.

2. BrowserRTS

BrowserRTS calls itself "a classic large-scale browser RTS", and names Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, Command & Conquer and Age of Empires as its family: a flowing mass-and-energy economy, commander units, sprawling bases and battles with thousands of units. You play quick matches against players of similar skill, custom lobbies you share by link, or skirmishes against the computer, from 1v1 to big free-for-alls. No download, no account. It is in early access and is made for a desktop browser.

Pick it if you want the biggest battles a browser can hold, on a computer.

3. Shards of Stone

Shards of Stone is "a free classic RTS that plays in your browser", with nine fantasy factions, from Dwarves to Undead, and around 22 units per faction. Its RTS mode has two story campaigns of 32 missions in all, skirmish against the computer, online matches for up to eight players and a map editor. A desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux exists, but you do not need it to play. The same world also has a MOBA, a dungeon crawler and a card game.

Pick it if you like fantasy RTS in the line of Warcraft, with a story to follow.

4. Tiny RTS

Tiny RTS, by zebleck on itch.io, is a free pixel-art RTS that you start as a guest, with no launcher and no account. Workers gather gold and wood, you raise town centres, houses, barracks, archeries, towers and monasteries, and you train soldiers, archers, monks, lancers and heroes. You win by destroying the enemy town centre. It has public and private lobbies with an invite link, team games, in-game chat, practice against the computer at four difficulty levels, and a map editor for up to eight players.

Pick it if Age of Empires is your reference and you like pixel art.

Quick map-control RTS: no base to build

5. Holdfront

Holdfront is "a fast, free real-time strategy (RTS) game you play instantly in your browser". You claim ground, push the front line, recruit infantry, ranged units and rockets from your barracks, and level up veteran units with experience. It has fog of war, online multiplayer and solo games against the computer, on desktop or mobile. Its only paid items are cosmetic supporter perks.

Pick it if you want front lines and units without a full economy to run.

6. Kiomet

Kiomet starts you with a King and a few soldiers "on a map of towers and roads". You drag from one tower to another to send units along the roads, upgrade towers, set supply lines, and offer alliances to your neighbours. Lose your King and you lose. It runs on low-powered laptops and Chromebooks, and on touch screens; a "Play with friends" button gives an invite code for the public server or a party server of your own.

Pick it if you want a big live map with alliances, and nothing to set up.

7. Battle of Castles

Battle of Castles is a real-time strategy game played in the browser at app.battleofcastles.com, on a computer or a phone, and on Android through Google Play. There are no workers and no economy to run: you start with one castle, and every castle you hold grows its own garrison. The only thing you raise inside a castle is a statue, which brings more experience. Point at a road and your castle sends half its garrison down it, every second, until you call the order off. Take the neutral castles, then your opponent's.

The strategy is on the roads. A tower cuts down the troops that march past it, a wall blocks a road and stops arrows, a catapult pounds the castle across the way. Experience brings levels, each level a point to spend on a power, up to the super attack, and mana buys defences or one decisive blow. A 1v1 match lasts nine minutes, a 2v2 twelve, and you never wait for a match. You win by taking every enemy castle, or by holding the most castles when time runs out. To play a friend, create a team and share its code (how it works).

Where the classic RTS games do better: an economy to run, armies to compose, factions, campaigns and map editors. Battle of Castles has one army, no campaign and no editor, and stops at 2v2.

What Battle of Castles does not do

• No workers and no economy to run. Castles produce on their own; you decide where the troops go.
• No campaign and no map editor.
• No big free-for-all. Matches are 1v1 or 2v2.
• No offline play. Every match runs on our servers, so you need a connection.
• No App Store app. On Android there is the Google Play app; on a computer or an iPhone, the browser.
• Landscape only on phones.
• No in-game chat. With a friend, use your usual call or messaging app.

Which game for your situation

You want a real StarCraft-style game, campaign included: Strata War.

You want the biggest battles, on a computer: BrowserRTS.

You want fantasy factions and a story: Shards of Stone.

You grew up on Age of Empires: Tiny RTS.

You want front lines without a base, on any device: Holdfront.

You want a live map full of players and alliances: Kiomet.

You have ten minutes, a phone or a computer, and want one opponent, or one friend: Battle of Castles.

FAQ

Are there real RTS games in the browser with no download?

Yes. Strata War, BrowserRTS, Shards of Stone and Tiny RTS are classic RTS games with a base, an economy and an army, and they all run in a browser tab. Holdfront, Kiomet and Battle of Castles are lighter: no base to build, matches decided by map control.

Which browser RTS games work on a phone?

Holdfront, Kiomet and Battle of Castles say they work on mobile. Battle of Castles also has an Android app on Google Play, and plays in landscape on phones. The classic RTS games on this page are made first for a computer with a mouse and keyboard.

Can I play a browser RTS with a friend?

Yes. BrowserRTS and Tiny RTS let you invite a friend by link, Kiomet by an invite code, Strata War and Shards of Stone through their online matches, and Battle of Castles by a team code, for a 1v1 against each other or a 2v2 side by side.

Do I need an account?

Not for BrowserRTS, Kiomet or Battle of Castles, and Tiny RTS lets you play as a guest. Check each site for the others.

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Sources, read on 4 November 2026: the websites stratawar.com, browserrts.com, shardsofstone.com, holdfront.io and kiomet.com; the itch.io page of Tiny RTS (zebleck.itch.io/tiny-rts). Websites change: check them before you choose.