Free strategy games to play with friends online, in the browser
This page is written by the team behind Battle of Castles, one of the 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.
Every game on this page is free to play in a web browser, so your friends can join from whatever computer or phone they have, with nothing to install. What really separates them is how many of you there are and how a friend gets into your game: a link, a code, or a private room. The short answer:
- Just the two of you, in real time, on a phone or a computer: Battle of Castles (1v1 against each other, or 2v2 side by side).
- Two to eight friends, classic real-time strategy with bases and armies: BrowserRTS, Tiny RTS or Strata War.
- A group on a big live map, with alliances: Kiomet or Territorial.io.
- Quick tactical matches, then a ladder: generals.io.
- Board-game strategy, in turns: Colonist, Board Game Arena or War.app.
Play Battle of Castles in your browser: free, no account, nothing to download.
How a friend joins you, game by game
| Game | Group size | Real time or turns | How a friend joins | Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Castles | 2, or 4 in 2v2 | Real time | Team code, from a phone or a computer | None |
| BrowserRTS | 1v1 up to big free-for-alls | Real time | Share the match link | None |
| Tiny RTS | Up to 8 | Real time | Private lobby, invite link | Guest play |
| Strata War | 2 to 8 (up to 4 free) | Real time | Online matches | See its site |
| Kiomet | A whole server | Real time | Invite code, public or party server | None |
| generals.io | 1v1, teams, custom games | Real time | Custom game, party | Username |
| Colonist | Set in the room | Turns | "Play with Friends" room | See its site |
| Board Game Arena | Depends on the game | Real time or turns | Play with your friends | See its site |
| War.app | Alone or with friends | Turns | Play with friends | See its site |
"Free" means the game can be played without paying. Some sell extras: Strata War sells its later campaigns and larger online games, Colonist sells a membership for all maps and expansions. Check each site before you pay for anything.
For two players: Battle of Castles
Battle of Castles is a real-time strategy game made for small matches: one against one, or two against two. It plays in the browser at app.battleofcastles.com, on a computer or a phone, and on Android through Google Play. A phone and a computer can meet in the same match.
You each start with one castle. 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, put a tower, a wall or a catapult on the roads that matter, and spend your levels on powers up to the super attack. A 1v1 lasts nine minutes, a 2v2 twelve.
To play a friend: each of you creates a team, one challenges the other with its code, the other accepts, and the match starts. To play together, join the same team and take on another pair in 2v2. Our step-by-step guide to playing with a friend shows every screen.
Where the others do better: Battle of Castles stops at four players and has no chat. For a bigger group, read on.
For two to eight friends: classic real-time strategy
BrowserRTS
BrowserRTS is a large-scale RTS in the line of Supreme Commander and Total Annihilation: an economy, sprawling bases and battles with hundreds of units. Its page says: "Start a match and share the link. Friends join straight from their browser for 1v1, team, or free-for-all games". No download and no account. It is in early access and made for a desktop browser.
Tiny RTS
Tiny RTS, by zebleck on itch.io, is an Age of Empires-style game in pixel art: workers, gold and wood, town centres and barracks. You host a public or private lobby and invite friends with a link, play team games with spawn points for up to eight players, and chat during and after the match. Everyone can play as a guest.
Strata War
Strata War is a StarCraft-style RTS in the browser, with six factions. Its online matches go from one against one up to eight players, alone or in teams; online games for up to four players are free, larger ones come with a purchase or a subscription. It also has campaigns and skirmish against the computer, so a friend can learn before your first match.
For a group: a big live map
Kiomet
Kiomet puts everyone on one map "of towers and roads": you send units from tower to tower, upgrade them, and offer alliances to your neighbours, who then cannot attack you. Press "Play with friends" to get an invite code: your friends join you on the public server or on a party server of your own. No install, no account, and it runs on Chromebooks and touch screens.
Territorial.io
Territorial.io, by Territorial Endeavours, is the best-known map war in the browser: you spread across the map pixel by pixel and push your borders. Its Google Play page lists big multiplayer battles, alliances and one-vs-one duels, with rounds that can end in under five minutes. It also runs on Android, with ads.
generals.io
generals.io is fast: protect your general, take land on a grid, capture the other generals. It has team games, custom games and a party system that keeps friends together after a team game, plus a ranked 1v1 ladder once you want to face strangers.
Board-game strategy, in turns
Colonist
Colonist calls itself the "#1 Free Online Settlers of Catan Alternative": collect resources, trade and build. Its home page has a "Play with Friends" button that opens a room you share. Some maps and expansions need a membership.
Board Game Arena
Board Game Arena hosts more than 1,400 board games in the browser, "with your friends and thousands of players from the whole world", in real time or turn-based. It is free to play, according to its home page.
War.app
War.app, formerly Warzone, is for people who like the board game RISK, and says it is not affiliated with its publisher. You play alone or with friends, on Android, iOS or in the browser, across many maps and rules.
What Battle of Castles does not do
- Four players at most. Matches are 1v1 or 2v2.
- No in-game chat. Use your usual call or messaging app.
- No turns. Both players act at the same time.
- No offline play and no same-screen play. Each player needs their own device and a connection.
- No App Store app. On an iPhone, play in the browser.
- Landscape only on phones.
Which game for your group
Two of you, ten minutes, any device: Battle of Castles.
Three to eight of you, on computers, and you like real RTS: BrowserRTS, Tiny RTS or Strata War.
A whole group that wants alliances and betrayals: Kiomet or Territorial.io.
Friends who prefer turns and a board-game table: Colonist, Board Game Arena or War.app.
FAQ
What is a good free strategy game to play with one friend online?
Battle of Castles is built for it: a 1v1 against each other or a 2v2 side by side, in the browser or on Android, with a team code and no account. generals.io and BrowserRTS also have 1v1 matches.
Can we play from a phone and a computer together?
In Battle of Castles, yes: a phone and a computer can meet in the same match. Kiomet also runs on touch screens. The classic RTS games on this page are made for a computer with a mouse.
Do my friends need to download anything?
No. Every game on this page plays in a web browser. Some also have apps: Battle of Castles and Territorial.io on Android, War.app on Android and iOS.
Which games need no account?
Battle of Castles, BrowserRTS and Kiomet need none, and Tiny RTS lets you play as a guest.
Sources, read on 4 November 2026: the websites browserrts.com, stratawar.com, kiomet.com, generals.io, colonist.io, boardgamearena.com and war.app; the itch.io page of Tiny RTS (zebleck.itch.io/tiny-rts); Google Play page of Territorial.io (territorial.io). Websites change: check them before you choose.