🗓️ Updated on · checked game by game by the Embercraft team
Evony: The King's Return is everywhere in adverts, and many players stay for the generals, the subordinate cities
and the events. Many leave as well: the rankings are decided by credit card and the pressure to
spend never stops. Here are ten strategy games that keep what is fun about Evony — building, raising an
army, forming alliances — in the browser, without the wallet as the main weapon. For each: platform,
shop, pace, strengths and weaknesses.
1. Embercraft Medieval — Our game — a persistent medieval kingdom
If you installed Evony for the adverts and stayed for the generals before fleeing the packs, Embercraft is the honest alternative: a multiplayer medieval kingdom in the browser, nothing to install, playable without buying anything, with a persistent world, PvE and anti-bashing rules. No puzzles — strategy.
2. Travian Legends — Alliance warfare at its finest
The strategy game Evony inherited from: village, alliances, raids. In the browser and on mobile, with a shop that weighs but does not decide everything.
Evony lives on mobile. If you want to play on PC without an emulator, pick a browser game:
everything happens in a tab, and most keep mobile access (an app, or the phone's browser).
What the shop decides
Evony's packs buy raw power. Before switching, check whether the new game's shop sells permanent
bonuses that weigh on the rankings, or only time. Okord sells nothing; Embercraft sells speed-ups, not
reserved troops.
The pressure you accept
Evony punishes absence: server merges, looping events, notifications. Games built around offline
production with anti-bashing rules let you leave for the weekend without losing your kingdom.
Frequently asked questions about games like Evony
Is Evony pay-to-win?
Yes, and the game does not hide it: packs, VIP and premium generals decide the top of the rankings. A free player can progress, not compete.
Is there a game like Evony on PC or in the browser?
Every game on this list runs in a browser (except Stronghold Kingdoms, which has a client). Embercraft runs in a tab on PC, tablet and phone, with nothing to install.
A game like Evony without pay-to-win?
Okord has nothing to buy. Embercraft can be played entirely without Gold; optional Gold speeds up progression. Travian and Grepolis sell bonuses, but the rankings remain first a matter of alliance and time.
Do the puzzles from the adverts really exist?
They exist in Evony as secondary mini-games, but they are not the core of the game. No game on this list is a puzzle game: they are strategy games.
Which one takes the least time?
Games built around offline production, such as Embercraft or Forge of Empires, can be played seriously in 10 to 15 minutes a day. Evony, Travian and Tribal Wars reward permanent presence.
🎯 In short
Which game like Evony should you pick in 2026?
For the same pleasure of building and allying without pay-to-win, in the browser and in 10 to 15 minutes a day: Embercraft. For the deepest alliance strategy: Travian. For nothing to buy at all: Okord.
