Good Free Games Online

I know from personal experience just how hard it is to find good free games online with how huge the internet has gotten.  The first notable and possibly most well known source of good free games online is undoubtedly from the makers of the popular game Runescape!  This multiplayer filled world is alive 24/7 with thousands of role-players from around the world and has even been noted in the Guinness World Records as the world's most popular free online roleplaying game!  Check out the trailer and see for yourself!  Thanks Jagex!!

Photo from Runescape.com

As if the immense world of Runescape wasn't enough, the Jagex Team pumped out even more good free games online with the release of their sister site, FunOrb.com!  Like a thriving, gaming heaven, here you can find a bunch of good free games online to play alone or with your friends without ever leaving the site.  There's everything from shooting a round of pool to fighting mechs, a wicked soccer game, even a raid of zombies to control and let loose on some unsuspecting humans!  Most notably is a turn-based strategy game known as Armies of Gielinor where you get to grow and command an army straight out of the Runescape World!  Talk about intense!

I decided that I would post some strategy tips for playing one of my favorite good free games online - Armies Of Gielinor! In this game, you start off with a single Barbarian Chief and, through conquering portals, towns, and towers, raise mana to buy your armies and destroy your opponents! This turn-based strategy game, set in the colorful world of Runescape, is highly addicting, challenging, and a great way to make new friends!

These tips will only be useful to the free version of the game. Don't even try facing a member (they will have a funorb symbol or other symbol by their name in the lobby area - free players have no symbol at all) as they have access to member's only units that give them a completely unfair advantage over free players.

New to Armies Of Gielinor? As soon as you start up the game, if you're new you should definitely check out the tutorial before jumping into the Multiplayer Lobby for a real game. The tips below are good for when you have an understanding of how the game works, but they can help out a new player just the same!

• Your Barbarian Chieftain - This is the unit you will start off with. He is a 10/10 Barbarian which means he is useful for claiming portals, towns, and towers quicker than a normal barbarian. He's best used to claim these territories quickly to increase your mana production as fast as possible. He only takes 2 turns to take over a tower, but with a druid by his side you can cut that down to a single turn. He's usually your enemies' first target, but you can use that to your advantage to lure their units in for easy pickings.
  
• The 3 Gods Of Runescape - The 3 Gods - Saradomin, Zamorak, and Guthix - represented by the Blue, Red, and Green orbs, respectively, are where you can focus on most of your unit production from. Saradomin has Monks, Paladins, Owls, White Knights, Saradomin Mages, and Unicorns. Zamorak has Skeletons, Werewolves, Necromancers, Black Knights, Zamorak Mages, and Demons. Guthix has Wolves, Druids, Black Guard Dwarves, Terrorbirds, Gnomecopters, and Moss Giants. There is also a neutral unit base which has Barbarians, Gorillas, Avianse, Pennance Rangers, Tz-Haars, Daggoneths, Portal Mages, and Red Dragons after someone has summoned the one-per-game King Black Dragon.
  
• Monks, Druids, and Necromancers - Monks, when standing next to a friendly unit on the following turn, will start to heal any adjacent units. They can also bury any adjacent bones. Druids, when standing next to a friendly unit on the following turn, will boost any adjacent units +5 to their strength, though no further. Necromancers can heal any Skeletons standing adjacent to them on the following turn, and turn bones into skeletons the same way.
  
• Paladins, Dwarves, and Knights - These 3 types of units are very good for brute force. Paladins are the weakest but they can hold their own. Black Guard Dwarves are really tough but are somewhat weaker than knights. The White and Black Knights are great melee units and they deliver a nice hit almost as much as they can take one.
  
• Flying Units - Saradomin Owls are the weakest of the fliers but they have their uses - they are great at cutting off an enemies path because almost all ground units can't harm them. Avianse are pretty tough air units but they come at a steep price! Gnomecopters are also tough and very fast at covering terrain, also they're not as costly as the Avianse. Dragons are the toughest of the fliers, having both a melee attack and a ranged fire breath attack that'll kill almost anything, especially if that dragon is the King Black Dragon, though he's the most expensive unit at a whopping 2000 mana!
  
• Rangers and Mages - Pennance Rangers are not fliers and are quite weak at defending attacks but they cost little to produce and they can do quite a bit of damage to any flying units. The Saradomin and Zamorak Mages both have a wide ranging magic attack that hits anything hard as long as their strength is good. The only other ranged units are the Dragons, which hit harder than any other ranged units.
  
• Portal Mage - This mage isn't used for combat. It's very weak but it's ability is great - if it begins it's turn on an empty, grassy spot, it can create a portal which allows you to create units from the God of your choice!
  
• Portal Strategies - Grab portals whenever you can go for them as they are where you can bring in your forces. In team games, if you leave a unit on a portal, on your teammates turn they can use that unit - if your portal is under attack, this strategy can help by allowing all of you and your teammates to use the same unit to fight each turn! If you get close enough with a strong enough unit, you can set it on an opponents portal to stop them from using it to bring in units - of course, your unit will suffer damage each turn it sits there so get a barbarian there to capture it quick! If you think an opponent might be trying to stop one of your portals (usually with a flying unit) it's best to have rangers or mages to guard beside it, but put a unit on your portal (after you use it for other units of course) to stop an enemy unit from sitting on it and preventing you from summoning more forces. Remember that, if your enemy has created a portal using a portal mage, you can't take it over, only block it.
• Starting Strategies - At the beginning of your first turn you should always grab the portal next to you and end turn as quickly as possible. On your next turn, a great strategy is to send your Barbarian Chief to claim a town or tower quickly, then to get a druid and 2 or 3 barbarians out to surround the druid, which will pump them up to 10/5 barbarians your next turn. The third turn, use your pumped up barbarians to take over towns if they're close enough (it'll only take 1 turn now) and keep a druid by them to keep them pumped up, plus you should now be able to afford some tougher units which you should also place beside a druid to pump up. By your fourth turn, you should be close to taking the lead in mana production and have a good enough supply of mana to buy some really tough units to send after your enemies - make a path lined with your druids to meet the enemy and your units will get pumped as they enter the battle!
• Some other things to consider - Terrorbirds, though defensively weak, are good for a rush attack on your enemy's barbarians - they travel quite far! One of the best units in the game are Daggoneths - they can cross water with ease, they hit hard and defend just as good, and they are also the only melee land unit that can hit flying units!

Well, I hope these tips help you enjoy the game better and give you an edge in multiplayer games! Maybe I'll see you on the battlefield! :D

• Visit and play Armies Of Gielinor Now!