11 best free online games you can play right now

You’re bored, you want to play some games, but you don’t want to spend your hard-earned cash on a game just to see if you like it. That’s where a good free game comes in.

Luckily, there are tons of them, and I’ve listed the best free online games below so you don’t have to go looking for them. There are certainly some old standbys on this list, but also some new and intriguing titles. I’ve also made it a point to pick games that you can enjoy for a long time even if you never spend a penny.

Lastly, I’ve chosen games that you can play on any device you want. Smartphones, handheld gaming consoles, PCs, and traditional consoles are all represented here.

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11 best free online games

11. Block Heads – Duel Puzzle Games: It’s technically not Tetris 

Block Heads – Duel Puzzle Games updates an old video game formula with a touch of the competition that so many people crave. Just hop in and get ready to organize all those falling blocks into rows!

Hey, if you’ve ever played the game this one was based on, you know that’s way more exciting than it sounds. And now there’s the thrill of multiplayer victory to be had as well.

Best feature: Instant multiplayer Tetris-like action

Available on: Android, iOS

10. Puzzle Brawl – Match 3 RPG: Match shapes to beat your friends

It’s classic “match 3” gameplay: arrange three or more shapes on your screen into a line, and they’ll disappear, giving you points. But now, as with other games on this list, you’ve got to do it better than the person you’re playing against. Think Bejeweled, but now you don’t have to get the highest score in your region to feel the thrill of beating someone at the game.

Mind you, there is still a leaderboard, so you can beat other people at the game that way, too.

Best feature: It’s match 3, but finally multiplayer

Available on: Android, iOS

9. Bloons TD Battles 2: Head-to-head tower defense

Bloons TD is a franchise all about tower defense. Balloons, or “bloons,” will show up on your screen, and you put down towers with monkeys in them to pop the balloons before they get to the other side of the level. It’s crazy fun, and I remember playing the first iteration back when it was a flash game.

In Bloons TD Battles 2, you finally get to compete with friends or enemies to see who can pop balloons the fastest, and survive the longest.

Best feature: Take on your friends in one of the best tower defense games

Available on: Android, iOS

8. Words With Friends 2: Online Scrabble for the masses

It’s a simple and familiar concept: you get some random letters, and have to make words with them by connecting them to letters already on the board. Make words, score points.

It’s all the fun of Scrabble, and none of the mess of cleaning up little wooden squares after your brother gets mad about that 13-letter triple-score word. All jokes aside, there are a few changes to the rule set, and you’ll need to adopt different strategies if you want to win.

Best feature: It’s more of what you loved about Words With Friends 1

Available on: Android, iOS

7. Pokémon GO!: Collect Pokémon the healthy way

If you haven’t heard about Pokémon GO!, I’d like to welcome you to the internet. First time? Or just coming back after a long, long while? No matter, it’s good to have you. Pokémon GO! is the game that took the world by storm in 2016 by allowing players to catch Pocket Monsters (yes, that’s what the name means) out in the real world with augmented reality technology.

Basically, you walk around outside until your phone finds a Pokémon. If you can capture it, you can train it and battle other players’ Pokémon… in real life, more or less.

Best feature: It’s the closest you’ll get to being a real Pokémon trainer

Available on: Android, iOS

6. Disney Speedstorm: Cross-platform kart racing

If you’ve ever wanted Mario Kart, but Disney, it’s here! And by all accounts, it’s fun to play! If you’re not familiar with the concept, you choose your Racer—in this case, an iconic Disney or Pixar character—customize your vehicle, and battle your way through a racetrack inspired by a Disney or Pixar film.

Despite the presence of some of the more annoying free-to-play monetization strategies, this combat racing game game has a fairly lively community, and it lets you play with all your friends on just about any device.

Best feature: Full crossplay racing across all platforms

Available on: Android, iOS, Switch, Steam Deck, PC, Xbox, PS

5. League of Legends / League of Legends Wild Rift: The classic MOBA experience

League of Legends was just about the first multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game to truly become a household name, and it hasn’t let go of that status ever since. LoL, along with its Wild Rift version for mobile and consoles, have held on to that status with a 5-on-5 team-based battle strategy mechanic that appeals to seasoned gamers and newbies alike.

Oh, and if you’ve never played before, don’t worry—you don’t need to form a team or know any other players before you join a game. You can easily jump in alone.

Best feature: Vast champion variety / the mute feature

Available on: Android, iOS, Switch, PS, Xbox (Wild Rift), PC (LoL)

4. Hearthstone: Mild addiction in card game form

Though I’m personally not an expert in card games of this style, Hearthstone is the game that makes me wish I was. The gameplay loop of playing, unlocking new cards, optimizing your deck—or trying to, in an amateurish sort of way, in my case—and then taking it into the next round to try your luck… it feels way better than it should, frankly.

Best feature: That “just one more game” feeling

Available on: Android, iOS, PC

3. Fortnite: battle royale and so much more

Fortnite is best known for its battle royale modes, of course, having taken the genre by storm some years ago. Enjoyers of battle royale games might leave for a while, but they always seem to come back for more, sooner or later, with updates keeping everything fresh. 

But more than that, it has become a game development platform unto itself, not unlike Roblox. Powered by Unreal Engine and thousands of creative fans, Fortnite Creative mode means you always have something new to play.

Best feature: Fortnite Lego Survival mode

Available on: Android (through the Epic Games app), Switch, PC, Xbox, PS, iOS (cloud gaming)

2. Combat Master

Combat Master is the game you want to play if you’re a Call of Duty fan who doesn’t like the way multiplayer has been going. With butter-smooth shooting, great free progression, a slew of familiar game modes, and non-greedy monetization, this shooter has impressed quite a few COD veterans.

I mean, shout out to XDefiant, but Combat Master has a mobile version, so it makes the list.

Best feature: Probably the best pure COD clone

Available on: Android, iOS, Steam Deck, PC

1. Warframe: Be a space ninja

Normally classed as an MMO-lite, Warframe is a game where you awaken as a Tenno, an ancient warrior from a civilization long dead. Your goal? Survive, and maybe bring a little order to a war-ravaged solar system. The game features instanced multiplayer missions, insane parkour movement, infinitely customizable guns and melee weapons, and hordes of enemies to defeat.

Despite a rough launch, and an even rougher new player experience, Warframe has evolved into one of the best games out there, period. And yes, you can get everything that affects actual gameplay by just grinding away as a free player.

Best feature: Smooth space ninja gameplay

Available on: iOS, Switch, Steam Deck, PC, Xbox, PS4

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In addition, ExpressVPN hides your IP address and encrypts all traffic between your device and the VPN server. That can help you get around activity-based ISP throttling—when your ISP can’t see what you’re doing, it can’t slow you down when it detects gaming traffic. 

VPN encryption also means you can unblock games on restricted work or school networks, so you can get in a few rounds on your lunch break.

Play safely anywhere, on any device. ExpressVPN supports Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, Linux, and even consoles via a VPN-enabled router. Wherever you are, you can game with an extra layer of security, while improving your connection.

Give it a try risk-free to see how ExpressVPN can change your gaming experience.