Games like Manor Lords: Why Ikariam is worth it for building fans
If you enjoy Manor Lords with its medieval city building and economic depth, you might also like Ikariam — an ancient building strategy game that you can play directly in your browser. No download, no purchase, start playing immediately. If you enjoy long-term planning, managing resources and watching your settlement grow step by step, you'll find an alternative here that you can also run in the background.
What makes Manor Lords special
Manor Lords was released on 26 April 2024 and is developed by Slavic Magic and published by Hooded Horse. It is currently in Early Access and targets players who want to combine medieval city building with strategy.
- Setting: Medieval period with a focus on detailed city building
- Game mode: Single-player
- Genres: Simulation, Strategy (Early Access)
- Features: Steam achievements, customisable text size, camera comfort, adjustable difficulty level
- Focus according to developers: large-scale tactical battles as well as complex economic and social simulations
It is a full-featured PC game — accordingly, it comes with a purchase price, installation and hardware requirements.
What Ikariam offers
Ikariam is a building strategy game in the browser, set in an ancient island world. Instead of a single settlement in the Middle Ages, you manage island colonies, research, trade and military — all through the browser, without installation.
Research depth using economics as an example
In the Economics research area, the following technologies are available, amongst others:
- Preservation (12 research points)
- Pulley (24)
- Prosperity (112)
- Wine culture (336)
- Geometry (2,236) — prerequisite for Architecture
- Architecture (3,672) — allows the construction of architecture offices
- Recreation (7,200) — prerequisite for Culinary Specialities
- Culinary Specialities (10,764) — allows training chefs in the barracks
- Bureaucracy (106,560), Utopia (241,200)
- "Future of Economics" in ten further expansion levels up to 5,328,000 research points
Military and seafaring
In addition to economics, there are separate areas such as seafaring and naval units. For example, the Balloon Carrier is a floating fortress with balloons that can attack enemies at sea from the air — prerequisites are War Dock level 7 and a Floating Base.
Those who play more aggressively can start privateering expeditions via the Pirate Fortress. The first voyage brings 115 pirate points and 40 gold. Depending on the expansion level, the crew, range and duration of voyages change — according to the wiki, shorter voyages are more effective per second.
Logistics example: Sea Chart Archive
Buildings like the Sea Chart Archive reduce travel times between islands. At level 1, the basic travel time is approximately 45m 36s, at level 10 approximately 2h 21m, at level 20 approximately 7h 36m — with corresponding time savings per island when visiting multiple destinations.
Where Ikariam differs from Manor Lords
Both games share the appeal of building and economic planning, but set different priorities:
- Platform: Manor Lords runs as an installed PC game via Steam. Ikariam runs in the browser, without download.
- Setting: Manor Lords is medieval, Ikariam is ancient with island worlds.
- Game form: According to Steam categories, Manor Lords is a single-player title. Ikariam has mechanics such as privateering expeditions against other pirate fortresses, which suggest a multiplayer world.
- Game rhythm: Manor Lords plays in sessions on PC. Ikariam is designed for longer building and research times — research ranges from 12 to over 5 million points, building times from minutes to days.
- Cost: Manor Lords is paid. Ikariam is free to play in the browser.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Manor Lords | Ikariam |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | PC (Steam, Installation) | Browser, without installation |
| Free-to-play | No | Yes |
| Setting | Medieval period | Ancient island world |
| Genre | Simulation / Strategy (Early Access) | Building Strategy |
| Game mode according to source | Single-player | Multiplayer elements (e.g. privateering) |
FAQ
Is Ikariam really free to play?
Yes, Ikariam runs in the browser and is free to access — in contrast to Manor Lords, which according to Steam is not a free-to-play title.
Do I need a powerful PC for Ikariam?
No. Since Ikariam runs in the browser, it eliminates the typical hardware and installation requirements of a PC game like Manor Lords.
Does Ikariam offer similar depth to Manor Lords?
The depth is different: According to its Steam description, Manor Lords emphasises detailed city building, tactical battles and social simulation in a settlement. Ikariam focuses on long-term research trees (e.g. economics with over two dozen levels) as well as island, trade and military management.
Are there other browser alternatives?
If you prefer to stick with the medieval setting, you can also take a look at Kingsage — a medieval strategy game in the browser.
Try it out directly
Manor Lords remains an excellent choice if you want to dive deep into medieval city building on PC. If you're looking for a building strategy game in parallel or as an alternative that you can start directly without purchase and without installation, Ikariam is worth a look — open your browser, create an account, settle your first island.