The whole motor pool: six free armour games

Three of these games are proper free downloads for PC and console; three load straight into a desktop browser. Some want you to know a Tiger’s frontal plate by heart, others want you to bolt a harpoon to a scrap-built truck. Each card below shows where it runs, what a normal week asks and how we scored it.

Desk favourite01

Combined-arms military sim

War Thunder

A free PC and console download where historical tanks, aircraft, helicopters and warships fight across more than 140 maps. Research trees run nation by nation, the damage model tracks every shell, and three realism settings let you choose between quick arcade fights and full simulator flying. Deep, demanding and still growing after a decade.

Tanks, aircraft and shipsThree realism settingsNational research trees

Free PC download (Windows, macOS, Linux); also on PlayStation and Xbox

Combat depth10

Session rhythm7

Free-player fairness7

Long-haul progression9

Get War Thunder Full report

Builder’s choice02

Vehicle-crafting arena shooter

Crossout

A free download for Windows PC and current PlayStation and Xbox consoles, where you weld armoured battle vehicles from scavenged parts and test them in post-apocalyptic team fights. Frames, wheels, guns and plates go exactly where you place them, so every defeat sends you back to the garage with a new idea. Endlessly inventive, sometimes messy.

Craft your own vehicleTeam PvP arenasCo-op raids against AI

Free PC download (Windows); also on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S

Combat depth9

Session rhythm8

Free-player fairness6

Long-haul progression8

Start building Full report

Fastest start03

Arcade tank shooter

Tanki Online

A long-running tank shooter that plays straight in a desktop browser, with an optional mobile app. You pair interchangeable hulls and turrets in a garage, upgrade them with what you earn, and climb military ranks through short deathmatch, team and capture modes. Simple to start, surprisingly deep once you begin matching equipment to maps.

Hull and turret garageMilitary rank ladderCapture and team modes

Desktop browser; mobile app also available

Combat depth6

Session rhythm9

Free-player fairness6

Long-haul progression7

Play in your browser Full report

Squad commander04

WWII squad shooter

Enlisted

A free Second World War shooter for Windows PC, PlayStation and Xbox where you lead a squad of soldiers rather than a lone hero. Switch between them when one falls, give the rest orders, and fight across campaigns from Moscow and Normandy to Stalingrad, Tunisia and the Pacific. Tanks, armoured cars and aircraft join the infantry war.

Command a squadHistorical campaignsTanks and aircraft too

Free PC download (Windows); also on PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X/S

Combat depth8

Session rhythm6

Free-player fairness6

Long-haul progression7

Join the squad Full report

Fleet planner05

Naval war strategy

Battle Pirates

A long-running naval war game that plays in a desktop browser. You design warships by fitting hulls with weapons, armour and special components, then send fleets across an ocean map to raid targets and rival bases. At home, your floating base needs turrets and repair docks. Slow-burning strategy with an events calendar that never sleeps.

Design your own warshipsOcean map raidsBase defence

Desktop browser

Combat depth8

Session rhythm6

Free-player fairness5

Long-haul progression8

Launch your fleet Full report

Easy sailing06

Pirate naval adventure

Seafight

Bigpoint’s pirate-themed naval adventure plays in a desktop browser with nothing to install. You captain a ship across open seas, trade broadsides with rival captains, hunt treasure and face sea monsters, either alone or with a brotherhood of fellow pirates. It is the most relaxed and theatrical of our six, with old-school charm.

Naval battlesShip upgradesTreasure hunting

Desktop browser

Combat depth5

Session rhythm7

Free-player fairness6

Long-haul progression5

Set sail now Full report