Vampire Browser Games: How to Pick One

A vampire browser game is any vampire game you play in a web browser, with nothing to download. That covers everything from a two-minute arcade game to online worlds that have been running for twenty years. Here is how to tell them apart, and how to find one worth your nights.

The three kinds of vampire browser game

Persistent browser games (PBBGs). Your vampire lives in a shared online world that keeps going between sessions. You log in, take your turns, and log out; your coven, rivals and home are still there tomorrow. Most of the long-running vampire games online are PBBGs, and they are built for months or years of play.

Text-based vampire RPGs. Many PBBGs grew out of text: menus, stats and written encounters instead of graphics. They are quick to play on any device and lean on community, roleplay and long-term goals. Some, like Vampire Genesis, started text-first and added art, pixel sprites and a pixel-art city map later.

Arcade and single-player games. Short HTML5 games, often on game portals, where you play as a vampire for a few minutes. Fun, but there is no world to come back to and no other players.

What makes a good one

If you want a vampire game to stick with, check these before you commit:

• It's alive. Look for recent updates, an active forum or chat, and players online. A quiet game can still be fun, but a dead one won't grow.
• It's persistent. No resets means your progress is yours. Some games wipe every season, others never do.
• It's fair to free players. Check what money buys. Cosmetics are fine; selling power splits a community into payers and prey.
• It's deep. Good PBBGs layer systems that feed each other: hunting, crafting, PvP, guilds or covens, collections, events. That is what keeps year two interesting.
• It works on your phone. Most play happens in short visits, so a game that works well on a small screen fits your nights better.

A short history

Vampire browser games boomed in the mid-2000s, alongside the rise of browser RPGs in general. Many of today's long-running vampire games date from that era: Vampire Genesis's own line began with Vampire Freaks: The Game in 2004 and Blood of the Age in 2005, and grew into Coven Wars in 2010. The survivors are the ones that kept updating and kept their communities.

Where Vampire Genesis fits

Vampire Genesis is a free vampire PBBG and MMORPG. You play in the browser on any device, and your vampire is never reset. You hunt on expeditions into the wilds, join a coven and fight territory wars for the city's eight districts, battle other vampires in the arena, catch and breed over 160 familiars, craft gear and own a home in Death Valley, a gothic pixel-art city with its own clock and weather. Premium items are cosmetic only.

New to it? The Game Guide covers your first nights, and the vampire name generator will find you a name.

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