Gladiator and fighting games to play online free

Fighting games come in two very different flavors. Some are about reflexes: fast hands, quick reads and the perfect moment to strike. Others are about decisions: when to attack, when to defend, and how to build a fighter that can win. Browser games have always been good at the second kind, and the gladiator game, where you build a fighter and climb an arena ladder one duel at a time, is one of the genre's best-loved formats.

This guide starts with our gladiator game and then covers the rest of Knockout's fighting games, from one-on-one boxing to arena brawls for a group. Everything here is free in the browser.

Iron Laurel: a turn-based gladiator career

Iron Laurel is a duel on a short strip of arena sand, one action each in turn. Attacks only reach one step (two with a spear), so first you close the distance: Step in covers up to two steps, and Step back buys you room. Then you choose your blow. A Jab lands most often and costs little stamina, a Swing hits harder, and a Power blow hits hardest and knocks your foe back, but misses more and costs the most.

The other actions are where the strategy lives. Guard raises your shield until your next turn, halving hits and sometimes parrying them outright, which tires the attacker; but guard again and again and it holds less, and the crowd boos. Rest wins stamina back but leaves you open. Taunt works the crowd, draining your opponent's stamina and heart, and the crowd's mood tilts both fighters' odds. A duel ends when one fighter drops, or after 100 actions, when the crowd picks the fighter in better shape.

Building a fighter

Solo, you make a fighter and take on twelve challengers in order, for gold and experience. Levels bring stat points to spend:

• Strength: more damage.
• Agility: better aim, more parries and more critical hits.
• Defence: armour and health.
• Stamina: health and breath for more attacks.
• Charm: stronger taunts and a bigger purse from the crowd.

Gold buys better kit in the armoury. A rematch pays half, and even a loss teaches a little, so you are never stuck. On a keyboard: Left and Right step back and in, Q jabs, W swings, E throws a power blow, S guards, T taunts and R rests.

Iron Laurel with a friend

Against a friend, both of you pick a fighting style in secret: Brute, Duelist, Bulwark or Showman. They have the same stat points and kit of about the same worth, so the duel comes down to how you fight. Play it live, or a turn a day if you cannot be online together. Computer opponents are there too, at Easy, Normal and Hard.

Knockout Boxing: three rounds in the ring

Knockout Boxing is a faster kind of fight. Jab, throw a straight, hook, uppercut, block and lean out of the way, over three rounds in a cartoon ring. A fighter can win by knockout or on points. There is a five-fight career to the belt, quick fights against the computer at three levels, and two-player fights on one screen, each player using half the keyboard or their own phone.

Brawlers for a group

When there are more than two of you, these arena games take over:

• Ring Out is a platform brawler with six fighters, four stages and nine items. Rack up damage and knock everyone off the stage, against bots, on one screen with phones as controllers, or online, for up to four.
• Quiver is an arena archery brawl. Each archer has three arrows, the screen wraps around, and you can dodge-catch arrows or stomp heads. Last archer standing takes the round.
• Bushwhack is a three-on-three hero brawl seen from above. Pick one of eight heroes, each with its own attack, burst and trick, then hide in the bushes, smash walls and win one of three modes, for up to six players.

A sword adventure: Runeblade

If you want fighting with a story's worth of progress, Runeblade is a side-scrolling sword climb up a 50-floor keep. Let your rune blade charge for a wave that cuts through every enemy, free a companion from each cell to fight beside you, open chests for better blades and beat eight bosses. There is a new Daily Climb every day.

Which fight to pick

• 
  Iron LaurelSolo career, or 1 v 1
• 
  Knockout BoxingSolo vs computer, or 2 on one screen
• 
  Ring OutSolo or 2-4 players
• 
  QuiverSolo or 2-4 players
• 
  BushwhackSolo or 2-6 players
• 
  RunebladeSolo

• You like to think before you swing: Iron Laurel.
• A quick one-on-one with a friend in the room: Knockout Boxing.
• A group with controllers or phones: Ring Out or Quiver.
• Teams: Bushwhack.
• Solo progress with bosses: Runeblade.

Gladiator tips

• Do not open with a Power blow. Jabs land more often and save stamina for when your foe is tired.
• Rest when your opponent is out of reach, not next to them.
• Guard to bait a big attack, but do not turtle. A guard held turn after turn gets weaker and turns the crowd against you.
• Spend early points on Agility or Strength. A fighter who hits reliably wins the early ladder faster than one who only survives.
• Keep an eye on your foe's stamina as well as your own. A tired fighter swings badly, which is the moment to step in and press.

For more games two people can play in the same room, see The best two-player games on one keyboard. For the quick-play browser classics these games grew out of, read Free games like the classic Flash games, in your browser.