The deckhands behind Puffincoveplay
Puffincoveplay started on a rainy evening when three friends realised they had spent most of a year arguing about naval browser games on a group chat. One swore by Grepolis, one by Battle Pirates, and one insisted a good cargo route in Ikariam beat any battle. Writing it all down seemed the only way to settle anything.
The site is named after the cliffside colonies of puffins you find along the British coast, little seabirds that spend most of their lives on open water and come ashore only to nest. It felt right for a site about games where the sea is the main character and the land is where you rest between voyages.
Our guide, Skerry, is a puffin who knows the shallows. You will find Skerry on the home page and in the game finder, pointing readers towards the harbour that suits them. The name comes from the small rocky islets that dot northern waters, the sort of place a puffin would call home.
Everything here comes from real play on free accounts, recorded in dated logbooks and argued over before it reaches the page. We revisit reviews when games change, and we read every message readers send. If we have charted something wrongly, tell us, and we will sail back and look again.
Every word comes from the helm
We only write about what we have played ourselves on fresh free accounts, for weeks rather than an afternoon. If we have not seen something with our own eyes, it stays out of the review.
Scores that admit their bias
Our four criteria are fixed, our numbers are argued between two people, and a game that excels at one thing is allowed to score poorly at another. Uneven scorecards are honest scorecards.
Readers set the next course
Corrections, game suggestions and stories from your own voyages shape what we revisit and what we add next. The logbook is shared, and the best tips usually come from readers.