If you like Backyard Monsters and want something similar, look for strategy games where you build a base, produce resources, train an army and attack other bases. Below they are sorted by type, with no ranking: strategy games you can play right here on FB Games, Facebook strategy titles from the same era and a later mobile game, followed by what Backyard Monsters does differently in this browser edition.
Here is the game: open it in your browser, create a free account and see whether building a yard, raising monsters and flinging them at wild tribes is your kind of strategy.
Build your yard with buildings and towers, raise monsters with Goo and send them against the wild tribes on the map in this classic Facebook game.
In beta: some parts of the original game are not complete yet and you may run into bugs.
Four things define it. You build a base with producers of resources (twigs, pebbles, putty and goo). You raise your own units, here monsters made in a Hatchery. You send them to attack, with a Flinger that drops them into the enemy yard. And you defend with walls and towers. The game's guide lists 21 buildings and 15 monsters.
Compare other games on those questions rather than on looks: how you get resources, what your army is made of, whether you attack players or computer-controlled bases, and what defends your base.
Social Empires, by Social Point, is the one in this list that is available and not in beta: you build a village, train troops and defend it against trolls, in the browser. Social Wars, also by Social Point and in beta, is a war game where you build a base, train troops and tanks, and attack rivals. Empires & Allies, originally by Zynga and in beta, is empire strategy: you build a base, produce resources and recruit troops and vehicles.
Zombie Lane (Digital Chocolate, beta) mixes farming and survival: you defend your house from zombies, grow crops, build and help your neighbors. The Last Stand: Dead Zone (Con Artist Games, beta) has you build a shelter, recruit survivors and go out to scavenge an invaded city. Each game has its own account, separate from your Backyard Monsters account.
Backyard Monsters belongs to the early wave of Facebook strategy. Kixeye's own Battle Pirates came out in May 2011 as a real-time strategy game on Facebook. Army Attack, from Digital Chocolate, appeared the same month as a multiplayer strategy game. Kingdoms of Camelot, from Kabam, goes back to November 2009 and is a real-time strategy game on Facebook.
We only give the studio, the date and the genre. We do not say whether any of these games can be played today, and they belong to their owners.
Clash of Clans, from Supercell, launched on iOS in 2012. You build and upgrade a village and attack the villages of other players. That last part is the clearest difference with this edition of Backyard Monsters, where combat between players is not available.
If what you liked was the loop of building, upgrading and attacking, Clash of Clans shares that loop in another format, made for phones. The monsters, the Flinger and the wild tribes are specific to Backyard Monsters.
If you enjoy building and optimizing a base, look for games with many buildings and upgrade levels. If raising an army and choosing what to send is your favorite part, look for games with several unit types and different roles. If defense is what you like, pick games where your base gets attacked while you are away.
If you want to fight other players, check that the game supports it before you start. Social Wars lets you attack rivals; Backyard Monsters here does not yet.
It is about monsters, not soldiers: 15 of them with their own figures, from the Pokey to the healer Zafreeti. It has wild tribes (Legionnaire, Kozu, Abunakki and Dreadnaut) with five difficulty levels each, whose yards the server generates. Only tribes can be attacked; other players appear on the map but are protected.
It is also a beta. The Inferno, outposts, alliances, mail, gifts and chat are not available, and some of the art is placeholder. It runs on a FB Games server of its own, in the browser with no Flash, it is free and it needs a new account.
Three steps and you're in.
From this home page. Each game opens at its own address, with its own start screen.
A quick sign-up inside the game. Your progress is saved on the server, not in your browser.
You play in your browser, with no Flash and no downloads, on a computer and, depending on the game, on your phone too.
Games like Backyard Monsters are base-building strategy games: Battle Pirates, Army Attack and Kingdoms of Camelot on Facebook, Clash of Clans on mobile, and Social Empires, Social Wars and Empires & Allies on FB Games. We give only studio, date and genre, and do not say which ones can be played today.
Yes. Social Empires, Social Wars and Empires & Allies are base-building strategy games with troops, while Zombie Lane and The Last Stand: Dead Zone are survival games. Each has its own account, separate from your Backyard Monsters account, and all except Social Empires are in beta.
They share the loop of building and upgrading a village or yard and attacking others. Clash of Clans is a mobile game by Supercell that launched on iOS in 2012, and you attack other players' villages. Backyard Monsters adds monsters, a Flinger and wild tribes, and here it has no combat between players.
They come from the same studio, Kixeye. Battle Pirates came out in May 2011 as a real-time strategy game on Facebook, while Backyard Monsters launched in 2010. We do not say whether Battle Pirates can be played today, and it belongs to its owner.
It depends on what you liked about Backyard Monsters. For building a base, try the FB Games strategy titles; for attacking other players, check games that support it, such as Social Wars; for the monsters, the Flinger and the wild tribes, Backyard Monsters itself is the only place with them.
Not in this edition. In Backyard Monsters here you attack wild tribes only, and other players appear on the map but are always protected. Alliances, mail and gifts between players are not available either. If player combat matters to you, check each game before you start.
No. Backyard Monsters runs on a server of its own, and its account is independent of those of the other FB Games titles. You register separately for each game, and nothing carries over between them, including progress from Facebook.
Yes. Creating an account and playing Backyard Monsters is free, in the browser with no Flash and no download. It is a beta, so some parts of the original game are not complete and bugs can appear, but you can see for yourself whether it is the kind of strategy you like.
Brand notice: Backyard Monsters is an original game by Kixeye. Facebook is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc. Battle Pirates, Army Attack, Kingdoms of Camelot, Clash of Clans and all other game and company names mentioned belong to their respective owners. FB Games is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Kixeye, Facebook or Meta. This is a browser edition.
Creating an account takes a minute, and you play straight from your browser.