TinyWind
The most recommended of 48 browser games
A free, instantly playable browser pirate sailing game with pleasing art and smooth feel, reminiscent of Sid Meier's Pirates. Critics say the wind and sail controls are unclear and the wind physics claim is overstated.
A free, instantly playable browser pirate sailing game with pleasing art and smooth feel, reminiscent of Sid Meier's Pirates. Critics say the wind and sail controls are unclear and the wind physics claim is overstated.
80 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 61
- criticize it
- 19
- approval share
- 76%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 61 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Free, instant browser play
“The 2 game modes are free to play in browser.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “it's nice that you can immediately try it out”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “Even on mobile is very pleasing good job!”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” - Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
Attractive art and aesthetic
“The art, physics and interaction design in this is genuinely beautiful”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “Very cute aesthetic and reminiscent of Pirates!”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “love the astetics and gameplay”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” Smooth, responsive feel
“The art, physics and interaction design in this is genuinely beautiful”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “it's feels smooth, even better than most website today”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “Even on mobile is very pleasing good job!”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” Fun, engaging gameplay
“This is a really fun game, congratulations on releasing it.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “Fun game. Funner to think I am sinking people, not bots :)”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “Very fun game by the way, well done!”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” - Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
- Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Unclear sail and wind controls
“Sail trim is clunky and seems unresponsive or unclear how it maps to physics.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “the wind direction could be clearer”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “If you put sail adjust ments of the opposite side of the screen from the helm on mobile, its be easier to both at once.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” - Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
Wind physics seem unrealistic
“does it use actual wind physics? because it doesn’t look like it”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “The boat seems to go faster with the sails on the wrong side (back winded), that doesn't make a ton of physical sense to me”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “There's a vague correlation between wind direction and sailing speed, but there's nothing real here.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” - Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
- Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
- Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
Boats turn too fast
“if the boats turned more slowly I think it would encourage more planning”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “make the boats not turn quite so fast”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “The use of a ship's wheel to steer is also a little much.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” Enemy aim and ramming problems
“Enemies have perfect aim, and I can't hit anything.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “The sidekick ramming into you all the time and killing all speed is pretty annoying.”
Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” “Would be nice if cannons didn't fire in directions that had no clear enemies.”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)” - Comment from 16 Jun 2026 in “TinyWind: A pixel pirate sailing game with real wind physics (380k+ kms sailed)”
Other browser games people recommend
The four most recommended other browser games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TinyWindThis page | 61 | 19 | 76% | 1 | — | — |
| Starfling | 59 | 17 | 78% | 1 | — | — |
| Starcraft: Ashfall | 46 | 12 | 79% | 1 | — | — |
| Half-Life 2 in a Browser | 42 | 11 | 79% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Number Gacha | 33 | 11 | 75% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 86 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“plays great on desktop and mobile”
“This is a really fun game, congratulations on releasing it.”
“The use of a ship's wheel to steer is also a little much.”
“Great game, loved taking a peak behind the scenes and seeing it was using HTML5 canvas.”
“the headline saying “real wind physics” is misleading”
“it's feels smooth, even better than most website today”
“The friction point for me was having to register to save progress.”
“does it use actual wind physics? because it doesn’t look like it”
“i keep expecting like 5 ships to try and hunt me down but nada”
“Square rigger directly into the wind, that's 100% arcade.”
“The sidekick ramming into you all the time and killing all speed is pretty annoying.”
“Really fun! Enjoyed playing.”
“I had a blast for like 10 minutes”
“The art, physics and interaction design in this is genuinely beautiful”
“if the boats turned more slowly I think it would encourage more planning”
“Shocking how well this works on my beat up old Moto phone.”
“Very cool and congrats! Super huge undertaking to ship a game.”
“Awesome game!! It would be nice if your mouse wheel could turn the sails”
“Great game! I’m bookmarking it and coming back.”
“Very cool game and would love to have a go at future versions.”
“Even on mobile is very pleasing good job!”
“There's a vague correlation between wind direction and sailing speed, but there's nothing real here.”
“It's definitely in dire need of some sound effects at least.”
“It took me a while to discover accidentally, by pressing space, that I can trim the sails.”
“Sail trim is clunky and seems unresponsive or unclear how it maps to physics.”
“love the astetics and gameplay”
“the wind direction could be clearer”
“If you put sail adjust ments of the opposite side of the screen from the helm on mobile, its be easier to both at once.”
“It's great to be able to get engaged in the game instantly”
“Enemies have perfect aim, and I can't hit anything.”
“Would be nice if cannons didn't fire in directions that had no clear enemies.”
“Very fun game by the way, well done!”
“I don’t seem to be able to stop the boat by sailing straight into the wind.”
“The boat seems to go faster with the sails on the wrong side (back winded), that doesn't make a ton of physical sense to me”
“make the boats not turn quite so fast”
“Very cute aesthetic and reminiscent of Pirates!”
“it's nice that you can immediately try it out”
“Fun game. Funner to think I am sinking people, not bots :)”
“The 2 game modes are free to play in browser.”
“here's another project work checking out if sid meier's pirates is your thing”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.