A desktop idle game that runs in a browser tab
Lantern Road is a desktop idle game that runs in your browser: leave it in a background tab and it keeps fighting, shows your zone and gold in the tab title, and can pop out a small companion window. There is no app to install.
Keeps playing in a background tab
Switch to your work and the party keeps walking. Progress follows the real clock rather than animation frames. Browsers slow hidden tabs down, so the game fast-forwards the time that was missed the moment the tab wakes up.
Live tab title
The tab title updates every two seconds with your zone and gold, in the form ⚔ Z42 · 1.2M, so you can read progress from the tab strip without opening the tab.
Favicon progress
The tab icon is a small lantern with a progress bar: green for wave progress, red for the boss timer.
Pop-out companion window
Open Settings and press Pop out to get a small window with the walking party. In Chrome and Edge on desktop (version 116 or newer) it uses Document Picture-in-Picture and stays above your other apps. Firefox and Safari do not offer that feature at the time of writing, so there the game opens a plain small window that will not stay on top, or falls back to mini mode if the browser blocks pop-ups. It is optional.
Mini mode
Mini mode shows only the stage and the action bar. Shrink the browser window to a strip at the edge of your screen and you have a small idle game that does not take over your desktop.
What this desktop idle game is not
It is a website, not a native app, so it cannot draw on your desktop or taskbar. If you close the tab or the browser, play stops and the offline catch-up takes over on your next visit, counted at 70% efficiency for up to 12 hours. Phones pause background tabs more aggressively than desktops.
Where each feature works
| Feature | Chrome and Edge (desktop) | Firefox and Safari (desktop) | Phones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plays in a background tab | Yes | Yes | Limited by the system, catches up on return |
| Live tab title | Yes | Yes | Not applicable |
| Favicon progress | Yes | Varies by browser | Not applicable |
| Always-on-top pop-out | Yes | Plain window only | No |
| Mini mode | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Try it: press Play, then open Settings and press Pop out.