Shakes & Fidget

Shakes & Fidget started in 2009 as a webcomic parodying World of Warcraft and grew into one of the longest-running online RPGs in its niche: German studio Playa Games keeps it going with over 50 million registered accounts. What sets it apart isn't its systems but its tone: over-the-top comic-book characters, jokes everywhere, and a world that laughs at fantasy clichés while quietly hooking you with its progression.

Under the comedy shell sits a management RPG that plays like an idle game. You build a hero, pick from roughly a dozen classes—warrior, mage, scout, assassin and more—and send them on timed quests rather than fighting in real time. The rest of the loop is accumulation: kitting them out with thousands of items, diving into dungeons, climbing the Tower and rising through the Hall of Fame, a ranking that rewards consistency far more than reflexes. It never demands active combat or long sessions—just short bursts that fit around your day.

It runs in the browser, on PC via Steam, and on Android and iOS, with cross-platform progress: you can push forward on your phone in the afternoon and pick up on your PC at night on the same account. The player base is spread across numerous regional worlds/servers, so there's almost always an active server near you.

In 2026 the game is still alive and actively supported, with a fast update cadence: patches every one or two weeks. Version 30.800 (July 2026) added 18 achievements and an arena win streak, and days later came the BBQ epic set. April 2026 opened the new European world EU27 with the three classic classes, and in late July an open beta for the Arena Manager rework ran, with a reworked skill tree and a new tutorial; a new World Boss is announced for Q3. You can follow all of it on the official changelog.

That support shows in the reviews: on Steam it holds a Very Positive rating (around 84% of some 6,400 reviews, and 88% over the last 30 days) and sits near 4.7/5 on mobile stores with over a million downloads. This isn't a forgotten niche hit but a veteran that still gets new content.

It's free-to-play with no entry cost. The premium currency is mushrooms, bought with real money to speed up progression: faster quests, potion refills and various convenience services. The key is that you also earn them for free—through quests, expeditions, the tavern, surveys, events and coupon codes handed out on social media, the newsletter and Twitch streams—so paying isn't the only route. Steam has in-app purchases and trading cards; there's no subscription.

Does spending give an edge? Yes, but a limited one. Because the arena ranking is measured by seasons, a consistent free player usually ends up above someone who pays sporadically. The competitive design rewards showing up every day more than opening your wallet, and that's a big part of why the free community stays in the race.

Shakes & Fidget is for anyone who wants a light, characterful RPG—the kind that keeps you company without demanding much: great if you enjoy progression, rankings and humor, and if you'd rather play in bursts than run hours-long raids. It's not for you if you're after skill-based action or real-time combat—there's none here—or if season-based systems and a premium currency feel like a tiring incentive. But if it fits your pace, it's a veteran that's still alive, updated and backed by a large community years after launch.