inconsequential ruminations

A minimalist blog, with a pretentious title, about strategy games.

Vassal PBEM/PBW engine

with 7 comments

I’m intrigued by the VASSAL Game Engine.

VASSAL is a game engine for building and playing online adaptations of board games and card games. It allows users to play in real time over a live Internet connection (in addition to playing by email). It runs on all platforms, and is free for personal use.

The mixture of online/PBEM gives a flexibility I have not seen elsewhere. There are loads of games available – click the Module link on the VASSAL homepage to see them.

Would anyone like to try it with me? Suggest any game and I’ll consider it.

Written by Iain

July 6th, 2005 at 10:02 pm

Posted in boardgames

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7 Responses to 'Vassal PBEM/PBW engine'

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  1. Well, consider Hammer of the Scots. Preferably PBEM, because you’re usually at work when I’m available.

    Mikko

    7 Jul 05 at 10:07

  2. There is a AoS module on the way. The guy told me it was in testing.

    As soon as it appears, I am ready to try it !

    ReiXou

    7 Jul 05 at 10:14

  3. Mikko – Hammer of the Scots sounds excellent. I’ll read the rules, get myself setup and let you know when I’m ready.

    ReiXou – I’m feeling a little swamped by AoS at the moment. I’m already playing four games PBEM simultaneously. I’d still like to try out the VASSAL module though…

    Iain

    7 Jul 05 at 13:00

  4. There’s currently a discussion of Vassal vs. Cyberboard going on at the Cyberboard Yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CyberBoardML.

    Here’s the latest comment.

    “I agree that Vassal and CB are very different things. Vassal is great for playing real time, but it is terrible for PBEM. It CAN do PBEM. You CAN hammer nails with a rock, but it’s better to use a hammer….
    Mike DeSanto”

    I’ve only used Cyberboard so can’t comment on Vassel. Version 3 of Cyberboard (which is currently in beta I think) seems to do anything you would want for pbem – it certainly more than covers the 7 Ages game I’m involved in.

    Michael Longdin

    7 Jul 05 at 15:37

  5. Thanks Michael. I’ll stick with Vassal for now, if only because it’s cross-platform and my home pc is on Linux. I think Mikko’s main machine is a Mac, so he’ll probably agree.

    If I can’t enjoy Vassal, and I’m quite fussy about these things, I’ll try Cyberboard, although it’s going to be a fiddle getting it to work for me.

    Iain

    7 Jul 05 at 16:18

  6. Thanks for the tip Iain. I was aware of Cyberboard but not of Vassal. Hammer of the Scots looks nicely done. Perhaps when you have beaten Mikko?

    Peter Haslehurst

    11 Jul 05 at 13:25

  7. Mikko has a record of beating me in PBEM. He even beat me in a word game! Anyway, I’d be delighted to play you, although face to face would be much more fun. :)

    Iain

    11 Jul 05 at 21:39

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