The Vassal Engine is a

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

for building and playing online adaptations of board games, tabletop games and card games. It allows users to play in real time over a live Internet connection, and also by email (

PbeM A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy'' has been played by m ...

). It runs on all platforms, and is

free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

software. For example, there is a

Star Wars Miniatures ''Star Wars Miniatures'' is a 34mm scale collectible miniatures tabletop game based on the '' Star Wars'' fictional universe that was produced by Wizards of the Coast. The game was originally released in September 2004 and continued production ...

module, where players can play with up to three others in a digital replica of the

table-top game Tabletop games or tabletops are games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface, such as board games, card games, dice games, miniature wargames, or tile-based games. Classification according to equipment used Tabletop gam ...

. It is written in Java and the source code is available from GitHub under the

LGPL The GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) is a free-software license published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The license allows developers and companies to use and integrate a software component released under the LGPL into their own ...

open source license.

History

Vassal began as VASL (Virtual Advanced Squad Leader), an application for playing '' Advanced Squad Leader''.

Available modules

Vassal modules exist for over 1000 games, some of which are listed here. A more comprehensive, but not exhaustive, list of modules exists on th
Vassal module site list

Tabletops

* '' Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game'' Presently the most commonly played Vassal module, with over 30% of total traffic. * V40k, a '' Warhammer 40,000'' module. * '' Star Wars: Armada'' * '' Warmachine'' and '' Hordes'' * '' Malifaux'' * ''

Battlefleet Gothic ''Battlefleet Gothic'' is a miniature wargame that was produced by Games Workshop from 1999 to 2013. It simulates combat between large spaceships. It was developed primarily by Andy Chambers. Although this miniature wargame is no longer supported ...

'' * ''

Boardgames

* '' Advanced Squad Leader'' (VASL) * '' Twilight Struggle'' * '' Monopoly'' * '' Diplomacy'' * '' HeroQuest'' * ''

Pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

'' * ''

Space Hulk ''Space Hulk'' is a board game for two players by Games Workshop. It was released in 1989. The game is set in the fictional universe of ''Warhammer 40,000''. In the game, a "space hulk" is a mass of ancient, derelict space ships, asteroids, and ...

'' * '' Shadows over Camelot'' * ''

Memoir 44 ''Memoir '44'' is a light wargame, or war-themed strategy board game, for two players created by Richard Borg, published in 2004 by Days of Wonder and illustrated by Julien Delval and Cyrille Daujean. The game can also be played with up to six ...

'' * ''

Victory in the Pacific ''Victory in the Pacific'' (VITP) is a board wargame published by the Avalon Hill game company in 1977 that simulates the War in the Pacific during World War II. Gameplay ''Victory in the Pacific'' is a two-player wargame that deals with the P ...

'' * '' World in Flames'' * '' Gloomhaven''

Card games

* Playing Cards * Bridge/ Hearts * '' Up Front''

Copyright and licensing

In September 2008,

Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...

issued a cease-and-desist order regarding V40k to Tim Davis, the V40k module maintainer at that time. The module is still played. Games Workshop has also issued a cease-and-desist order regarding ''

''.

Similar projects

Similar engines for making board games include ZunTzu and Boardgame.io.

References

External links

Official Vassal website

GitHub page for the engine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassal Engine 2002 software Free game engines Free software projects Free software programmed in Java (programming language)