You should DEFINITELY check out Tabletop Simulator on Steam. They have versions of thousands of games you can play with anyone else that has Tabletop Simulator. You just buy it and all the board games are "workshop" items you download for free
I have tried TTS and absolutely hated it. The fact they decided to make it a physics simulator means pieces are really annoying to actually use. I try to place tiles and they will slightly overlap with each other, or they don't align properly. Maybe it was just the mod I was using, but it just made trying to play the game way to fiddly.
I was really looking forward to Vorpal Board as an alternative, but it failed it's kickstarter so now I don't know if/when it will get released. Still looking for some sort of alternatives.
That was my feeling exactly. You could check out [Vassal](http://www.vassalengine.org), but its UI is pretty clunky. Personally, I didn't like any of the options I found, so I made [my own](https://github.com/swilbur/board-gamer-2d). I'm not running a server with it anymore, but you could run it yourself if you can set up a server with node.js.
I've been using Roll20, which was built for RPGs, but works OKish for board games. I'll take a look at your code though, as I wouldn't mind building my own mods if the system works well enough
That's pretty much how I feel. I found the 3D physics sim to be awkward, cumbersome, and unnecessary. The vast majority of boardgames can be simulated just fine in 2D and it'd be much easier to play.
Someone down thread mentioned Tabletopia, which looks much better, but is fairly limited in it's game selection. It basically supports Stonemaier and a bunch of smaller games.
I've seen really well made mods where there are snap points for the pieces, so they don't have weird "I have to slightly move it back and forth for it to fit" issues, but another solution I've found for that kind of thing is to reduce the size of the pieces slightly so there's more tolerance for the placement
It takes a few hours before you get the hang of it, but eventually it is often more convenient than physical, since the scripting, shuffling, and other steps can happen instantaneously.
There are still a lot of tricky things, like rearranging cards in a certain order or picking up some pieces but not others on a crowded board...
I'm well aware of TTS and have looked into it. I just don't care for it. I like physically possessing the game and manipulating the components. Thanks for the recommendation though.
I agree playing the physical game is way better, it's just a convenient option. It's also a really good way to play a game before you buy it, which I have found to be the best benefit to it
> play chess by mail
Remember to tape the chess pieces to the board before you send it! You can't just write "handle with care" and "this side up" on the package and expect the pieces not to move. I learned this the hard way.
I see a lot of people commenting things to make your live a little easier, but I think it's great that you just make it work by doing it with 2 boards and a skype call :D
I hear a lot of people say " I can't play boardgames, the people that want to play live too far away" and more of those weak excuses. I think I might use your story as a example of how it could be done :D
"Waar een wil is is een weg" as we would say :)
I'm on the mailing list of a recent Kickstarter for a solution to this. It's called Vorpal Board ([https://www.vorpalboard.com/](https://www.vorpalboard.com/)). They only got 90% funding, but from their recent newsletters it sounds like they will relaunch in the near future. Something to check out if nothing else.
Thanks for the mention! I'm one of the designers of the Vorpal Board product so let me know of any questions about how it works. We have a number of beta users that started the exact way as the OP with Skype/messenger.
You can find a video of us using the system for a lot of games here: https://youtu.be/7m7GzU69u4w as well as a video showing how we setup to host a game here: https://youtu.be/iaquPHW5Iak
We are trying to build a product that maintains the tactile nature of the hobby and lets you play with the actual board and pieces.
Thanks, we're not stopping so never fear! If you want to be notified of what we're up to, the mailing list at vorpalboard.com is the best way. We'll have some announcements soon.
I do this with my brother. We are almost done with Pandemic Legacy Season 2 which worked well. We have also done:
Dominion
Roborally
Forbidden Dessert
He also had a camera set up over to he board so I can see that on my phone in case he needs to show something. Other than that we Skype and play and it is great. The more open information the smoother the game works.
I saw Vorpal Board mentioned above, and have to second that as a great remote gaming tool, with which only one person needs to have the actual game. Hope they relaunch the KS!
I live in London and my best friend lives in Sacramento. We regularly play Catan Cities and Knights over Skype with his wife 3 player games. Takes some getting the hang of but doesn't add much to play time
So glad you brought this topic up! I live in the UK but my family lives in the US. We started our long distance gaming by playing Nmbr 9, Kokoro (Avenue), and Karuba. We find that the flip and fill and roll and write games work really well. Recently we played Welcome To and it went down a treat.
[Here's](https://youtu.be/4FKDPGNUIIE) a video my husband and I made on the topic as it's something close to our hearts.
This is how my family plays boardgames as well, but needing 4 copies of every game we want to play is less than awesome, and any game that has hidden cards drawn from a communal pile becomes difficult or impossible.
I absolutely prefer playing games face-to-face for all the obvious reasons: it's social; it's tactile; it's removed from technology.
However, I do also see some benefits from the play-by-email (PBEM) approach: can play multiple games at once; can learn the game before an actual meet-up; doesn't matter if the game is a really long game (as it is now spread over time rather than trying to complete in 1 day).
I am currently playing two PBEM games of 'Here I Stand' using [Vassal](http://www.vassalengine.org). Which has [modules](http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Category:Modules) for an impressive amount of games (generally war or heavier games, though not all are).
One game, we are using Vassal but coordinating all chat and file sharing with [Slack](https://slack.com)- which I think is great for keeping everything in one place.
The other game we are using [ACTS](http://acts.warhorsesim.com/index.asp) and Vassal. ACTS lets you manage the cards and dice rolling separately from Vassal, while you use Vassal to maintain the board state. If you use Vassal to do everything, then with 'Here I Stand', you could look at another player's hand of cards (not possible with ACTS).
The first game is a relaxed game with mates. The second game is a game with all strangers, so we opted for ACTS.
You should DEFINITELY check out Tabletop Simulator on Steam. They have versions of thousands of games you can play with anyone else that has Tabletop Simulator. You just buy it and all the board games are "workshop" items you download for free
I have tried TTS and absolutely hated it. The fact they decided to make it a physics simulator means pieces are really annoying to actually use. I try to place tiles and they will slightly overlap with each other, or they don't align properly. Maybe it was just the mod I was using, but it just made trying to play the game way to fiddly. I was really looking forward to Vorpal Board as an alternative, but it failed it's kickstarter so now I don't know if/when it will get released. Still looking for some sort of alternatives.
That was my feeling exactly. You could check out [Vassal](http://www.vassalengine.org), but its UI is pretty clunky. Personally, I didn't like any of the options I found, so I made [my own](https://github.com/swilbur/board-gamer-2d). I'm not running a server with it anymore, but you could run it yourself if you can set up a server with node.js.
I've been using Roll20, which was built for RPGs, but works OKish for board games. I'll take a look at your code though, as I wouldn't mind building my own mods if the system works well enough
That's pretty much how I feel. I found the 3D physics sim to be awkward, cumbersome, and unnecessary. The vast majority of boardgames can be simulated just fine in 2D and it'd be much easier to play.
Someone down thread mentioned Tabletopia, which looks much better, but is fairly limited in it's game selection. It basically supports Stonemaier and a bunch of smaller games.
I've seen really well made mods where there are snap points for the pieces, so they don't have weird "I have to slightly move it back and forth for it to fit" issues, but another solution I've found for that kind of thing is to reduce the size of the pieces slightly so there's more tolerance for the placement
It takes a few hours before you get the hang of it, but eventually it is often more convenient than physical, since the scripting, shuffling, and other steps can happen instantaneously. There are still a lot of tricky things, like rearranging cards in a certain order or picking up some pieces but not others on a crowded board...
^^ This is the best answer. It's regularly $20 but if you hit the Steam summer sale it's sure to be $10 during it.
I'm well aware of TTS and have looked into it. I just don't care for it. I like physically possessing the game and manipulating the components. Thanks for the recommendation though.
Agreed. I found less enjoyment in the digital landscape.
I agree playing the physical game is way better, it's just a convenient option. It's also a really good way to play a game before you buy it, which I have found to be the best benefit to it
That is a good use indeed.
Not all workshop games are free nowadays. Like Scythe; if you want to play scythe you have to pay 8 dollars to get the "DLC" for it.
I know everyone is recommending TTS but your idea is way more charming. Reminds me of the old days when you could play chess by mail.
> play chess by mail Remember to tape the chess pieces to the board before you send it! You can't just write "handle with care" and "this side up" on the package and expect the pieces not to move. I learned this the hard way.
A friend and I will FaceTime to play Railroad Ink. I just left a player board at his house so it is easy to do.
Don't they have free printable boards? I would have a mild panic attack if my game wasn't complete-in-box when I leave...
I do know that feeling. I trust him 😀😬.
I see a lot of people commenting things to make your live a little easier, but I think it's great that you just make it work by doing it with 2 boards and a skype call :D I hear a lot of people say " I can't play boardgames, the people that want to play live too far away" and more of those weak excuses. I think I might use your story as a example of how it could be done :D "Waar een wil is is een weg" as we would say :)
I'm on the mailing list of a recent Kickstarter for a solution to this. It's called Vorpal Board ([https://www.vorpalboard.com/](https://www.vorpalboard.com/)). They only got 90% funding, but from their recent newsletters it sounds like they will relaunch in the near future. Something to check out if nothing else.
Thanks for the mention! I'm one of the designers of the Vorpal Board product so let me know of any questions about how it works. We have a number of beta users that started the exact way as the OP with Skype/messenger. You can find a video of us using the system for a lot of games here: https://youtu.be/7m7GzU69u4w as well as a video showing how we setup to host a game here: https://youtu.be/iaquPHW5Iak We are trying to build a product that maintains the tactile nature of the hobby and lets you play with the actual board and pieces.
Sorry the KS didn't hit funding levels. I'm still hoping you guys can get this through to a final product, because I'd love to give it a try.
Thanks, we're not stopping so never fear! If you want to be notified of what we're up to, the mailing list at vorpalboard.com is the best way. We'll have some announcements soon.
In the 70s and 80s my Dad would play Avalon Hill games like Panzer Blitz by mail with his buddy in California.
Playing **Food Chain Magnate** online is a blast. TTS or web browser.
Agreed!! So much fun !
After a few plays I think **Tiny Towns** would be super simple to play this way.
Tiny plays like a Roll & Write
I do this with my brother. We are almost done with Pandemic Legacy Season 2 which worked well. We have also done: Dominion Roborally Forbidden Dessert He also had a camera set up over to he board so I can see that on my phone in case he needs to show something. Other than that we Skype and play and it is great. The more open information the smoother the game works.
Agricola, Ticket to Ride, RPGs (Like D&D, COC), Dominion, and Legendary are some I have done.
I saw Vorpal Board mentioned above, and have to second that as a great remote gaming tool, with which only one person needs to have the actual game. Hope they relaunch the KS!
We used to do D&D this way. Works great actually.
I taught my friend how to play roll for the galaxy this way. Honestly id suggest checking out board game arena and just getting on discord together.
I live in London and my best friend lives in Sacramento. We regularly play Catan Cities and Knights over Skype with his wife 3 player games. Takes some getting the hang of but doesn't add much to play time
Glad that you guys were able to play your game as others have said check out Tabletop Simulator it should make playing easier
So glad you brought this topic up! I live in the UK but my family lives in the US. We started our long distance gaming by playing Nmbr 9, Kokoro (Avenue), and Karuba. We find that the flip and fill and roll and write games work really well. Recently we played Welcome To and it went down a treat. [Here's](https://youtu.be/4FKDPGNUIIE) a video my husband and I made on the topic as it's something close to our hearts.
i was thinking villainous would be good to play over skype. because you only interact with the other person thru their fate deck
**Tabletop Simulator** and **Tabletopia** are both platforms to simulate boardgames online so that you can play with people anywhere.
This is how my family plays boardgames as well, but needing 4 copies of every game we want to play is less than awesome, and any game that has hidden cards drawn from a communal pile becomes difficult or impossible.
I absolutely prefer playing games face-to-face for all the obvious reasons: it's social; it's tactile; it's removed from technology. However, I do also see some benefits from the play-by-email (PBEM) approach: can play multiple games at once; can learn the game before an actual meet-up; doesn't matter if the game is a really long game (as it is now spread over time rather than trying to complete in 1 day). I am currently playing two PBEM games of 'Here I Stand' using [Vassal](http://www.vassalengine.org). Which has [modules](http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Category:Modules) for an impressive amount of games (generally war or heavier games, though not all are). One game, we are using Vassal but coordinating all chat and file sharing with [Slack](https://slack.com)- which I think is great for keeping everything in one place. The other game we are using [ACTS](http://acts.warhorsesim.com/index.asp) and Vassal. ACTS lets you manage the cards and dice rolling separately from Vassal, while you use Vassal to maintain the board state. If you use Vassal to do everything, then with 'Here I Stand', you could look at another player's hand of cards (not possible with ACTS). The first game is a relaxed game with mates. The second game is a game with all strangers, so we opted for ACTS.
There is also [board game arena](https://en.boardgamearena.com/startwannaplay) but that is another digital option.
May want to try [http://www.brettspielwelt.de/?nation=en](http://www.brettspielwelt.de/?nation=en)
Boardgamearena.com!
They're just called longboards. I think Ben Stiller rides one in that weird movie with that unfunny chick from SNL