Vassal is not so much a game itself, but a platform that lets you set up more than 1,000 board games and card games to play online with friends. Of course, this doesn't come without its drawbacks, such as — in many cases — having to own the physical game to use the cards, because in the virtual version they are blank.
We've mentioned a good number of board games to play online with friends, such as OpenSettlers, Sufragetto (a game from the early 20th century) or the sensational portal Happy Meeple. Vassal is quite different from all of those, because instead of being an online board game, it's an engine to create your own board and card games, as well as a compilation of games (through modules). All in a single open-source application.
A world of modules
In itself, Vassal is just a platform that can become many board games through modules. You can download them from the official site, where there are hundreds of games and expansions, such as Axis & Allies, BattleTech, Carcassonne and Risk, among many others. And since these are fan-made modules, the list grows daily.
Once you've downloaded the module you want to play — they usually don't take up more than 2MB — you simply open it using Vassal and you can start playing. You can play a game against artificial intelligence (only available in specific modules), search for online games to play with other people, or invite your friends to set up a group game.
The catch: blank cards
Each module you load is saved in the program so it can be easily run next time. The only problem with this incredible platform is that — in a few modules, especially commercial games — the player must have the physical board game to get the complete experience. This is because Vassal has blank cards, to make sure whoever plays has bought the game beforehand.
This is a bit ridiculous, because when you take a board game to a friend's house, not everyone needs to own it to play. Anyway, this doesn't happen with all games on the platform. Many, like the famous Cards Against Humanity, include everything you need to play without needing anything more than the desire to have fun. It's all about searching.
This last detail is a real shame, but if you have the game you want to play, or if the game you want to play includes everything you need, you just have to create a game for that particular game and wait for your friends to join and start the match.
In case someone doesn't know how to play or has doubts about the interface, the official site is also full of detailed guides and tutorials that are very useful for clearing up doubts. You can even find YouTube videos explaining how to install and play some of the most complex modules.
Another great use for this platform is testing board game prototypes you've created yourself. Hundreds of game designers have it as one of the best tools to test and refine the gameplay of their creations, playing online without needing to gather all their buddies to see how their creation works.
In short, Vassal Engine is an excellent engine for playing board games, with hundreds and hundreds of modules available, but it also is a powerful tool for designing and testing your designs for board games. Games can be played online or by email, for added convenience. Vassal runs on all platforms, is free and open source. Couldn't be better!
Vassal
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