One option available is to play games that you own via the free Open source software Vassal. It is not possible to play all games though but a selection of popular boardgames such as Carcassonne, Dominion or Risk and more advanced games such as Arkham Horror, the card game Illuminati or Axis and Allies are available as game modules.

A total of 886 modules are available for download at the official website. Not all are standalone games though as it is quite common to find expansions for games in the mix as well. The majority of games offered belong to the war gaming category but players will find different genres there as well.

Vassal players need to own the boardgame that they want to play online with other players since some of the common cards of each game are blanks to make sure the game is owned.

A game session basically works by connecting to the Vassals server and creating a new room for that specific game session. Friends and fellow players may join that room so that the game can be started once all players have joined it.

It is definitely a good idea to start with the tutorial map to learn the basic controls first to avoid problems during game sessions. The docs section offers several tutorials and first step instructions that are a must read as well.

Users who are still having problems should consult the forum or the wiki for help and additional information.

Vassal is not as easy to use as games that are offered on websites such as Brettspielwelt which are run on site.

Vassal offers a higher versatility as it is for instance possible to play games in a pbem like fashion. And the number of available games is a lot higher.

Vassal is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It requires the Java Runtime Environment 5 or later to be installed on the computer system.

The games are still that popular that fans have created remakes of the games with better graphics and sounds.

But Sarien Studios went a different way. They decided to retain the charm of the classic games by making the original game versions playable in a web browser. On top of that they added multiplayer support which sounds crazy at first. Ever imagined yourself playing Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards with ten other Larrys? No? Me neither.

sierra games online

Sarien Studios have added nine Sierra On-line games so far, including memorable games such as Gold Rush, King’s Quest I to III, Police Quest or Space Quest I and II.

All games are hosted on the site and playable in most modern web browsers including Firefox 2 and up, Internet Explorer 6 and up, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari.

Playing the games alone would have been enough fun for some users but the multiplayer addition kicks it up a notch.

You see other players wandering around in the adventure, their input commands displayed as speech bubbles. It is even possible to chat with other players which might be helpful in situations where you are stuck, and those will come, believe me.

Veterans might need a moment to get used to the idea of seeing a dozen clones of their character wandering around in the game shouting commands left and right. Multiplayer can be disabled, helpful if some players do not know their boundaries.

The developers have already announced plans to add new games and features to their adventure gaming project. Next up looks to be King’s Quest IV.

If you have some time at hand check it out, it is well worth it.

You start in an area and have to reach the end of the level to win or proceed to the next level. Enemies are appearing with several abilities and it is your task to get rid of them as fast as possible. Several weapons make your life easier, expect the usual assortment of weapons like Rocket Launchers, Miniguns and Shotguns.

The multiplayer part contains all the popular game modes such as deathmatch, base capturing, instagib and several others.

Sauerbraten Summer Edition is a nice game that is uncomplicated to play. Definitely worth a download. A roleplaying game using the same engine is in the making as well.

homepage: sauerbraten

The main fun in this game is the fact that you can play with up to four human players on one computer and up to 8 if you play over network. Those 4 vs 4 team battles are so great, especially when everyone is sitting in the same room and you can see their faces. (and hear them, hehe)

All 24 characters have special movies which cost energy to perform. Some can throw fireballs, some can teleport around or summon swords. You should take a look at the chart that explains the moves before you start the game.

Remember to open up port 12345 if you plan to play network games.

Servers had a good amount of players on them and I immediately felt at home and was able to frag the first enemies. You move your player with the WASD keys, aim with the mouse and shoot the weapon with the left mouse button and throw a grenade with the right one.

You may change weapons every time someone fragged you. I found the shootgun to be pretty effective and the sniper rifle the most difficult to handle at the beginning. There is lots of (ball) blood everywhere on the map after a few seconds which means it is not a game for minors but great fun for us adults.

The size of the game is just a few megabytes and it is worth the download if you like multiplayer games of this kind. Hope you enjoy it, see you on the servers.

Toblo is a fast paced game that delivers those moments known to all capture the flag players. Running with the flag on your shoulders to your own base, dodging enemy fire is a sure way to increase your heart rate. It is fun, it is great, it is my game for the weekend. Enjoy playing it.

The download from the original location was not working, try this download instead if it happens to you as well. (Click on Zum Download)

The word in question is not shown of course in the chat, all other invalid guesses are. You get some fine tools to draw the word(s) like different colors, a spray can, pencil and so on. Could be that this thing is more powerful than paint. Most rooms that are available are English rooms but you also find German, Spanish, French and custom ones.

The game features several modes, the most popular one to draw one word but there are variations of that mode were players may have to draw more than one word or have only five sketches to draw it. Games have a difficulty rating (easy, normal and expert) and can be themed as well. You may join themed channels like Christmas, Poker or Cartoons if you like.

The game has a huge user base. More than 1500 were connected to the game just a few minutes ago while I was checking it out. Game rooms have normally a limit of ten players but sometimes you find more than that amount in a room. This means that not everyone is going to sketch a word but all are able to take part and guess them.