I want to host some LAN parties this winter, and am looking for some Free Software Games that would be a fun time. We already play some Counterstrike and StarCraft 2, but I want to expand into some actual Free games. Windows compatibility is a must, MacOS compatibility is desirable!

The two on my radar are:

  • Hedgewars, which seems like a strong candidate. We played a ton of Worms 2 in the 90s
  • 0 A.D., since we're already fans of RTS games.

But I know there must be some wacky ones out there which would be suitable for 30 minutes of pick up play.

  • Frank [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    11 months ago

    The Mechwarrior 4 mektek pack is still out there somewhere if you like big stompy robots.

    Liero is pretty oldschool, but it was a fan favorite back in the day.

    • Beaver [he/him]
      ·
      11 months ago

      Liero is one of the all-time best games! Cool to see that there's progress being made towards making it a Free game. https://www.liero.be/

      I think I still have all the Mektek packs somewhere, I wasted a ton of time on that in the mid 00s

  • NephewAlphaBravo [he/him]
    ·
    11 months ago

    all of them pirate-jammin

    we always had fun with WC3 custom maps, although that takes a bit of setup and idk about mac compatibility

    if you've got controllers there's always MAME and a million other emulators for some good old arcade/console multiplayer, that Simpson's beat-em-up and Soul Calibur have always been a hit

    the first 2 or 3 Quakes are open source now

  • lilypad [she/her, null/void]
    ·
    11 months ago

    Since no ones mentioned it yet, Super Tux Kart should work. Its available cross platform, and you can host LAN games if Im remembering right, and it should be fun for 30 minutes of pick up play.

  • YearOfTheCommieDesktop [they/them]
    ·
    11 months ago

    I guess not 100% fully open source or whatever but I'm still a fan of the original 90s DOOM/DOOM II etc. and it will run on anything. I used to use Chocolate Doom which I think worked on mac? but there are other versions if you want more modern features

    you just need the map files (WADs) but you can find them all over, there are free ones, custom maps, or one person can just buy the originals or download them and then give them to everyone else

  • Ho_Chi_Chungus [she/her]
    ·
    11 months ago

    Fistful of Frags or Pirates, Vikings, and Knights 2 are both good if you know how to set up a LAN party on a source engine game