Games for asynchronous online play
September 19, 2022 4:58 AM Subscribe
My family and I have been playing "Wingspan" online for a while now, and while it's fun, it might be time to branch out. What asynchronous online games would you suggest as a substitute? More background and criteria inside.
My extended family & I (parents & aunt in 60s–70s, me, wife, & sister in 30s–40s) have been playing "Wingspan" online for the last year and a half. It's gotten to be a nice way to keep in touch — we sign on one evening, play the game for a bit, log off, and play the rest of the game asynchronously over the following weeks, keeping an e-mail chain going in parallel to update people on the game's progress and also throw in fun details about our lives. That said, I think we're all getting a bit tired of birds (it's possible, apparently!) and I wanted to investigate substitutes.
The ideal game would have most, if not all, of the following attributes:
My extended family & I (parents & aunt in 60s–70s, me, wife, & sister in 30s–40s) have been playing "Wingspan" online for the last year and a half. It's gotten to be a nice way to keep in touch — we sign on one evening, play the game for a bit, log off, and play the rest of the game asynchronously over the following weeks, keeping an e-mail chain going in parallel to update people on the game's progress and also throw in fun details about our lives. That said, I think we're all getting a bit tired of birds (it's possible, apparently!) and I wanted to investigate substitutes.
The ideal game would have most, if not all, of the following attributes:
- Asynchronous game mode for at least 4 players, ideally 5–6
- Not too stressful or violent
- Not too complicated (no more complicated than "Wingspan", at least)
- Available via Steam for both Macs and PCs, and will run fine even if you don't have the latest & greatest hardware
Ticket to Ride, Carrcassone, Splendor, and Catan all appear to have steam versions. If your family can play Wingspan they can for sure do the first three. I'm not sure about Catan, it's been so long since I played....
on edit: also Agricola.
posted by dpx.mfx at 8:20 AM on September 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
on edit: also Agricola.
posted by dpx.mfx at 8:20 AM on September 19, 2022 [2 favorites]
Agree with mochi_cat on Board Game Arena. The membership is absolutely worth it, and there are lots of games that support async play.
posted by xedrik at 8:39 AM on September 19, 2022
posted by xedrik at 8:39 AM on September 19, 2022
As a note regarding Board Game Arena: games must be started the way you plan to continue. So, if you want the game to be asynchronous at some point, start the game in asynchronous mode. There is no penalty for playing quickly. However, if you start a game in real time, there will be a penalty for playing too slowly.
posted by shesbookish at 1:27 PM on September 19, 2022
posted by shesbookish at 1:27 PM on September 19, 2022
Also yucata.de, Vassalengine.org, etc.
Just avoid anything with "interrupt effects", as they, especially in multiplayer games, can grind things to a crawl.
Catan is tough to do asynch because of the trading.
posted by Windopaene at 1:51 PM on September 19, 2022
Just avoid anything with "interrupt effects", as they, especially in multiplayer games, can grind things to a crawl.
Catan is tough to do asynch because of the trading.
posted by Windopaene at 1:51 PM on September 19, 2022
And, there is Tabletop Simulator on Steam. Costs money. And there are tons of mods for any game you want it seems. I think it's got some copyright issues, so won't link but...
Yucata.de and I think BGA pay to host the games.
posted by Windopaene at 5:46 PM on September 19, 2022
Yucata.de and I think BGA pay to host the games.
posted by Windopaene at 5:46 PM on September 19, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mochi_cat at 7:54 AM on September 19, 2022 [2 favorites]