Help us play together

November 30, 2006 9:13 PM

Help me find the ideal Mac game for two people separated by hundreds of miles.

We've both got OS X. We're looking for something casual and perhaps a bit puzzle-y that we can play together over the Internet. Freeware preferred. Needs to be more of a strategy game than reflex-based, and it should be for 2 players (i.e. not massive). Any suggestions?

posted by wanderingmind to Computers & Internet (18 answers total)

Chess. One of the chess games that came with my mac seems to have a network option, so you may already have it.
posted by pompomtom at 9:25 PM on November 30, 2006

Civ IV.
posted by evariste at 10:28 PM on November 30, 2006

Lux is kinda cool, like Risk with 100 different maps.
posted by boaz at 10:57 PM on November 30, 2006

DEFCON
posted by PenDevil at 10:58 PM on November 30, 2006

Oops... seems I was a bit hasty... it's not available for Mac.
posted by PenDevil at 11:00 PM on November 30, 2006

My friends and I love to play Xplorers but we use PCs, so I don't know if you have a computer that's able to run it. It's free, online, and basically the same thing as Settlers of Catan.
posted by billtron at 11:36 PM on November 30, 2006

Also, Kurnik is a good gaming site for all the standards, chess, checkers, reversi, backgammon, various card games, etc.,
posted by boaz at 11:45 PM on November 30, 2006

Quinn. I can't describe it more specifically because it may anger the Tetris company.
posted by nathan_teske at 12:27 AM on December 1, 2006

DEFCON
posted by Rubbstone at 12:38 AM on December 1, 2006

SketchFighter?
posted by evariste at 1:55 AM on December 1, 2006

This isn't Mac-specific (it's Java, so any computer works), but I love playing Literati and Backgammon on Yahoo! with a friend. Literati is a Scrabble-type game. games.yahoo.com. And you can chat right in the game window so you can tease and taunt one other and such.
posted by evariste at 1:57 AM on December 1, 2006

Poker for play money can be fun, too. Full-Tilt Poker makes a decent Mac client, and it also has chat. Just meet up at the same table and have fun.
posted by evariste at 1:58 AM on December 1, 2006

Never played it myself, but Freeciv?
posted by edd at 3:39 AM on December 1, 2006

Ticket to Ride - it's cross platform and cheap and is "challenging enough" and runs up to about an hour.
posted by outlier at 4:57 AM on December 1, 2006

Bolo. (Bonus points for those who remember this gem)
posted by camworld at 5:03 AM on December 1, 2006

camworld I will see your bolo and raise you one spaceward ho! ...
posted by dorian at 6:11 AM on December 1, 2006

Big Bang Board Games integrates with iChat, supports network play, and it looks great too.
posted by unixrat at 6:21 AM on December 1, 2006

Bolo is my favourite multiperson computer game ever. Here is a current version. It is an excellent mix of strategy and action, and doesn't require insane reflexes so much as good planning.
posted by louigi at 6:39 AM on December 1, 2006