How to Launch a Board Game With Friends Around the World in Three Easy Steps
Sitting at a table with good friends is the best way to play board RPG games like Dungeons & Dragons , but it’s not always an option. Whether your friends are away, live overseas, or don’t want to keep up with the traffic, there are plenty of ways to make a game night happen no matter where your party is.
Your job as the Game Master (GM) is to create the adventure, manage it as it unfolds, and help the players have a good time. To do this, you’ll need the right set of tools, such as books, character sheets, and miniatures. But if you play with your friends over the Internet, you will need a set of virtual instruments to get the job done.
Step one: choose the right “virtual tabletop” for your group
The virtual tabletop is the software you will actually use for all of your digital campaign planning, as well as the location where you are going to skate, play, and role-play. When it comes to virtual tables, there are four main players to consider: Roll20, D20Pro, Fantasy Grounds, and Tabletop Simulator.
Roll20
Of the virtual countertops available, Roll20 is the most popular. It has been around for a while, is easy to work with ( there is a ton of information on how to run games ), and is free to use. All you need is Firefox or Chrome on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. And there are free apps for both Android and iPad . It has built-in text, voice and video chat, including support for Google Hangouts, and character sheets for RPGs like D&D , FATE , Shadowrun, and more. With the desktop constructor, you can create complex combat maps with a square or hex grid (or no grid), use artwork tiles, and hide obstacles and objects from your PC until they are within reach. Roll20 also has many other useful built-in tools such as dice roll macros, initiative trackers, support for custom maps and dice, a Find Group function for those with no one to play with, and a media player that can be used to play sound effects and background music.
Roll20 is mostly free to use, but if you want great looking world maps, battle map tiles, or creature and character tokens, you’ll need to buy them from the Roll20 marketplace . You can also buy ready-made campaign modules here, including official D&D adventures such as Lost Mine of Phandelver ($ 19.99) . However, there are other places to find decent works of art as well. Some people publish their own collections online , and many of the collections are quite extensive . Roll20 has a large active community to answer questions or share tips, and with it you can run almost any game. If you’re looking for something cheap, easy to use for GMs and players, and covering most of your bases, this is a good choice for both GMs and gamers.
D20Pro
The D20Pro is primarily designed to run Open Game License 3.5 ( D&D 3.5 mainly), D&D 4E, and the Pathfinder RPG , but if you’re planning on running one of those games, this virtual board game is definitely worth a try. You can create complex combat maps with hidden areas and fog of war, automate initiative, combat rolls and effects, and you have access to an extensive library of cards, creatures, characters, and items.
The D20Pro is similar to the Roll20 in features and visual style, but with a few significant differences. D20Pro is a dedicated app that needs to be installed on a Windows, Mac or Linux computer (no mobile apps), it doesn’t have many built-in rulesets, and it’s not free. There is a 30-day free trial, but the Player license costs $ 10 and the Full GM license is $ 30. They also have a marketplace where you can buy game modules and art assets, as well as tons of how-to guides to help you get started. If you know your group will play Pathfinder , OGL 3.5, D&D 4E, or generally plan to stick with d20 based games, then the D20Pro is for you. However, it has a steeper learning curve than the Roll20, especially for GM. But if you’re ready to pull yourself together and learn all the ins and outs, this can be a really powerful app.
Fantasy ground
Like D20Pro, Fantasy Grounds is a standalone client for Windows, Mac and Linux ( also available on Steam ). It supports many officially licensed systems including Dungeons & Dragons , Call of Cthulhu, and Mutants and Masterminds . And since every system is officially licensed, you can buy great add-ons like the Simple D&D Player Reference Guide, the Monster Guide, or the Dungeon Master’s Guide built right into the app . It also features nifty 3D cubes that are laid out on the virtual table in front of you, combat cards that you can create with super-fast, automated battles, and a library of tokens.
Fantasy Grounds also lets you export the modules you create so that other users can play your campaigns, or just grab some of the best pieces and insert them into their own creations. There is a demo that you can try for free, but for full access you will need to pay in one of two ways. You can subscribe to the Standard or Ultimate editions ($ 3.99 / month or $ 9.99 / month), or buy all at once for $ 39 for the standard version and $ 149 for the maximum version. The Ultimate version allows you to host games for demo players (there can only be Standard and Ultimate players in the standard version), so this is essentially a way to pay for everyone in your group. Not a bad approach if you’re trying to convince friends or family to play with you .
Tabletop simulator
Last but not least, Tabletop Simulator gives you a more realistic virtual tabletop experience if that’s what you want. It lets you play almost any game in a 3D environment with realistic tables and physics (including VR support), so you can throw pieces around the room if you want. It doesn’t have built-in and ready-to-play RPG systems, but the game is available on Steam, so it has access to the Steam Workshop, where tons of modders have already started adding game systems like D&D , Android: Netrunner , and even the Star Wars game : X-Wing miniatures .
It also features a variety of classic board games such as chess, checkers and backgammon. If you’re looking for an app that’s more suited to a wide variety of board game types such as miniatures and board games than just RPGs, Tabletop Simulator is a great choice. It has built-in voice and text chat, supports up to 10 players, and allows for 360 ° panoramic backgrounds to change lighting and atmosphere. It is available for Windows and Mac for $ 19.99 .
Step two: choose a voice chat client
Text playback is very slow and you don’t have the ability to play funny voices, so it’s not ideal for playing. Once you’ve got your game set up, you’ll need a good voice or video chat client for your entire group. Roll20 and Tabletop Simulator have built-in voice and video chat, but the other virtual tabletops mentioned above only support text. And even if you plan on using Roll20 or Tabletop Simulator, you may not want to use what they have, so you need to look elsewhere.
The two best options are Skype and Google Hangouts . Both are free, browser-based, audio and video chat, and most of your group will likely have one or the other already. Just make sure all of your players are in a relatively quiet environment , update their audio drivers (and apps if they use them), and use a decent microphone or headset. And if possible, have everyone play over wired Ethernet connections . Nothing kills an epic moment or slows the game down like having to repeat itself when the audio cuts out.
Step three: get digital copies of all your books and materials
Of course, you can always use a real book while playing online, but why not have them on your computer if you have to travel? Some RPGs offer official PDF versions of their rules and player guides, but this varies from publisher to publisher. You can find a huge selection of PDF books for sale on DriveThru RPG , including Shadowrun , Chronicles of Darkness, and the End of the World series from Fantasy Flight Games. If you’re looking for something fresh, RPG Now sells tons of independently published RPGs. Many of the deals out there are very cheap or pay whatever you want, but they are still a lot of fun. Be sure to check the publishers’ websites as well. Wizards of the Coast, for example, offers a bunch of free D&D 5E add-on PDFs and a core set of rules (but none of the core books).
Some digital gaming books are hard to find, such as the official PDFs of the main D&D 5E books or the Star Wars RPG, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Some people will scan their books to PDFs and let others download them, but this is not entirely legal. However, if you want a digital copy of a book you’ve already bought, a quick Google search for “book title + PDF” will find what you’re looking for. You are now ready for step four: put it all together and have fun with your friends.