.. _about-tabletop-club: ***** About ***** What is Tabletop Club? ====================== Tabletop Club is a free and open-source tabletop board game simulator! That's a bit of a mouthful, so I'll break that sentence down a bit: Free ---- The game is completely free to download and play! You can do so by going to the :ref:`downloading-binaries` page. Open-source ----------- This means a few things: * The source code of the game is visible to the public (you can see it in the `GitHub repository `_). This also means you can compile the game youself from scratch (see :ref:`compiling-from-source`). * Anyone can contribute to the development of Tabletop Club in a number of different ways! For more information about how you can help contribute to the project, visit the :ref:`contributing` page. * The game is licensed under the `MIT License `_, which is an open, permissive license. .. note:: The game's code and project files are licensed under the MIT License, but some of the assets are licensed under different open licenses. To see the authors and licenses of these assets, you can check the ``game/LICENSES.tres`` file, as well as hovering over items in the objects menu in-game (which can also be found in the various ``.cfg`` files under ``assets/``). Tabletop board game ------------------- The game is designed to allow you to play your favourite tabletop board games by effectively giving you a box of toys to play with (which include things like cards, dice, game pieces, and more), and it's up to you what you do with what you're given! But the coolest thing about the game is that anyone can create assets for the game! It's as simple as dragging files into a folder and the game will import them, then you can use them straight away in-game! If you want to learn more about how to make assets for Tabletop Club, visit the :ref:`asset-packs` page. Simulator --------- Not only is the game a simulator of tabletop games, it also has a fully-simulated 3D physics engine! This means that objects in the game act like they do in real life, and it also means you can potentially send objects flying off the edge! Did I also mention you could flip the table? Frequently Asked Questions ========================== What platforms can I play Tabletop Club on? ------------------------------------------- Tabletop Club can be played on any of these platforms: * Windows 7 or later * macOS 10.12 or later * Linux / \*BSD Your hardware must also have support for OpenGL 3.3. It is recommended to have at least 1GB of available space on your drive to accommodate for the game files, as well as any generated files. Currently there are no plans for the game to be supported on mobile devices or consoles. Does Tabletop Club support multiplayer? --------------------------------------- Yes! You don't need to make an account to play multiplayer, you can just host a game and start playing with friends! .. hint:: You can change your name and colour in multiplayer by going to :guilabel:`Options` > :guilabel:`Multiplayer`, and changing the relevant settings. Is Tabletop Club on Steam / GOG / itch.io? ------------------------------------------ The game is available on `itch.io `_! Not only can you download the game as a standalone executable, you can also download it from the `itch app `_ and get automatic updates. What stage of development is Tabletop Club at? ---------------------------------------------- Tabletop Club is currently in active development. The game has been released, but it is always being improved upon over time with help from the community. On GitHub there is `an issue tracker `_ for known bugs, feature requests, as well as quality-of-life tweaks to the game. Is there an official Discord or Matrix server that I can join? -------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, you can join the official `Discord `_ and `Matrix `_ servers to chat with other players about anything from the game itself, to board games in general, or even to share asset packs that you have made! The goal is to create a safe, welcoming environment for everyone regardless of their background or personality. As long as you abide by the server rules, you are always free to come in and say hi! What board games can I play in Tabletop Club? --------------------------------------------- Theoretically, any of them! Out of the box, the games comes with the default Tabletop Club asset pack which contains some of the most common objects you'll need, like playing cards, dice, poker chips, etc. On GitHub, there is `an issue `_ listing which objects still need to be added to the default asset pack. If everything under a game is ticked, then you can play that game! On the other hand, if the pieces you need aren't going to be included in the default asset pack, then you can either download an asset pack that someone else has already made, or you can create your own! Visit the :ref:`asset-packs` page if you're interested in making your own assets. How easy is it to setup a game in Tabletop Club? ------------------------------------------------ For the most popular games, the default asset pack comes with pre-made save files that you can load instantly (when in-game, click :guilabel:`Games`, then click on the game you want to play, then click :guilabel:`Load`) to play the game right away! If there isn't a pre-made save file for the game you want to play, you can easily make your own save by setting up the table the way you want to, then by going to the menu and clicking :guilabel:`Save file`. This way, if you want to play the game again, you can just load the save you made previously. See the :ref:`asset-type-game` page for more information about pre-made save files in asset packs. Can I add assets other than game pieces to Tabletop Club? --------------------------------------------------------- Yes! As well as objects, you can also import the following types of assets: * :ref:`asset-type-game` * :ref:`asset-type-music` * :ref:`asset-type-skybox` * :ref:`asset-type-sound` * :ref:`asset-type-table` Can you add my favourite board game to Tabletop Club? ----------------------------------------------------- For legal safety, Tabletop Club will only ever distribute `public-domain `_ board games in the default asset pack. But that doesn't stop you from making assets for your favourite board game for private use! Can I share assets I've made on the internet? --------------------------------------------- It depends on a number of factors. In general, it should be safe to share the assets you've made for the game if the following is all true: * The assets you've made (textures, 3D models, etc.) are made by you, and are not derived from copyrighted material. .. note:: You can distribute other people's creations **if** the license it's under allows you to. It's always safer to attribute the original author, and to state the license and whether the content was modified. Please read the terms of the license first. To help with this, the :ref:`config-cfg` file allows you to put the author, license, modifier, and URL with the asset, which is then shown in-game. * If the assets you've made are for playing a game that already exists, then: * You cannot use the same name of the game without the owner's explicit permission. * The mechanics of the game cannot be patented. .. tip:: You can `check online `_ to see if there are any patents for the game's mechanics. .. warning:: This is NOT legal advice. Please go ask the nearest lawyer for advice if you are worried about distributing your asset pack on the internet, as this also depends on your country's copyright laws.