Play Tide of Iron online using Vassal Engine

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Written by: alecrespi
Category: Vassal
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  1. Getting Vassal
    1. System Requirements
  2. Installation
    1. To install on Windows:
    2. To install on MacOS:
    3. To install on Linux:
  3. Game Modules
    1. Installing Modules
  4. Game Play
  5. Launching Vassal
      1. The Module Manager
      2. The Welcome Wizard
  6. Playing on the Vassal Server
    1. Synchronization
  7. Using Vassal
    1. The Toolbar
    2. The Chat Window
    3. The Main Map
      1. Additional Map Windows
    4. Resizing Controls
    5. Game Pieces
      1. Selecting Pieces
      2. Command Menus
      3. Moving Pieces
    6. Setups
    7. Cards
  8. Finding Opponents

Getting Vassal

You can download the latest version of Vassal here: https://vassalengine.org/download.html

System Requirements

Vassal is supported on the following platforms:

  • Windows: Windows 7, 8, 10, 11.
  • MacOS: Version 10.4 or later (Tiger).
  • Linux: Any distribution.

Installation

The installation procedure for Vassal depends on your platform.

To install on Windows:

  1. Double-click VASSAL-3.x.x-windows.exe.
  2. Follow the prompts to install the application.

To install on MacOS:

  1. Double-click VASSAL-3.x.x-macos.dmg.
  2. Drag the Vassal 3.x.x icon to your Applications folder.

To install on Linux:

  1. From the command line, type tar xjvf VASSAL-3.x.x-linux.tar.bz2.

Game Modules

Once you have downloaded and installed Vassal, you can add modules for the games you wish to play. There are several hundred game modules located at https://vassalengine.org/wiki/Category:Modules. 

You can download the Tide of Iron game module here:

Tide of Iron - Vassal Module

Installing Modules

Modules do not require any installation and are not specific to any operating system. Simply download the module file (which will usually have a .VMOD extension, and open it from the Module Manager). Once you’ve opened a module successfully it will be displayed in the Module Manager’s "Module Library", making it easier to find for subsequent games.

 

Game Play

You can play games with Vassal in a number of ways:

  • In real time, on the Vassal Server.
  • In real time, with a peer-to-peer connection.
  • By email with remote opponents.
  • Offline, by hotseat, with other players in your location.
  • Solitaire, where you play all sides.

It is important to remember that Vassal does not include any computer opponents, and in general, does not enforce any game rules. Players are expected to know and follow the rules of a particular game, just as they would if were playing at a tabletop, in person. Vassal is a simply a medium that allows players to interact in order to play their favorite games.
However, many modules will perform some game functions automatically, such as marking moved or fired units, sorting or totaling dice rolls, or reshuffling decks of cards. These automated functions help streamline and speed game play.

Launching Vassal

To launch Vassal,
1. Double-click the Vassal icon. The Module Manager starts.

The Module Manager

The Module Manager is a Vassal component that allows you to manage all of your game modules.

Your available modules are listed in the Module Library pane.

When you first launch Vassal after installation, the Module Library will be empty.

To add a module to your Module Library for the first time:

  1. Click File > Open Module.
  2. Browse to the location of your module and click Open. The Module will launch and will appear in the Module Library from now on.

The Module Manager can run any number of modules at once, although depending on your system’s RAM, you may suffer a performance impact if too many are open at the same time.

The Welcome Wizard

The Welcome Wizard, which launches when you first open a module, walks you through the steps needed to start a game. The Wizard includes prompts for configuring your username and password, selecting your play mode, picking a setup or game board, and choosing a side to play.

Depending on how the module is configured, you may not see some of the steps listed here in the actual Wizard. For example, in a module with a single board assigned, you would not be prompted to select a board, and that step would be skipped.

To launch the Welcome Wizard,

  1. In Module Manager, in the Module Library window, double-click the module you want to play. The Welcome Wizard opens.
  2. User Name and Password: The first time each module is launched, you are prompted for a name and password. Under Enter your name, type the name you will use in the game. Then, enter a password and type in the password confirmation. Click Next.
  3. Select Play Mode: Under Select play mode, select one of the following:
    1. Start a new game offline: choose this option for beginning an email game, playing solitaire or hotseat, or to edit a module.
    2. Look for a game online: to play on the Server or peer-to-peer.
    3. Load a saved game: to play a previously saved game, or to review an email game log.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Select Setup or Board: Do one of the following:
    1. If prompted to a select a setup, under Select Setup, pick a game setup from the drop-down list. (A setup represents a preset game scenario, usually with maps and pieces already placed in starting positions.)
    2. If prompted to select a board, under Select Boards, choose a game board or an initial board tile from the drop-down list. A board is built in rows and columns. Click Add Row to build the board down, and or Add Column to build a board to the right. In each case, select a tile from the drop-down list to fill in the row or column. Continue adding row and columns until the board is complete.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Choose Side: If prompted to select a side, under Choose Side, select a side from the drop-down list.
  8. Click Finish. You may now begin a game.

You can turn the wizard off by deselecting Preferences > General > Show wizard at startup.

Playing on the Vassal Server

Most Vassal games are played in real time on the Vassal Server. You can start a new game on the Server, or you can join an existing game.

Rooms: Server games are played in “rooms”, where each room represents a different group of players running the same module. A room is named by the player who starts it. Rooms can be locked for privacy and players can be ejected from a room by the player who started it. Players in the same room can communicate using the Chat window.
The Main Room is where players are placed who are running a particular module, but not joined to any particular room. You cannot play in the Main Room—you must join a room in order to play a game.

To start a game on the Server:
In Module Manager, in the Module Library window, double-click the module you want to play. The Welcome Wizard opens. . In the Welcome Wizard, under Select play mode, choose Look for a game online, and then follow the other Wizard steps as the module requires. . Click Finish. Upon connection, the chat window will display Welcome to the Vassal Server, the name and version number of your selected module, and any extensions loaded. . In the module window, click the Connect button in the Toolbar. The Active Games window opens. . In the Active Games window, in New Game, type the name of the game you want to start (for example, Monday Night Battle.) . 
You are moved from the Main Room into the game room you just named. Other players can now join this new room.

To join a game on the Server:
In Module Manager, in the Module Library window, double-click the module you want to play. The Welcome Wizard opens. . In the Welcome Wizard, under Select play mode, choose Look for a game online, and then follow the other Wizard steps as the module requires. . On the Toolbar, click Connect. . On the right side of the screen, the Active Games window opens. The Active Games window displays the Main Room for the module, which is the default location for all players who are not currently in a game, and any active game rooms under that. Only rooms running the current module are displayed. The number of players is displayed in parentheses. . Double-click the name of the game room you wish to join. . If prompted, enter the password for the room. (This password is generally different from your Vassal password.) . Right-click on the name of a player who has already begun a new game, then click Synchronize. You and the selected player will be synchronized and the game play can begin.

Synchronization

Players in a Server game must be synchronized in order to see each other’s moves and interact.
Players should pick a single player to synchronize with, such as the player who initiated the game.
This will make sure that everyone’s game position is consistent.
When you synchronize, any side selection, piece movement and map selections you have performed will be reset and replaced with the game information of the player you synchronized to.

 

Using Vassal

Vassal is highly customizable. Different modules can have specialized controls and custom functions, and can look very different from one another.
However, all Vassal modules follow the same general guidelines.

The Toolbar

The Vassal window presents a Toolbar at the top that contains controls for major game functions in the form of clickable buttons. Sometimes, the buttons include drop-down menus with additional options.

Here you can see a description of all toolbar buttons:

  1. Undo: This button reverses the last action taken by anyone in the game. Click multiple times to undo multiple actions.
  2. Step through Log: This button allows you to step through an email log to recap an opponent’s moves. For more information, see Playing by Email (PBEM) or by Discord.
  3. Connect: The Connect button launches the Server controls and Active Games window, which you use to connect to a Server-based or peer-to-peer game.
  4. Retire: The Retire button lets you to choose a new side to play. (Axis / Allies / Solo / observer)
  5. Axis board: it shows cards in hand, cards in play, active OPs card, current initiative, available command points.
  6. Allies board: it shows cards in hand, cards in play, active OPs card, current initiative, available command points.
  7. Active decks: it shows available strategy decks for the current scenario.
  8. Black Dice (Attack): you can roll black attack dice (from 1 to 10 at the same time) chosing to hit on 4+, 5+ or 6.
  9. Red Dice (Defence): you can roll red defence dice (from 1 to 10 at the same time).
  10. Miniatures: divided by nations. All available units that can be easily added on the game board with a drag and drop. 
  11. Terrain and tokens: it contains all game piece overlays that can be added to modify the scenario board.
  12. Decks: it contains a pool of all available card decks (used while setting up a scenario).
  13. Notes: shows specific scenario notes.
  14. Charts: shows player aids and charts (useful during gameplay)
  15. Overlay: it partially hides the main boards to berre show contrast with miniatures and overlays.
  16. Piece Locator: identifiy every game piece on the board.
  17. Round Track / Weather: it stores the Weather deck when available.
  18. Solo System: adds a solo systm to play offline on your own.
  19. End of the Round: it clears all activation tokens on every miniatures and prepares the board for the next game round.
  20. Delete Highlights: clear the highlights before the game starts.
  21. Line of Sight: This button is used to draw a line between two pieces on the map to determine line of sight between them. In addition, some LOS threads measure distance in game units. Click on one unit on the board, then drag the thread to a target, and the distance between them is displayed.
  22. Image Capture: This button creates a screen capture (in PNG format) of the map window.
  23. Zoom In: These controls rescale the main mapboard.
  24. Zoom Select: These controls rescale the main mapboard.
  25. Zoom Out: These controls rescale the main mapboard.

Toolbar buttons can be assigned hotkeys. Pressing the hotkey combination on your keyboard will work exactly as if you clicked the button with the mouse cursor.
Toolbar buttons usually include tooltips that briefly explain each button’s function. Hold your cursor over the button to view a tooltip. Hotkeys are displayed in brackets.

The Chat Window

The Chat window is located below the Toolbar. Messages typed in it will be displayed to all other players in the current game.
A module may also present game messages in the chat window, such as the results of die rolls, reports on piece movement, turn updates, or other useful information.

The Main Map

The main map, located below the Chat Window, is where the majority of game play takes place.
Actions taken using Toolbar buttons generally apply to pieces on the main map.
Some maps include grids, which can be marked in hexes, squares or irregular zones. Depending on the game, the grids may be clearly visible on the map, or may be invisible. If a map includes a grid, then pieces will usually be restricted to movement on the grid, and distances between pieces will be measured in grid units, such as a number of hexes.

Additional Map Windows

Some games have multiple map windows. These map windows may display additional game maps used in playing the game, and can contain their own controls similar to those in the main map, such as a set of Zoom controls.
In some games, these additional map windows may used for other purposes, such as for storing card decks or reinforcement units. A game may also include private windows where players can keep items that belong to them, such as additional units, a hand of cards, or sums of game money.
In order to select pieces in a map window, the map window must be selected first.

Resizing Controls

You can resize many windows, such as the chat window, in relation to the main map. Click and drag the border between two windows to resize them. Other windows are also resizable by clicking and dragging, such as the divider between the pieces palette and the chat window, or the size of individual map windows.
Typically, each map window will also have a set of zoom controls, usually resembling a magnifying glass, which allows you to rescale the map in a window. This is helpful when you want to get a closer look at a game board, or display an overall view of a strategic situation. Note that only the map graphic rescales; the window size on your screen is unaffected.

Game Pieces

Most modules have at least one pieces palette, accessible from the Toolbar, which allows access to game pieces. (Game pieces are also called counters, tokens, or units.) The palette is usually divided into tabs, sorted by side or function; for example, in a World War II game, one tab might include all Allied units, another tab include all German units, and a third tab could include game markers that could be used by both sides. To move a piece to the game board, drag it from the palette into place. Game pieces drawn from a palette are infinite and never run out. However, some games deliberately limit the number of pieces in the game (such as a Monopoly box, which has a set number of houses and hotels). In these cases, the Vassal module will usually have a finite number of pieces in a separate window, not a palette, from which you can draw. In such games, when these pieces are depleted, there are usually no more available.

Selecting Pieces

To select a piece, select the map window it is located on, and then click the piece with your mouse cursor. A selected piece displays a border to spotlight it.
You can select multiple pieces by holding the mouse button down and dragging a box around the desired pieces with your mouse cursor.
Alternatively, you can select individual pieces from a group by shift-clicking each desired piece with your mouse. You can also deselect pieces from a group by holding down the ALT (or, on MacOS, the Option key) while clicking on the pieces to be removed from selection.

Command Menus

Most pieces in a Vassal game are interactive: by right-clicking on a piece, you display a command menu that lists commands specific to that piece.
Different pieces may have different command menus, depending on their function in the game. The module designer chooses menu items based on the game rules. Check each module for the exact command menu items for a given counter.
For example, to reflect damage done to a tank during combat, a tank unit can be applied a "lightly damaged" token. When the tank takes damage during combat, a player would right-click on the piece and choose Damage >> Lightly Damaged from the menu. This displays the damaged token near the tank miniature, with reduced combat strength. 
Hotkeys: Each command menu item is assigned a hotkey combination, which appears next to the command menu item. Pressing the combined hotkeys simultaneously on your keyboard will work exactly as if you clicked the menu item with the mouse cursor. For example, the hotkey to apply a "Lightly Damaged" token to a vehicle is CTRL + SHIFT + L.
If all the pieces in a group share a command (and a hotkey), you can select the group, right-click to see their command menu, and perform commands on all of the pieces in the group at once. For example, if all pieces in a selected group had the command Delete CTRL D , then you could delete all the pieces at once by selecting them all and choosing the Delete command.

Moving Pieces

In most modules, pieces are moved by dragging and dropping them to new places on the map with the mouse cursor. You can drag pieces between map windows as well.
However, some modules include functions to move pieces using the command menu, in place of dragging and dropping. For example, a piece can include a command to move a fixed distance, such as one square to the left or right, or to move to a new location in the game, such as a discard pile. In these cases, it is generally preferred to use the command menu than to simply drag and drop pieces. Check the module for a list of such commands, if any.
You can move selected units with the NumPad keyboard.

Setups

Tide of Iron game module contains more than 300 ready-to-be-played scenarios.
You can open these "setups", which are preset configurations of maps and pieces, with the "File >>> Choose a scenario" option.
The game will begin with the correct maps (and units) already in their starting positions.

Cards

In games that include cards, you draw cards by dragging them from a deck to their destination.
Some modules have separate, private windows that can be used to keep cards players have drawn, like a player hand.
Check the command menu for a list of specific card options. You can usually reveal the front of a card by using a command on the command menu. This is called unmasking a card.
Some card decks include additional features that allow you to act on the entire deck, to select specific cards, shuffle the deck, or perform other functions. You perform these functions, if any, by right-clicking on the card deck.

Finding Opponents

If you’re looking for opponents, you have several options:

  • You can launch the Module Manager, select a module, connect to the Server, and set your status to Looking for Game.
  • Vassalengine.org has a Java applet that will display all currently running games on the Vassal Server. On the Vassalengine.org site, click "Server Status" to view all current games. If you see your game being played currently, you can launch the module, log in to the Server, and use private or public messaging to contact a potential opponent. You can also view games played on the Server in the past 24 hours, the past week, and the past month. (In addition, you can view this information using the Module Manager under Tools > Server Status.)
  • Vassalengine.org maintains an Opponents Wanted forum, where you can search for opponents for your game. You should specify the game or games you want to play, whether you would like to play real time or by email, and your time zone. Visit the Vassal forums for more information.
  • Discord has become very popular for playing Vassal either live or "by email" — in the latter case the chat room is often a more convenient place to exchange log files than traditional email.
    Vassal’s "official" Discord server can be found at https://discord.gg/GzzHccRQpU, and there are gamer-run discords specializing in PBEM and specific games.
  • In addition, gaming sites like BoardGameGeek.com, Wargamer.com, and ComsimWorld.com maintain Vassal opponent lists.

 

Here you can find an article with Keyboard Shortcuts (Vassal Module).

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