Free / open source games: V - Z

There are more and more free / open source games: this list, far from being exhaustive but continuously growing, gives priority to projects that keep on being developed and is meant to help whoever is looking for some fun.

All these open source games are free but remember that the term free is meant as in "free speech", not as in "free beer" so if you like one of these games please try to contribute to its development: some teams need varioul kinds of help (programmers, graphics experts...), some accepts donations to finance the development of a game, some need help to test new versions which means that you can have fun and at the same time help the development of a project.

This is the seventh part of the list and included the games from V to Z: from the side menu you can access to all the other parts of the list.

Vacuum Magic is a fast-paced action game. The point of the game is using your magical vacuum field to collect food and defend against monsters. Food and certain monsters can also be spat out and used as a projectile against other monsters. Vacuum Magic can be played by up to six players, either cooperatively, or against each other.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux,  FreeBSD

Latest version:  0.13 (July 4 2009)

Variations on Rockdodger is an Asteroids style game derived from Rockdodger.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux,  AmigaOS 4, FreeBSD

Latest version:  0.5.5 (December 9 2009)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

VDrift is a cross-platform, open source driving simulation made with drift racing in mind. The driving physics engine was recently re-written from scratch but was inspired and owes much to the Vamos physics engine. Tracks and cars are based on real-world tracks and cars.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD

Latest version: 2011-09-01 (September 1 2011))

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

Vega Strike is a 3D action and space simulation game where a player can trade, fight and explore the universe working with others of going at war within a group of human and alien factions.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD

Latest version: 0.5.0 (April 24 2008)

Hardware/software requirements: 1 GHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, graphics card with 3D acceleration

Violetland is a game similar to Crimsonland where the player should help a girl by name of Violet to struggle with hordes of monsters. For this purpose the various weapon, and also the special abilities of the heroine which are opening with experience can be used. In game there are elements of RPG in the form of strength-agility-vitality and derivatives. Also there is an unique feature: dynamic change of day and night.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.4.1 (June 10 2011)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

VMS Empire is a simulation of a full-scale war between two emperors, the computer and you. Naturally, there is only room for one, so the object of the game is to destroy the other.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 1.12 (21/05/2014)

Voxelands is a sandbox construction game based on Minetest, which was inspired by earlier "voxel world" games such as Infiniminer.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 1409.00 (September 27 2014)

Vulcan lets you play against the computer vulcan chess seen in TV show Star Trek.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.92 (February 24 2008)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

WarMUX, formerly known as Wormux, is a free and open source game inspired to Worms. Every player controls a team fighting the other ones in a 2D arean with a style that reminds cartoons.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 0.9.2 (April 16 2010)

Warsow is a shoot-em-up based on a graphic engine derived from the Quake II one with a comic-like setting with surreal tones sometimes similar to the ones seen in the movie Tron.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 2.1 (March 28 2016)

Hardware/software requirements: 300 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, graphics card with 3D acceleration

Warzone 2100 is a real time strategy game originally developed as a commercial game but then released under GPL so a project to go on with its development was created.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 2.3.9 (October 24 2011)

Widelands is a real time strategy game. A player starts as the leader of a little tribe and must expand its domains through pacific development and/or wars to its neighbours.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS

Latest version: build 18 (February 22 2014)

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is a multiplayer shoot-em-up born as a spin-off of the game Return to Castle Wolfenstein and set during World War II. There's also its sequel Enemy Territory: Quake Wars set in the Quake sci-fi universe.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 2.60b (May 29 2003)

Hardware/software requirements: 600 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, 230 MB hard disk, graphics card with 3D acceleration

Word War vi is your basic side-scrolling shoot 'em up '80s style arcade game. You pilot your "vi"per craft through core memory, rescuing lost .swp files, avoiding OS defenses, and wiping out those memory hogging emacs processes. When all the lost .swp files are rescued, head for the socket which will take you to the next node in the cluster.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, MacOS

Latest version: 1.01 (October 13 2012)

The World Domination Project is a Real Time Strategy game inspired by the board game Axis and Allies utilizing the Stratagus engine.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.4 (April 8 2006)

World of Padman is a shoot-em-up born as a Quake III Arena total conversion and then turned into a standalone game. It's based on the Padman comic strips form the PlayStation Games magazine.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 1.6 (December 17 2011)

Hardware/software requirements:1 GHz CPU, 512 MB RAM, 600 MB hard disk, graphics card with 3D acceleration and 128 MB RAM

XBlockOut is a game heavily inspired to BlockOut, which is basically a 3D version of Tetris.

Operating systems: all Unix-like operating systems using X Window System

Latest version: 1.1.5 (January 29 2007)

XBoard is a graphical user interface for chess in all its major forms, including international chess, xiangqi (Chinese chess) and shogi (Japanese chess), in addition to many minor variants such as Losers Chess, Crazyhouse, Chess960 and Capabanca Chess. It displays a chessboard on the screen, accepts moves made with the mouse, and loads and saves games in Portable Game Notation (PGN). It serves as a front-end for many different chess services, including:

• Chess engines that will run on your machine and play a game against you or help you analyze, such as GNU Chess, Crafty, or many others.
• Chess servers on the Internet, where you can connect to play chess with people from all over the world, watch other users play, or just hang out and chat.
• Correspondence chess played by electronic mail. The CMail program automates the tasks of parsing email from your opponent, playing his moves out on your board, and mailing your reply move after you've chosen it.

XBoard runs on Unix and Unix-like systems that use the X Window System.

The project also includes a port to 32-bit Windows systems called WinBoard.

Operating systems: all Unix-like operating systems using X Window System, Windows

Latest version: 4.4.1 (October 31 2009)

XBomb is a Minesweeper version that not only allows to select three different sizes for the grid but also grids with hexagonal or triangular tiles.

Operating systems: all Unix-like operating systems using X Window System

Latest version: 2.2b (August 15 2014)

Xdriller is a portable Puzzle/Arcade video game based on the gameplay of the Mr. Driller series, where you have to drill through Tetris-like screens of blocks and collect power-ups while avoiding being squashed by falling blocks.

Operating systems: Linux, Windows

Latest version: 0.7.3 (February 17 2010)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

XGalaga++ is a classic arcade that descends from an old tradition, in fact it's strongly inspired to Galaxian, an evolution of the Space Invaders concert.

Operating systems: all Unix-like operating systems using X Window System

Latest version: 0.8.1 (September 23 2009)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

X-Moto is a 2D game where the player must go through various levels with a motorbike collecting strawberries and facing various obstacles with skills to handle his vehicle.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.5.7 (April 8 2011)

Hardware/software requirements: 266 MHz CPU, 128 MB RAM, graphics card with 3D acceleration

Xonotic is an FPS derived from Nexuiz with the goal of improving it with new maps, models and much more.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS

Latest version: 0.8.6 (June 20 2023)

XPilot is a multi-player 2D space game. Some features are borrowed from classics like the Atari coin-ups Asteroids and Gravitar, and the home-computer games Thrust (Commodore 64) and Gravity Force (Commodore Amiga), but XPilot has many new aspects too.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS

Latest version: 4.5.5 (February 21 2010)

XPilot NG is a multi-player 2D space game that extends the classic XPilot features.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS

Latest version: 4.7.3 (March 4 2010)

XreaL will be a non-commercial multiplayer only first person shooter based on a heavily modified Quake 3 Arena engine (id Tech 3). The aim is to push the rendering technology until it can be compared with current commercial titles and then to produce a playable Total Conversion. Quake 3 Arena's gameplay will be only slightly modified. The simpleness of the original game will stay but the game media will be replaced completely with high quality assets that match the new engine's technology.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: latest binaries are available only through Subversion repository, otherwise you can download  preAlpha (July 04 2008)

Hardware/software requirements: 2 GHz CPU, 1 GB RAM, graphics card with ShaderModel 3.0 support

XSudoky is a program written in C to play and to learn the methodologies of logical resolution of sudoku noticing and highlighting them.

Operating systems: Windows (through Cygwin), Linux

Latest version: 1.0.6 (July 2 2009)

XUT is a project to make a button football game simulation.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.2 (October 10 2009)

Xye is a puzzle game - derivative of a classic windows game called Kye - in which the objective is to help a character that looks like a green circle to get all the gems in the room. This is, of course, not as easy as it sounds, Xye must solve all sorts of puzzles while at the same time avoiding all sorts of traps and beasts.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.12.1 (March 10 2012)

Yoda Soccer is a game inspired to Sensible World of Soccer with the idea of adding new features.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: Beta 0.76 (January 1 2011)

Yo Frankie! is a game created using the software Blender and has as the protagonist Frank, a character from the movie "Big Buck Bunny", produced using Blender as well. The game can be modified in many ways.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: 1.1 (July 4 2009)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

Zatacka X is a modern, Free remake of the classic Achtung, die Kurve!. In addition to all the features from the original game, Zatacka X is aiming to include better graphics, special weapons, sound effects, AI controlled opponents, a tournament mode, and possibly online play.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 0.1.2 (March 7 2011)

Zaz is a game where the player has to get rid of incoming balls by arranging them in triplets. The idea of the game is loosely based on games like Luxor, Zuma and Puzzle Bobble. The twists that make Zaz stand out from other games of this type are that the balls have to be picked from the path (insted of being randomly assigned for the player) and that the player's "vehicle" is also attached to a path which is different from level to level.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 1.0 (September 3 2010)

Hardware/software requirements: graphics card with 3D acceleration

0 A.D. (pronounced “zero-ey-dee”) is a free, open-source, historical Real Time Strategy (RTS) game. As the leader of an ancient civilization, you must gather the resources you need to raise a military force and dominate your enemies.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X

Latest version: Alpha 25 Yaunā (August 8 2021)

Zero Ballistics is a unique blend of first person shooter and tank combat, focusing on multiplayer gaming exclusively.

Operating systems: Windows, Linux

Latest version: 2.0 (December 18 2010)