Let battle commence between the Catholics and the Huguenots.
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Frequently Asked Questions last updated 2007-12-29

Q. What is ZunTzu?

A. ZunTzu is an online boardgaming platform. You can use it to play boardgames and wargames live with your friends over the Internet.

What ZunTzu is not:

• ZunTzu is not a game. It is a tool that allows you to play all kind of different games online.
• ZunTzu doesn't enforce game rules. You should think of ZunTzu as a virtual game table: pieces of furniture know nothing about rules.
• ZunTzu doesn't provide a computerized opponent. There is no Artificial Intelligence in ZunTzu. Your opponents are other humans connected to the same game session as you.
• ZunTzu was not specifically designed for Play-By-eMail. With ZunTzu, you play live with your friends.

Q. How do I get started?

A. Take a look at the articles in the Support section.

Q. What are the system requirements to install and run ZunTzu?

A. ZunTzu runs only on Windows XP (sorry Mac and Linux folks). You need a 3D card that meets the requirements for DirectX 7. And of course you'll need to be connected to the Internet. A broadband connection is recommended, but ZunTzu should work with a 56K modem connection.

Q. What kind of games can I play with ZunTzu?

A. You can play any boardgame or wargame which has a board, counters, dice and playing cards.

Q. Where can I find game boxes for ZunTzu?

A. Very few game boxes exist at the moment. Try the Files section, or visit these sites: Confraria Lúdica (go to the Downloads section), Steve Lampon's Wargames Resources. If you don't find the game box you're looking for go ahead and create it yourself. It is not difficult, but it takes time.

Q. Is it legal?

A. Yes, but what you do with it may not be. I assume you should own an original copy of a game to play it on ZunTzu. Also, you shouldn't share game boxes you create without a formal approval from the copyright owner.

Q. How does it compare to VASSAL?

A. I don't know VASSAL very much, so you should take this information with a grain of salt.

• Like VASSAL, ZunTzu was designed from the ground up to be simple and to be as close as possible to the game table experience. In my opinion ZunTzu is closer. Also, creating new game boxes is a lot easier than with VASSAL.
• ZunTzu has built-in voice conferencing: you can speak to your friends and hear them. With VASSAL that feature requires a third party software.
• VASSAL can run on Windows and non-Windows systems. ZunTzu is Windows only because it uses DirectX to provide advanced graphics such as smooth scrolls and zooms, and built-in voice conferencing.
• VASSAL uses a centralized server to help players meet. That feature doesn't exist with ZunTzu.

Q. My firewall reports suspect activity. Can I trust you?

A. (short answer) Yes. ZunTzu contains no spyware, no adware, no malware.

A. (long answer) Everytime you launch ZunTzu, the ClickOnce deployment system - a part of .NET - checks if updates are available on this web site. That's the HTTP request your firewall reported to 69.89.23.222 on port 80. Checking for updates ensures that all players are using the same version of the networking code.
If an update is found the user is notified and the update is downloaded to replace the current version. The update packages are digitally signed, so you can be confident that they originate from ZunTzu Software and have not been tampered (by a virus for instance).
ZunTzu will also send a series of UDP messages to 69.89.23.222 when you start hosting or joining a game. These messages are used to determine your public IP address automatically, and to facilitate the traversal of Network Address Translation (NAT) devices.