While there are plenty of games in the public domain (Spades, Hearts, Whist, Poker--and those are just card games!--Nine Men's Morris, and so on), folks will inevitably want to implement newer games that are still under copyright.
First, a big fat huge warning: THIS PAGE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE. Contact a lawyer if you need one.
That said, some authors give permission to use their games for systems like Volity, either explicitly through information in the rules or their website, or through coorespondence. This page is intended to track such information, so that folks looking to develop new games can possibly find out here whether we can do so without further legwork.
In all cases, make sure to include the proper copyright notices in your program. This will make the original authors happy.
Authors who have given permission (and their games)
- [Cameron Browne] has stated that we can do "whatever" with his games. I take that to mean that we can implement them, given proper copyright attribution. (His games include Druid, Akron, Triad, Margo, and Moloko.) Note that Cameron is a proficient programmer, has shown interest in the Volity framework, and no doubt interested in developing some of his own games at some point, so it would be wise to contact him before you go about writing an implementation of one of his games.
- [David Parlett] has given permission to develop versions of his card games subject to the proper copyright attributions. He'd also appreciate a run-through before release, to make sure it's the latest version of the rules. (His card games include Ninety-Nine, Bugami, and a host of others. He has also developed a number of board games, the most famous of which is Hare and Tortoise, but I did not ask permission for those.)
- Phil Bordelon) permission via eMail coorespondence to develop any of his games electronically "as promotion for the real thing." There was no implication that that was directed just at me, though; feel free to develop his games. They include Trax, Andantino, and Spangles.
- [Mark Steere] gives blanket permission to do whatever you like with his games, as long as you don't change the name. (His games include Quadrature, Tanbo, Impasse, Byte, Diffusion, Cephalopod, and Copolymer.)
- [Dieter Stein] has given explicit permission for development of either of his currently-released "stacking trilogy" games to anyone working with the Volity framework. The stipulations are, and I quote: "do not change the name of the game, do not change the rules and always mention my name "Dieter Stein" and the official website 'http://abande.com' along with the implementation." (These games are Abande and Accasta; one assumes that linking to [Accasta's home page] in the latter is the Right Thing to Do.) He has expressed interest in being part of the development process, so don't be shy about eMailing him if you're interested.
Authors in flux (and their games)
- Phil Bordelon has contacted him, but Kris is currently busy. He'll try again in a month or so.
- There are other electronic and freely usable implementations of games from the GIPF project, notably at [Richard's Play-By-eMail Server]. Could this be useful?
Authors who have denied permission (and their games)