For years, my go-to LAN party game was Team Fortress 2 which was pure chaotic fun.

(as seen in my previous lan party guide)

But ever since Apple’s transition to ARM-based processors, TF2 has sadly become a impossible to run natively on modern Macs.

Enter: War{sow,fork}.

This post is a quick guide to getting a LAN party running using these two excellent (and free!) arena shooters.

War-WHAT?

Warsow is a fast-paced, cel-shaded, movement-heavy FPS. It’s completely free, runs great on older machines, and plays well with macOS via Rosetta.

Warfork is a fork of Warsow created after some unfortunate drama in the Warsow project. It’s still being updated, easier to host, and installs through Steam (still free!).

TL;DR: Which to Use?

TL;DR:

• In-person LAN party? Use Warsow.
• Remote online party? Use Warfork.

LEGGO

Warsow Setup (In Person Friendly)

Installation

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brew install warsow --cask

Or download the latest .dmg.

First Run (macOS)

1. Open /Applications
2. Right-click Warsow → Open
3. Approve the Rosetta install and security warnings

NOTE: If “Open” doesn’t appear, try right-clicking instead of double-clicking.

Hosting a Game

1. Click New Game → Local Game
2. Set a recognizable server name
3. ❗ Uncheck “Public Server”

Joining a Game

• Look for the server on the LAN list
• If not visible:
  • Click Refresh
  • Or go to Manual → Type the host’s IP
  • Or open console and run:

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/connect 192.168.x.x

Warfork Setup (Steam Required)

Installation

Install from Steam

Then connect to a host using:

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/connect <host_ip>

Hosting a Game

Follow the LinuxGSM guide:
👉 https://linuxgsm.com/servers/wfserver/

Set the following in your config:

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sv_public="0"
sv_maxclients="8" # Or however many players + ~2

NOTE: You’ll need to open the following network ports:

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TCP: 44444
UDP: 44400

Common Settings and Gameplay Tips

Game Modes

• FFA – Free For All
• TDM – Team Deathmatch
• Bomb & Defuse – Objective chaos

Maps

Start with any map with “bomb” in the name for fun. Some favorites:

• wdm5
• wdm10
• bomb3

Player Setup

1. Go to Options → Player
2. Set your name, clan tag, and model
3. Save your changes!

Pro Tips

• Run the tutorial before playing (trust me)
• Set your FOV to 100–110
• Cap your FPS higher with:

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/com_maxfps 250

• Learn bunnyhopping – it’s essential
• Use headphones for positional audio advantage

LAN Party Troubleshooting

Final LAN Party Checklist ✅

• Downloaded & tested game
• Name, clan tag, and model set
• Ran the tutorial once
• LAN/Remote host confirmed
• Local:
  • Everyone’s on same Wi-Fi
  • Refreshments + snacks 🍕🍺
• Remote:
  • Zoom / Discord

Have fun, enjoy your supercaliFRAGilisticexpialidocious!