Running Freeciv on a Mac (10.8 Mountain Lion)

Recently my brother suggested that I play a game called Freeciv. So I downloaded it and it wouldn't run. After some research I found out hat I needed x11 which Apple no longer includes with OSX.

The solution? Download something called XQuartz.

Step 1: Download Freeciv & Xquartz.

Obviously to play Freeciv, you will need a copy of Freeciv, thankfully it's free and can be downloaded here.

As I said earlier you will need to download something called Xquartz, thankfully this is also free and is available here.

Step 2: Install Xquartz.

The installation of Xquartz is fairly straight forward. Just double click the Xquartz file (it has the extension ".dmg" which means "Disk Mounted Image") that you downloaded. It should mount and a window should appear with an icon that looks like a box and is labeled "XQuartz.pkg". We want to double click that.

When you do YOU SHOULD READ WHAT IT SAYS (Never install something if you don't agree with the terms, how many of you actually read your email EULA?) and press continue. Read what it says again and press "Continue" again. Read what it says again and press "Continue" again.

It will now ask you if you agree to the terms of the software license agreement, IF YOU DON'T, THEN DON'T PRESS "Agree"s If you do, then press "Agree" and then "Install". You will have to enter an administrators name and password, then you can press "Intall Software".

Now it should be installing. Press "OK" when it says it's finished.

When it is finished, it will tell you that you need to log out then back in for it to take effect. I suggest you do so.

Step 3: Install Freeciv

Now that you've logged out and back in, you need to install Freeciv which you downloaded earlier.

The installation process for Freeciv is pretty much the same as fro XQuartz. You open the Freeciv ".dmg" file that you downloaded. When that mounts you open the ".pkg" file and READ THE TERMS. other than the reading all you have to do is press "Continue" or whatever else is necessary to advance in the installation process.

When you have finished installing Freeciv, you can drag the Freeciv app (the file next to the ".pkg") to your applications folder or desktop, wherever you want to put it really.

Step 4: Play Freeciv

Now that you have installed XQuartz and Freeciv, you can double click the Freeciv icon that you dragged to wherever you wanted it to be. This should launch Freeciv.

Enjoy the game.