Games / Freeciv for Mac

Freeciv for Mac

Freeciv is a free, open-source strategy game. Build cities, research technologies, and explore and conquer a turn-based map, against computer opponents or other players online. This is a Mac build of it: one app, with nothing else to install.

Download for Mac

Newest release · macOS 27 or later, Apple Silicon

Apple hasn't checked this build yet, so the first time you open it macOS asks you to allow it (step 3 below). It's free, with no ads.

All releases and source code Other systems: freeciv.org

How to install

  1. Download

    Click Download for Mac above. The Freeciv disk image, a file ending in .dmg, lands in your Downloads folder.

  2. Open it and drag Freeciv to Applications

    Double-click the downloaded file. In the window that opens, drag the Freeciv icon onto the Applications folder.

  3. Allow it the first time

    Open Freeciv from Applications. macOS warns that it could not verify the app: click Done, not Move to Trash. (The exact wording varies between macOS versions.)

    Open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll down to the message about Freeciv, and click Open Anyway, then confirm. From then on Freeciv opens normally.

Freeciv on a Mac at turn 80: the Zulu empire's cities along a coast on a hex map, with the minimap in the corner The same game: the Korean empire's cities and caravans next to the Zulu border
Screenshots: Freeciv 3.2.6 on macOS 27, amplio2 tileset. Game art by the Freeciv project, GPL.

More

Check the download (optional)

Download the checksum file from the release page into your Downloads folder too. Then open Terminal, type cd ~/Downloads, press Return, and run: 

shasum -a 256 -c *-arm64.dmg.sha256

It should answer with the file name and OK.

Terminal alternative to step 3

After dragging Freeciv to Applications, this one command clears the download flag that makes macOS block it:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Freeciv.app
Uninstall

Drag Freeciv from Applications to the Trash.

Source code and licence

Freeciv is free software under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later. It isn't sold and this page carries no ads. The exact source for this build is the release's source archive, and the packaging is in John-ODell/freeciv-macos27.

Credits

Freeciv is developed by the Freeciv project. This Mac build is by John O'Dell. It's an unofficial build, not a release of the Freeciv project.