Self-hosted alternative to Hamachi for gaming with friends?

Hey everyone, I’ve been using Hamachi with friends to play games via LAN servers, but I’m looking for a self-hosted alternative. I’m thinking about OpenVPN or Wireguard, but I’m not sure what the main difference is between hosting my own VPN vs Hamachi. If I set up a VPN server, can my friends access my server or all the devices on my network? How does it work exactly? I know it’s a bit of a noob question, but I haven’t really used VPNs much before. Thanks for the help!

Wireguard is probably your best bet. Once you figure out the initial config, it’s pretty easy to manage. You can also try Tailscale for a more user-friendly setup, and if you want to self-host, check out Headscale. It’s similar to Hamachi in terms of functionality.

Thanks! I’ve heard good things about Wireguard. I’ll give it a shot!

I’ve used Wireguard with wg-easy, which is a nice self-hosted solution with a UI for managing keys. You just need to port forward the Wireguard instance, but make sure not to expose the UI to the internet. Clients just need to use the Wireguard app and connect with the key you provide them.

Good to know about the UI! I’ll be careful with that. Thanks for the tip!

With a self-hosted VPN, your friends would be able to connect to your local network and access anything that’s exposed on it. This means they could potentially access your server or any other services on your network, so make sure to configure things carefully!

Exactly! You might want to use firewall rules to limit what your friends can access on your network, just to keep things secure.

If you want something easier to set up, you can try Tailscale. It’s super simple and works similarly to Hamachi, but with more security and stability. You can self-host the backend using Headscale if you prefer to avoid relying on third-party services.

Tailscale sounds interesting too, especially if I can self-host it. Thanks!

When you port forward for Wireguard, it’s just like any other port forwarding. You’ll open the port on your router and direct traffic to your Wireguard server. Just make sure to secure your server well since it’s exposed to the internet.

Got it, thanks! I’ll look up some guides on port forwarding.