This article describes the ports that you must open in Microsoft Windows Firewall to play or to host a Microsoft Age of Empires II multiplayer game. Additionally, this article lists the port addresses that must be open on computers that are not running Windows Firewall but instead are using a proxy server, a router, Network Address Translation (NAT), or Internet Connection Sharing.

Windows Firewall

When you use Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), you do not have to manually create port exceptions in Windows Firewall. Instead, you can create exceptions for the program itself. Then, when the program tries to access a port, Windows Firewall enables access to that port. To do this, follow these steps.

Note Never open a port for a program that you do not recognize.

1. Click Start, click Run, type wscui.cpl, and then click OK.
2. Click Windows Firewall.
3. Click the Exceptions tab.
4. Click Add Program.
5. Click Browse.
6. Locate the game executable file of the game, and then click Open. By default, the game is installed in the following location:
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires II\
   The Age of Empires II program file can have one of the following names:
   • EMPIRES2.exe
   • AGE2X.exe
7. Click OK two times.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Windows Live OneCare

1. Start Windows Live OneCare.
2. Click View or change settings.
3. Click the Firewall tab.
4. Click Advanced Settings.
5. Click Add.
6. Locate the game's executable file, and then click Open. By default, the game is installed in the following location:
   C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires II\
   The Age of Empires II program file can have one of the following names:
   • EMPIRES2.exe
   • AGE2X.exe
7. Click OK two times.

Port listings for Age of Empires II

If you do not use the Windows Firewall program, you can still open the ports that are used by the game when you configure your network.

To make sure that these ports are open or to open these ports, contact your network administrator or your Internet service provider (ISP). If you are the administrator of the network, view the documentation that is provided with your networking software to determine how to open these ports.

The Player Matchmaking feature

If you use the Player Matchmaking feature that is provided by GameSpy to find other players, you must also have the ports for the GameSpy Arcade client open. For information about the ports that this program requires, visit the following Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.