 A LAN party is a computer gaming party in which everyone brings their own computers and they play games with each other through a series of networked computers.
With a little planning, you can make your LAN parties the hot ticket for any night of the week.
LAN stands for "local area network". Before most video games were available for online gameplay, geeks of every description would get together and network their computers together in order to play with each other. While this term is no longer completely accurate due to the fact that everyone tends to connect through a wireless router these days, the term stuck and is still in use today.
Pick the Game in Advance
You could waste valuable gameplay time arguing about what to play - or you could work it out in advance. Often one person wants to play one game and another person wants to play another - plan more than one LAN party to meet everyone's needs, or come to a general consensus on what to play. Save yourself the customary grief that usually starts all LAN parties.
Make sure that everyone has installed the chosen game on their computer in advance as well. You only have so much time to work with so it is important to save as much time as you can in advance. Remember your time constraints - a World of Warcraft raid, for example, may take as long as 10 hours to complete.
If you only have a few hours, either limit yourself to short ventures in MMORPG's or pick a game like Halo where you can easily just play for a few hours without needing to pack it in at the final boss.
Avoid Domestic Aggro
Make sure that your significant other or roommate is either at your party and actively participating or you've bought them an evening out with the girls or boys. There is nothing more annoying than being called to perform domestic duties or answer a phone call when all of your efforts are being focused on fragging the enemy.
For those who have had the luxury of leaving their homes to attend your party, remind them to turn off all cell phones and beepers. If someone on a team gets a phone call it brings the whole team down.
Avoid Sticky Snacks and Drinks
The stakes are a little higher with the snacks than they are in your living room in front of your TV. If you spill a cranberry juice on your best bud's Mac Pro, that's a $3000.00 bill that you don't need. Treat liquids as if they were radioactive around your friend's computers and try to keep them out of the room.
Set a Time Limit
Once you get set up, the temptation is high to go all weekend. While this might be fun with people you know well, for a casual get-together limit it to about 6-8 hours of gameplay. Have a timer go off once an hour and take a 10-15 minute break to rest your eyes. Don't play for anything less than 4 hours - the setup time for any LAN party is too much to just play for a couple of hours.
Networking 101
If you aren't all plugging into each other's computers by physically linking your computers together, which these days is not likely, chances are good that everyone will need to use your wireless internet hub.
Make sure that you don't have a household limit on connections - this isn't the case with most internet service providers, but making sure in advance that yours isn't one of them will save your party. Set up user names and passwords for everyone prior to the party so that you are all ready to go when your frag team ports in.
Watch Tempers
One enjoyable aspect of a LAN party is trash-talking your opponents and teammates. However, this can go too far very easily. If you notice that some of your guests are getting a bit hot-headed, stop the game under another pretense, like taking a break for a pop or a beer. Offer to get them something. Whatever you do, don’t lose your temper; consider yourself to be the referee for the evening.
Have Fun
With a few hours of planning in advance, you’ll be having as much fun as your guests. A well-planned LAN party can make you feel like a ten year old again – get fragging!
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
The guys that I game with won't get angry if you forget their birthdays, but if you ever EVER say their online gaming skillz suck, RUN FOR THE HILLS!