What?

So you decided to have a LAN Party. What the hell do you need? Depends on the LAN really. Console or PC? How many folks are coming? Where the heck is this going to be at? Do you have, or even need to have, money? All of these are important questions questions to think about when planning a LAN of any sort.

Let's start with a Console LAN. If you have a TV, and a console of your choice, you will just need a multiplayer game and people to play. More and more games are coming with co-op or split-screen modes, and that is really all the setup needs. You can expand your LAN experience by going WAN and playing on Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection.

There are few PC games that offer split screen but there are more co-op, team play, or FFA enabled titles out there. Folks will need to bring their preferred PC setup, or have a good enough friend that has a second gaming rig to bring. Tip to new gamers out there: Get an LCD. Most of you probably do, but all you old farts out there, get with the times!

Now that you have decided what LAN to have, here comes the fun parts. It's time to find facilities and equipment. When I started my gaming group, we only had about 8 regular gamers. I then networked and found many more local gamers. You must be careful with that! Once I networked, my basement became chaos. Luckily, I had great support from the fellow gamers. We all bonded together to get enough tables, chairs, network cables, switches, servers, and funds for the events in my basement.

Six foot tables are usually the norm at basement LANs. Look around for deals on folding tables. Smitty helped out a lot with this when he worked at Staples. Staples had some damaged folding tables at a discount. I snatched up what I could afford. Chairs on the other hand... Well, folding chairs are usually cheap and need to be replaced. We all combined resources and brought what we could, but many of my own kitchen chairs, living room seats, whatever we could put a butt in were also used. Some were smart, and brought their own computer chair. This was a big help! If you outgrow your basement, look to hotels, community centers, or really any empty space you can find. Most hotels will provide tables and chairs, at no cost. Empty spaces usually mean tables and chairs are needed. Use your own or find a place to rent them.

Most LANs need a network to function. Luckily for me, most of my friends and fellow local gamers were PC technicians, Network Admins, or cable pullers. It made it easy to get needed networking materials. Most can bring their own patch cables, which are available at retail stores like Best Buy, etc... Switches should be used over hubs. Routers are OK, if you have enough available ports.

Servers can usually be set up as needed. Spare PCs are perfect for this, as most Server apps are command-line base and use fewer resources than running a game off someone's box while they are also playing. Google for configuration settings, as there are way too many games to explain the steps for doing this. Routers usually serve well as a cheap DHCP server, which gives out needed network information for everything to talk to each other. You can do it manually, if you are really broke. Google that too.

Fundage! Most of the time, whoever host the LAN has to spend some sort of money to have the event. I had to pay my mom, because I was living with her at the time. Some cash was contributed to help with water, toilet paper, and electricity use. I was also laid off at that time and was a broke-ass. I looked to the gaming group to help with this. A five dollar entry was enough to pay her and save a little to upgrade to better switches, more tables, better chairs, and whatever else was needed.

Again folks, I can not stress enough on the planning for this. If it is just a weekend dealie, with a few friends, then don't read too much in to this. But if you expand the LAN and start having events outside the house, make sure you have enough resources to make it happen. Network with the people local to you. You can have a large event, very cheaply, because a lot of people have everything you need. Just bring it all together and don't look into making money off of any LAN event. If you go into it to try and break even, you usually will.

Sponsors can help! Research the possibility of local merchants, gaming websites, hardware vendors, and software makers to help. Some will give money, most will send you things to give away. Networking is key key key.

Next time, I will write about how best to get sponsors and pimp out your event.