LAN Party, Anyone?

In the old days (more than five years ago in computer time), a LAN (Local Area Network) party was simply all the school’s computer geeks getting together with their own PCs to play video games against each other on a network. Someone would bring a machine to act as a game server that would keep track of scores (also known as kills, frags, m@d lewt or pwnage), who was logged in, and serve the games. Usually, lots of munchies, pizzas, and beverages were consumed. But LAN parties quickly became very popular and grew in size so that groups were renting conference centers for these events that, sometimes, could go on for an entire week.

Most games being released across all platforms can be played online. For instance, the Madden NFL series is available for the PC, Xbox, Playstation 2 and 3, and Nintendo Wii. And you know what? This game allows someone playing on a PS3 to play against someone else, somewhere else on a PC, Xbox 360, or Wii, creating an instant LAN party.

Do your older teens play Rune-scape? Chances are that a group of friends are playing against each other over the Internet. Public libraries can easily host an instant LAN party after school. Many of our adult patrons go to Yahoo! Games to play chess, spades, and hearts. Even my six-year-old nephew told me that he got beat “by some guy across the world” in a game on his Wii. There are a myriad of games capable of being played online. The boxed list of games below is only a very small sample of what is available.

LAN games are a great tool for teaching good sportsmanship and building social interaction skills, since most of them allow you to chat with other players. The setup of a LAN gaming session can teach basic computer networking skills, and if it’s a tournament setup, management skills. Managing time and resources are essential to a great LAN party, and planning carefully only makes it better.

Most of the equipment for a LAN party can be brought to the session by players or purchased without a tremendous outlay of money. Almost any modern computer with a single-core processor and a gigabyte of memory will suffice as a server, and most games have their own server software built into the installation packages. Since the server doesn’t have to render any graphics, it doesn’t need to have a high-end graphics card. These game servers, depending on the number of players, can even run on a player’s computer while the user is playing the game.

Another piece of equipment you’ll need is a network switch. If your IT department doesn’t have one, a good 16-port switch, capable of at least 100Mbs transfer rates, can be bought online for less than $100. This is the piece of equipment that creates the network for your game. The faster it can operate, the better. But you pay for speed, and a Gigabit switch will likely run more than $150. Cabling is important also. A Cat5 cable will work, but a Cat5e is better. If your switch is Gigabit-rated, a Cat5 cable won’t be able to take advantage of the speed. It’s like replacing a funnel with a sieve in terms of how fast the information flows through.

Here’s where it gets interesting. People who use a dedicated PC for LAN parties typically have a custom-built setup that either they or someone else has put together. Most people who have held a LAN party, as gamer or host, understand this unwritten rule—bring your own machine. So LAN gamers started the “case modding” craze, where a person takes a standard computer case and builds in useful (to them) things or features to help them stand out in the crowd. I’ve seen cases be rebuilt to house aquariums, coffee pots (for those all-nighters), and other things. So if you are hosting a LAN party, you may see some crazy setups, and you will definitely see some powerful machines. Lots of gaming machines are now water-cooled.

Security is a touchy subject. It is possible that someone could bring in a virus with their computer. You will have to make sure that all participants know they are plugging in at their own risk, and that they should run a virus/malware scan as a precaution. It is rare that someone would purposely infect everyone on the LAN while in-game, but it has happened. You will want to make clear that this behavior will not be tolerated, and that the activity is illegal and will be prosecuted. You could require that everyone use antivirus software while there, but that could slow things down for individual users. Most public LAN parties won’t allow connection to the Internet because it opens up too many liability doors in illegal downloads and other things. Besides, it’s called a Local Area Network for a reason.

If you have one, get your IT department involved. You probably will have an in-house source of gamers to help you set up and provide the equipment. No IT department? No problem. Here is where you get your teens involved. When you start advertising the event, ask around and see if anyone has a switch that might be up to the task, extra cabling, or even a computer that has been used as a game server. You might want to think about setting up teams or brackets, or limiting participation based on the capability of your switch. For instance, you wouldn’t want 48 people showing up if all you have is a 16-port switch.

LAN parties must have massive quantities of soft drinks and munchies. Refreshments are almost mandatory, but you could require that players bring their own, as long as they are within guidelines.

You can complete your LAN party in as little as an hour. It will take a few minutes to set up the switch and run the cables, and then get your participants plugged into the network and start playing. If you want to make this a monthly program, you can encourage the players to start a video game club. Make time for a weekend tournament. Get the young people together for an end-of-school-year all-nighter. It will be fun, and you’ll be seen in a whole new light by your young patrons!

There are numerous other games that can be played online—nearly any game produced these days will do. To find out more about game and software ratings, go to esrb.com. For additional information on hosting a LAN party, visit Lanparty.com and click on “Hosting Guide”—and get ready to host a LAN party in your library.