How to Set Up a LAN Game
While LAN (local area network) parties are decades old, the social gaming phenomenon reached a heyday during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Popular LAN party franchises included Tribes, Unreal Tournament, Doom and Halo. In the early days, setting up a LAN party involved syncing up computers with neighborhood networks and subset masks. In recent years, setting up a LAN party has become much simpler with more sophisticated equipment and game programming.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- 2 or more computers or video game consoles
- 1 copy of the game for each attendee
- 1 Ethernet cord for each attendee
- 1 Ethernet hub
Instructions
-
-
1
Find a large room for your party. It needs to have enough space for one television and chair for each attendee, including space for computers or consoles. While you can seat everyone in different rooms, this defeats the social purpose of LAN gaming.
-
2
Have your attendees set up their computers or consoles at their individual stations.
-
-
3
Plug the Ethernet hub into an outlet and place it in the center of the room. Have each attendee connect their console or computer to the hub with an Ethernet cable. This hub allows all computers or consoles in the room to communicate with each other.
-
4
Turn on the computers or consoles and boot up the game to be played.
-
5
Navigate to the "Multiplayer" or "Online" menu and select "Local Match." Doing so will cause your computer or console to connect automatically to the others plugged into the hub.
Read the online section of game instruction booklets for any additional information.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
It's a good idea to have everyone bring funds for snacks and drinks.
For team play, split the group into two rooms so that each team can strategize without being overheard by their competitors.
For a LAN party with only two players, you don't need to purchase a hub. Simply connect the two computers or consoles with an Ethernet cord.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit LAN image by Volker from Fotolia.com
