LAN Parties

what is a LAN party? Quite simply, it is a bunch of gamers who come together, hook their computers up in a local area network, and play games until their eyes bleed. It usually consists of gamers with their computers, food and drink (most often of the high-in-fat, low-in-nutrients variety), and lots of games.
LAN gaming had existed before Doom, but it was Doom that brought network gaming to the masses. Offices around the world experienced drops in productivity as sessions of Doom on the office network began to increase in popularity. Gamers realized that flagging their buddies was much more fun if they were within verbal abuse range.

The rise of the internet did not dampen the enthusiasm for LAN gaming, mainly because the dominant internet connections of the mid-90s were 14.4 and 28.8 modems, with the inherent lag and other communications problems. Local area networks, on the other hand, did not suffer from lag as much as modem connections, and being in close physical proximity to your teammates and enemies allowed verbal communications, greatly increasing the enjoyment of multiplayer gaming. Even in today's era of broadband connections and abundant online game servers, nothing quite replicates the thrill of trash talking your opponents in person after a particularly glorious victory.

Plan Your Event to the Smallest Detail

There are several important things you must consider when you begin to plan your event. Items include the size of the party, when it will run, where it will be located, plus miscellaneous things like entrance fees (if required) and promotion of the event.
While LAN parties can usually be as large or as small as you want, most people will find that with less than four players there isn't the same level of excitement and competition as with larger parties. Realistically speaking, at lot of fun can be had with 8-20 players, but any larger and the logistical problems with setting up such an event may well be beyond your capabilities and finances unless you are experienced in running such events. Larger events are also fun, but they no longer become one-man jobs and you will probably need some knowledgeable friends to help keep the event running smoothly.
LAN parties can also run for as long as you want, though reality will dictate that most events are three days or less, usually running from Friday evening to Sunday evening. For obvious reasons, one-day events are the easiest to set up, and it is recommended that the first LAN party you host be a one-day party. If you have friends to help you organize and host a party, you should be able to host multi-day events right off the bat. Remember to allocate space for sleeping if your event spans more than one day because even the most hardcore gamer cannot play for 24 hours straight.
One of the most important decisions that have to be made during the planning process is where the LAN party will be located. The primary factor in choosing a location is its size: it simply has to be big enough to accommodate all the guests comfortably. On the other hand, a venue that is too big can also create problems, so once you have decided where to host your LAN party it is best not to change the number of guests. If a planned location is booked and later needs to be bigger, you may lose your deposit and booking fees.
Accessibility is also an important factor. This mostly depends on what city you host the party in. Obviously, in a large city with a comprehensive public transportation system, getting to your event will be much easier for your guests. Hosting your LAN party in a rural "middle-of-nowhere" town will cause unnecessary grief for both host and guests, and should be avoided even if you live in such a town. It will be much easier to attract gamers to your particular party if it is easy for them to get there.
There are other issues to consider. Are there washrooms? Are there enough for the number of guests you expect? Noise is also a concern, for a group of rowdy gamers will inevitably create lots of noise and perhaps even some profanity. Make sure that you won't have neighbors calling the cops and complaining about your party. As mentioned above, additional room will be needed for sleeping areas if your LAN party lasts longer than a day. There should also be an area set aside for breaks from gaming, and it helps if there's a TV or some music in this area.
Lastly but importantly, the issues of electrical power and ventilation need to be addressed. If you are booking a location, ask the booking manager about how much electricity the building can supply and if there's air conditioning (in the summer) or heating (in the winter) available. You need to ensure that a large number of computers will not overload the electrical circuits in the building, which will bring your party to a grinding halt and possibly result in the cancellation of your event. Air conditioning and heating is important to keep your guests comfortable. Ventilation is especially important during the summer because the ambient temperature and heat generated by people and their computers will quickly rise to unbearable levels, and may actually result in damage to computer systems that are over clocked and thus sensitive to temperature changes. Of course, all of this depends on how far north or south you live: air conditioning is useless in the Polar Regions, and the same is true for heating near the equator.

Operating Costs and Promoting Your Event

Once you've decided on the size, duration, and location of your LAN party, there remains the issue of the entrance fee. If you are hosting a small party with just your friends, an entrance fee will not be necessary since the costs to run such a party are quite low. Anything larger, however, will require an entrance fee simply to cover the costs of providing the space and hardware to run the party, in addition to the time investment. Things get expensive quickly as the size of the party grows because of the need for high-speed switches and routers, and possibly even gigabit Ethernet equipment in parties with more than 50 people. The entrance fee can also cover things like door and tournament prizes, as well as food and drinks.
To help defray the costs of running a medium to large LAN party, you may want to consider having your event sponsored. Sponsors might provide food, hardware, software, or technical expertise, and even money if you're really lucky. In exchange for this you will most likely be required to promote the company's products and services, and maybe even allow the company to be the exclusive provider of for-sale goods at your venue. Remember to have any arrangements with sponsors in writing so that it becomes a binding contract, preventing them from dropping their sponsorship at the last moment.
However, if you actually want people to come, you will have to promote your LAN party. A good rule of thumb is to promote your event at least a month before it starts. An excellent way to start is to create a website with all the details of your event. Be sure to clearly state the equipment that the guest must bring, as well as the entrance fee and other incidentals that require money. To let people know about your event, there are websites that are dedicated to listing LAN parties around the world. Putting your party there can greatly increase the chance getting the turnout you wanted.

Source : http://www.onepc.net