LAN Parties - Small LAN Parties

Small LAN Parties

Usually, smaller LAN parties consist of people bringing their computers over to each other's houses to host and play multiplayer games.

These are sometimes established between small groups of friends, and hosted at a central location or one that is known to all participants. Such events are often organized quickly with little planning, and some overnight events, with some stretching into days (or even weeks). Because of the small number of players, games are usually played on small levels and/or against bots.

People bring their own PC/Laptop in small Lan party. A small LAN party requires either a hub/switch, with enough ports to accommodate all the players or if all the computers have Wi-Fi capability, an ad-hoc network may be set up. This allows two or more computers to connect over a wireless connection, thereby eliminating the need for a wired network, a fair amount of power, and suitable surfaces for all the computers. Providing refreshments is often also a duty of the host, though guests are usually asked to contribute. In larger parties where participants may not all know each other personally, an entry fee may even be charged. Another tradition of some small groups is to purchase large amounts of fast food for consumption over many days. Many LAN participants will also bring energy drinks and other food to consume over the course of the party. The LAN must start at one day then finish at another.

When some of the participants cannot be present or when merging a few LAN parties together, VPN software such as Hamachi can be used to arrange computers over the Internet so they appear to be on the same LAN.

Normally, the host will host the games but sometimes at very small LAN parties (e.g. 2 or 3 people) all participants will connect to an online internet server and add a word in front of their name to tell everyone else that they are a clan or group. At bigger LANs (e.g. 5 or more people) the host or a friend of the host will use a spare PC as a game server to serve all the participants. Usually the host and/or the owner are administrators.

The group can play together in another server as well if they wish as long as they are in the same LAN.