33 and a Third

We held a LAN party at our house the last weekend in December. A LAN party is a get together where people bring their computers, hook them up together, and play games into the night. I often don’t partake in the games myself, but Reid and the boys do, and I really enjoy watching (but can rarely stay up so late!)

We had hoped to get lots of people with their computers over, and in fact could have accommodated 21 computers split between the basement and the top floor of the house. We had considerably less, though — about 12 I think. Jeff, Debbie and Bryan were kind enough to come over on Friday afternoon to help us move furniture around and set up tables. By Friday evening, gaming began and went on, I think, until 3 or 4 am. I lasted until 11 pm. Return to Castle Wolfenstein seemed to be a big hit.

Saturday afternoon and early evening turned into more of a regular party as many people arrived without computers. Lots of lively conversations, some board game playing (Settlers) and children enjoying Ronnie and Michael’s new GameCube. (Ronnie and Michael got their GameCube on Boxing Day, paying for it themselves - proceeds from selling their PlayStation, Christmas money and savings.) Serious computer gaming started late in the evening. They played UT (Urban Terror), splitting into two teams. Boy, did the flavour of the game change when Andrew offered cool Apple T-shirts to the winning team. It seemed to turn into a more intense game, although still lots of fun. I really enjoyed watching and even stayed up until 3 am!

By Sunday, I was wiped. We had a few people show up in mid afternoon. A little more game playing and then everyone helped tear down the computers, tables and put the furniture back in place. We all had dinner out at Red Lobster and went our separate ways from there. I went straight to bed.

All in all a great weekend for us!

Here are some pictures…

Jeff and Reid, setting up the network.

Jeff, setting up Debbie’s Airport Hub so she could wander around the house with her laptop and still be connected to the internet.

Debbie, working on her “My Life in a Nutshell” comic strip.

Jeff and Bryan, just getting into game playing.

Ronnie, Daniel and Michael, later in the evening.

Saturday

Craig, showing us his Castelmar project.

Ronnie and Kyle playing air hockey.

People chatting in the kitchen.

Playing Settlers.

Friendly Scott.

Mike and Kyle.

Serious Saturday night gaming.

Iain, with his T-shirt.

Sunday

All quiet on Sunday - about to tear down.

Dinner at Red Lobster

Debbie, falling asleep during dinner!