What i learned that one needs to host a lan party from experienceHardware : Be sure you have access to the right hardware : Cat5 network cable , a crimper , lots of ends , a switch with enough ports for all your pcs , Pcs that can comfortable run the games you want to play , chairs ,tables , monitors , fans , mice , keyboards, headphones, surge protectors.... , Depend on other people's PCS : men may bring Pentium 2s with 32mbs of RAM , or Dells without network ports , make sure you have enough pcs for everyone, and maybe have spare network / video cards for borrow during the sweat . will be updated as time passes .