Setting up a home network for multiplayer gaming couldn't be any easier with today's Plug and Play technology. Provided you know what must be done, in this article we'll try to explain all the steps you'll have to take to get your own LAN network, to frag your neighbors, and your friends over and over again. This, to the background of their agonized screams and wails, with the walls covered with their crimson blood….muahahah! ahem……. anyway on with the guide…

There are a few ways to connect a bunch of PCs together but here will look at the most universal, an Ethernet. Basically it's a bunch of Network Cards (or NICs as they are usually called) connected via RJ45 connector cables to a hub. The hub acts as a traffic control center that directs information through your home network, this is called a "star network", since all computers are connected at a "main" junction going outwards in a shape of a star.

Now before we go on explaining the kit you will have to purchase let's consider the following points; this is a guide to setting up a home gaming network, so make sure you have to people to play against, and they have the hardware requirements to match (which will be explained on every section). Most importantly you have the cash, pool your money together to buy all the equipment together. This will seriously reduce the possibility of problems if you all buy the same hardware, especially network cards, since you can switch them around to check if the problem is hardware or a faulty windows set-up and also you will need only one driver diskette for all the PCs.

Okay done.... on to the first section…

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