MinerLAN

MinerLAN is a LAN party/social that ACM hosts every semester on the Friday of deadweek. The event provides time for students to destress before finals week and get to know other students through boardgames, videogames, or other social events.

MinerLAN Room

Reserve two rooms right next to each other. One should maximize the number of projectors / large screens to run tournaments on. The other should be used as the general LAN room where people can bring their systems to just play games.

Usually, ACM reserves BCH 124 to run regular tournments in and as the main LAN room and BCH 125 for people who want to play Super Smash Bros with the S&T Fighting Game Club.

Marketing

General Preperation

2 Months Before

  • Room Reservation - Reserve the MinerLAN rooms through OrgSync. See the MinerLAN Room section for more details.

1 Month Before

  • Contact S&T Fight Game Club - They are the group on campus that runs the smash tournments every tuesday in TJ. Look up the President’s email on orgsync and see if they would be interested in hosting a tournment with a prize provided by ACM.
  • Contact Zach Monroe - (ztm526@mst.edu) He is the current campus Monster rep. If you don’t know who the current rep is, find someone in SUB.
  • Contact IT - Contact IT through the Helpdesk and say that we will need a 48-port switch setup in the reserved rooms on the day of the event.
  • Buy the Prizes - You’re going to want to buy a prize for each tournment you want to run (3-4) and one as a raffle for those who come to the event (total 4-5).

1-2 Weeks Before

  • Create the Tournment Schedule - For each regular prize you bought, develop an idea for a tournment and find someone with the boardgame / system and game to run the tournament. Popular ideas are: Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Poker, Trivia, Dive Kick, etc.
  • Assign “Helpers” - You will need three people making food (if you choose to do so), one person running the “check in” table, a floater, and a photographer.
  • Procure Cooking Appliances - If you’re cooking waffles you’ll need waffle makers, for pancakes you’ll need griddles, etc.
  • Contact 2 people with VR - See if you can get (Discord - jzaustin295#1455) to bring his VR. If you don’t know who this is, ask Hannah Reinbolt.
  • Order Food - Order enough food for 50-60 people. Popular options are: Pizza, Sandwichs, Lee’s, or other food from supermarket. Make sure to get some snacks as well to make it through the night.
  • Contact Donut King - (dkrolla@gmail.com), you’ll be speaking with Liz. May ‘19 we got 6 dozen for $40 and that was great for 80 people. Be sure to mention that we’ve done this in the past and it’s for S&T.
  • Marketing - See section above

Day of

  • Grab Food Supplies - Don’t forget measuring cups, bowls, gloves, etc
  • Call University Police - If you reserve BCH the lights in the atrium will turn off at 11, call university police and get that changed. Or, if you see the officer locking rooms, ask then.
  • Coordinate Helpers - Make sure everyone knows how they are going to be helping you. This will ensure you aren’t overwhelmed during setup. Remind helpers that they are helping and confirm their time.
  • Photograph Winners w/ Prizes - Each tournament will end at different times. Get a picture of each winner with their chosen prize.
  • Switches - The switches will be dropped off in reserved rooms by IT. You will need to set up the switches in the reserved rooms.

Agenda

  • 4:00 pm - Bring all of the Equipment to the main room/atrium.
  • 5:00 pm - If you require a fridge, you’ll want to get it to the atrium/reserved room and plug it in. Go procure your bowls, gloves, spoons, etc. Set up the ACM/check in table.
  • 5:30 pm - Be sure the main game room is set up before people get there
  • 5:45 pm - Appoint someone to collect photo release forms and give them tickets for the door prize when they enter. Clearly mark this table and make sure everyone signs in. Hang the Tournament schedule on each set of doors and post at the check in table.
  • 6:00 pm - Release everyone to go collect food. Do not let them eat before this..maybe?
  • 7:00 pm - Start the first tournament (May 19 - Smash)
  • 8:00 pm - Start the second tournament (May 19 - Poker)
  • 9:00 pm - Start the third tournament (May 19 - Mario Kart)
  • 10:00 pm - Start the fourth tournament (If you have one)
  • [TEN]12:00 am - Start the raffle for giving away the raffle prize. Thank everyone for coming. Do this right after the first tournament is over so people don’t leave.

Equipment

  • Ethernet Cables - Make sure to bring a mix of long/short ethernet cables. The long ethernet cables will allow the switch to be connected to any open port in the room. The shorter cables will allow users to connect to that switch. Most users who need an ethernet cable bring one, but it is always good to have extra.
  • Utensils - Napkins, Towels, Forks, Knives, Plates, Spoons, etc.
  • Food Supplies - Trash bags and other necessary items for the food provided.
  • Surge Protectors - Help distribute power to everyone.
  • Tape - Masking tape or some other kind to tape down ethernet cables or other unexpected event.
  • ACM Branding Material - table cloth, clips, stickers, banner.
  • Drink Cart - bring all of the items on the drink cart, utensils, and food supplies.
  • Camera - Bring the camera over for the photographer.
  • Kitchen From Home - If you choose to cook something, you’ll need bowls, measuring cups, spoons, etc.
  • Extension Cords - If you’re cooking you’ll need a few extension cords for BCH.

General Tips

  1. Reserve both rooms and order the food to be ready 30 minutes (or any reasonable time) before the actual event. This will allow you to have the food on time and provide ample time to set up the room.
  2. Get donuts around 8:45, and/or be sure there’s something to eat at all times.
  3. In the GAME room, set up two or three switches that maximize the efficiency for people to plug in. Most ethernet cables are 5-10 feet so plan accordingly
  4. Prizes - Try to be creative with the money you have. Start planning for prize ideas about 3 weeks ahead of the event so that they can be ordered online if need be.
  5. Label everything that ACM brings to the events. This will prevent people accidently taking ethernet cables and switches during cleanup.
  6. Order loads of food. Trevan ordered 23 pizzas. (12? – not enough)
  7. Have schedules put on the doors, board, and the sign-in table.

Tournaments

  1. The number of tournaments should be limited to the number of first place prizes you have bought. Usually 3 is plenty, but if the any tournament ends early, you could start a different one.
  2. Keep all tournaments in the separate tournament room to remove clutter and noise from the main gaming room. Having poker in the atrium helps!
  3. Try to come up with a tournament schedule before the event and print out a schedule of them for the main room. This will allow people to see the tournament list early and be ready.
  4. Announce all tournaments in the main room 15 minutes before they start to allow for signups with a last call 5 minutes before the tournament start time. It helps to write the “Set Up” time on the tournament schedule.

Future Ideas

  1. Allow people who brought just games or controllers to play.

    1. VR
    2. N64?
    3. Game Cube?
    4. Wii?
    5. Switch?
    6. Etc.

  2. Section out some of the room into some common games so people who want to play can meet each other. A good way to do this would be to have tri-folds with the game logo on them.

  3. Encourage people meeting each other and playing new games. The point behind MinerLAN is interacting with new people.

  4. Try to stream tournaments or some other form in the main room. This will allow people to watch the tournaments who do not want to be directly involved (just an idea)

FAQ