So how would you define what is a great LAN party? What criterias would you measure it by? The location? The people there? The competitions? The venue?

Well, take your pick. For me it definitely would be how much fun I had. And the word “fun” for me would be the experience as a whole. Of course when I was 26 years old at the first LAN party it was an awesome experience, not sleeping 1 single minute the whole weekend quaking like a raving lunatic using frozen pizza (and some burned ones) and cola as rocket fuel for my madness. Moving on 24 years later I dont think I am that crazy, and my mind and body is not the same. But I have been to many LAN parties since the early days of 1997; including several QH LANs in Sweden and the most recent one in Denmark 2 years ago.

It is very important with the correct accreditation at this LAN, you never know whom you might be missing


Awesomeness
First off, the Polish QW guys are just awesome. The hospitality and kindness are second to none. Secondly, they got this incredible venue where you got everything you desire. How many LANs have you been to where you get restaurant food served at your PC? And you got a BAR with everything 10 feet away? Want an ice cold beer? No problem. Want some strong spirits? No problem. The restaurant is also in the next room. And your hotel room is above you. Like I was thinking before I went: “Great, they got 2 grocery stores real close by”. Ye rite, like I needed that! Everything was in the hotel, and so cheap it was a joke. After 4 days of drinking beer, coke, spirits and ordering restaurant food…the two Norwegians there got a total tab of 368 zloty. That’s 80 EUR. Lol?

Gold medal goes to this guy and the rest of the staff at Zodiak Hotel, keeping us all in the right moode at all times


The hotel rooms was also nice and sleeping in a hotel room is of course so much better than sleeping on the floor with Paradoks snoring beside you on one side and Locktar making out with his girlfriend on the other side. No offense to Paradoks and Locktar, but that is like heaven and hell.

Polish quakers are real comedians!


The fun factor
How can you not have fun when you can sit at a LAN with ice cold beer and play QW with awesome dudes? Anything more needed? Not really. Sorry wife and kids! The last night of the LAN I broke down in tears when they suddenly came up with the idea to play 10 vs 10 on death32c and then on dm2 and dm4. Too bad sound was not recorded in the venue at that time. It’s the kind of experience you can’t get at your chair back home. And there is no doubt that the fun factor level raises considerably when you can insert some alcohol into your body. When Sebi shouted “Quad Trick” and “Tele Safe” on dm2 I was on the floor and I couldn’t play as the whole room broke down in laughter.

Another funny moment that will stick to my mind is when a “not sober” Abraxas (who sat beside me) is playing duel with Kloze and screaming his ass off to Kloze…only that Kloze left the night before and was playing from home. I mention that to Abraxas mid game when I got tired of his screaming and he only replies: “I don’t care, he was here yesterday!” gg. Also I need to apologise to Flamer for endless whine…I guess I wasn’t completely sober either; there was a 4on4 mix we played and Flamer was on the other team and we had a lot of fights, many boomstick fights also, and this time I would win like every fight…so what? The dude f…. spawned beside me every time and killed me. As I was getting tired of that shit I would shout “Fucking Flamer” each time when I got bad luck…even though it wasn’t Flamer. Luckily, Flamer is an awesome dude and took it with a smile. Also lets not forget our only Swede who did a nice ragequit in 4on4 because a kurwa-noob took his rocket launcher: Nothing better with a ragequit at LAN...you can even walk over to the dude and say some words. Oh and Iron, thanks for all the blue death messages :>

Kloze and Shamoth trying to influence Riki's picks on the 4on4 draft


Polish LAN
The newly renewed Polish QW scene has just gotten back to arrange LANs and is a great way to meet your fellow QW mates and have some fun. Of course when you have this free flow of beer/drinks and the freedom of ordering whatever you want whenever you want, everything might not go as planned, if you are at the LAN to play competitions. Like for instance you are playing a compo-game and you need to have a break after map 1 because a player have gotten is ordered food…served at his PC. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the players here are not hungry or thirsty at the same time. But that’s Polish LAN party for you; you do what you want when you want. Competitions are not really why they are there. Shamoth said it best: “We are here to have fun, not important if you win or lose games”. Having said that, they also like to play organised competitions (who doesn’t?), they just didn’t plan that far ahead. That is why next year you will have to sign up on what competitions you want to play when you sign up for the LAN. That way the compos can be organised with schedules/times before we get there (great idea Link!). That should solve things for players who like competitions and life will be easier for streamers.

What do you need a crosshair for? Maks, winner of the 1on1, dont use a crosshair. Crosshairs are so overrated...


Zorak of Zeattle
On this LAN event we got a visitor from the other side of the globe. That is not uncommon as these LANs tend to attract players from all over the world. Like Jehar and Rose coming all the way from Dallas (twice) or Blood Dog from Boston. Zorak came all the way from the Pacific Ocean to visit and it was a true pleasure to meet this nice guy. Let’s hope we got a better organised duel compo for this great dude next time. He truly deserves that. At least he didn’t have to play Link on dm4.

Zorak with his characteristic posure, moving around light as a feather


Memorable moments
As always you get some good memories that stick with you and that won’t rub off. A 2 hour flight only with a car waiting for you at the airport is stuff you like; a really smooth journey is always nice. They will take care of you at this LAN, that is just how they are. Having a LAN at a hotel with everything smooth as silk, and then some, are 3 days of paradise if you are in love with QW. The staff at the Zodiak Hotel was great and the attendees at the LAN the same. It’s a testament to the QW scene in general to have such a great community, also in real life.

The pride of Poland losing to Link on dm4. What a shame.


A special thanks goes out to Grl and Goniec for organising all this and also to everybody else involved, you know who you are. If I didn’t mention your nick is because why mention it when you are all in this picture:



I will see you all again in 1 years’ time, hell must freeze over to avoid me from coming. Thank you for the best LAN party ever. Big hugs and lots of love from a 50 year old man who got a well needed “man” break from his real life.

The last men standing: el-mo and si7h all alone sunday at noon...see you next year guys!


PS!
If you wiki the word “kurwa” you will find out that in Poland you will get fined for saying that word in public. If this venue had been in a public place everybody who attended this LAN would now be flat out broke. I am not kidding.

Macler would be in jail.