Hi again,

It has been a while since I streamed Starcraft. I have been busy preparing for LAN with my NA CSGO team, Hold My Purse. We attended GXL in October and are getting ready for Copenhagen Games 2014 in April. Hopefully I will be able to start playing Starcraft regularly once I get back from my vacation next week.

As Hold My Purse starts raising funds for our next big LAN tourney (Copenhagen Games 2014) I decided it would be a good idea to write about 5 things that you must bring to a LAN. Now we all know to bring the standard equipment:

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Mouse
Keyboard
Mousepad
Headset
Monitor
Computer
Power Cables
Power Strip
Lengthy Ethernet Cable (15 ft.)
Video Cables for Monitors

I wanted to write about 5 things that you must bring to a LAN that you may not think about. I know that at THEGXL I brought a few extra things to make my lanning experience more comfortable.

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1.) Pillow

Now this may sound very silly but after sitting for hours on those hard foldable chairs you will be thankful. If you don't need a butt pillow because you are bringing a chair from home or have buns of steel I would use the pillow for resting when you are waiting to play your next match.

2.) Medicine

I am definitely not used to sitting in a dark room with a bright monitor glaring into my eyes. I know that when I sit for long periods of time exposed to this kind of environment I tend to get very bad headaches from eye strain. I always bring some sort of pain reliever to make sure that the headache never gets the best of me.
Picture

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3.) Blanket

Now you may feel like Linus carrying around a blanket but when it is cold outside and you are stuck sitting by the door or underneath the air conditioner at the venue, you won't regret it!

4.) Air Freshener

I am not saying that you or friends stink but let's be real here. People sleep at LAN sometimes... sometimes for 2-3 days... without showering...idk about you but when I don't shower I start to get all sorts of funky. To mask out the funk, air freshen.

5.) Chargers

USB chargers are very useful especially when you will be sitting at your computer for most of the weekend. I brought my wall charger but failed to bring my USB charger for when I was at the LAN. My phone was dead 99.9%.

To view my other blog posts, please visit: http://www.holdmypurse.org/moxie.html

Yurie

11960 Posts

December 03 2013 17:42 GMT

http://www.dreamhack.se/dhw13/about/pack-list/ has a short list that covers most stuff people tend to bring. This mentions one important thing you missed: Duct Tape. For when you keep tripping over a wire. For when the table edge is too rough/hard. To stop stuff from just being picked up while you are AFK. Emergency computer repair, you name it I've duct taped it at a LAN.

It misses a water bottle though. Having a bottle to refill with tap water saves a lot of money and does your blood sugar levels a favour.

Another good advice is to bring clothes for cold weather. That way you can use those instead of the blanket. For DHW I tend to bring normal Swedish winter clothes, thus saving on one item by wearing it to and from the event.

I agree with the all mighty pillow though I managed without this last DH. I instead used my winter jacket as pillow (doubling the use of the clothes item). You could also use your towel as a pillow, depends on how dirty stuff is and if you can dry it somehow from morning until evening.

I once went to DH in just my clothes with a wallet. It worked just fine, but could have used the air freshener afterwards. :p

Chairman Ray

United States11903 Posts

December 03 2013 21:18 GMT

I would also recommend a bag of your favorite trail mix and a bottle of green tea. Doing long period of gaming will be very mentally taxing. You want something to maintain mental focus, and energy drinks aren't that great for you. Ima definitely use your advice for air fresheners next lan I go to though ^^.

moxierawr

United States77 Posts

December 03 2013 22:24 GMT

On December 04 2013 02:42 Yurie wrote:
http://www.dreamhack.se/dhw13/about/pack-list/ has a short list that covers most stuff people tend to bring. This mentions one important thing you missed: Duct Tape. For when you keep tripping over a wire. For when the table edge is too rough/hard. To stop stuff from just being picked up while you are AFK. Emergency computer repair, you name it I've duct taped it at a LAN.

It misses a water bottle though. Having a bottle to refill with tap water saves a lot of money and does your blood sugar levels a favour.

Another good advice is to bring clothes for cold weather. That way you can use those instead of the blanket. For DHW I tend to bring normal Swedish winter clothes, thus saving on one item by wearing it to and from the event.

I agree with the all mighty pillow though I managed without this last DH. I instead used my winter jacket as pillow (doubling the use of the clothes item). You could also use your towel as a pillow, depends on how dirty stuff is and if you can dry it somehow from morning until evening.

I once went to DH in just my clothes with a wallet. It worked just fine, but could have used the air freshener afterwards. :p

Oh great point! I didn't even think of the duct tape. I suppose if you don't want to carry around a big blanket sweatshirts would be good! And yes, previously I never brought a pillow to LAN but times have changed haha :D

moxierawr

United States77 Posts

December 03 2013 22:25 GMT

On December 04 2013 06:18 Chairman Ray wrote:
I would also recommend a bag of your favorite trail mix and a bottle of green tea. Doing long period of gaming will be very mentally taxing. You want something to maintain mental focus, and energy drinks aren't that great for you. Ima definitely use your advice for air fresheners next lan I go to though ^^.

That is an awesome idea too! Last lan I seriously went through cans of Redbull , green tea and trail mix is definitely the healthier alternative! Haha There was seriously something weird smelling by us not sure if BO or someone's computer was frying but it was a smell that you didn't want to smell! Lol!

Fumanchu

Canada669 Posts

December 05 2013 02:53 GMT

Kimchi noodle soup

A continuous loop of "Be a Man" by Macho Man Randy Savage

A pair of these: + Show Spoiler +

(Nobody likes losing, but losing to a guy who looks like he can't see the screen is a major diss!)

lichter

1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts

December 05 2013 03:07 GMT

My suggestions

1. Warm fuzzy socks. My feet get cold a lot. Also I can wear them as gloves assuming I haven't worn them on my feet yet.
2. Slippers. Wearing shoes all day sucks.
3. Lotion. Dry skin is gross man.
4. Portable kettle. Because you need warm water for...
5. Instant noodles, tea bags, and hot chocolate. Who doesn't like these things, seriously