How do I set up a LAN so I can game with other computers in my house?

Question

I do not have any high speed internet.

Answer 1

Get Ethernet cards in all your PCs, they may have come with them.

Get an Ethernet switch with enough ports for all the pcs. Connect them up with straight through Ethernet cables.

Set an IP address on each PC, suggest 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2, 192.168.1.3 etc.. You only set the IP address on the machines when your going to game. If your going to dial into the internet you need to set them back to "get IP address automatically". Use 255.255.255.0 for the subnet mask when gaming. You do this through network connections in control panel.

Alternative is to get something (i.e. a router) that can be a DHCP server. Put the DHCP server on the LAN when you want to game, take it off and reboot when you want to go on the Internet. If you got broadband you wouldn't have this problem, you would always have the router on the network and your IP address won't be an issue.

Answer 2

A hub or a router should do the trick. Make sure all the gaming comps are members of the same workgroup. Cabled connections to the router will give the fastest performance, whereas a wireless connection to the router will offer the most flexibility with respect to machine location.

Answer 3

buy a network switch, give all your PC's IP addresses in the same subnet range...
voila instant network..