When it comes to playing computer games, other people tend to make better adversaries than a computer.
That's because people are unpredictable, and they can come up with an unlimited number of strategies.
By using a local area network, video game fanatics can compete against their friends. Eric Stobaugh, 12, and his friend Luke Henry, 16, team to play the computer game StarCraft against two other friends this week at Eric's home.
Computers, meanwhile, just aren't as creative. After playing the same game against a computer for a while, it's fairly easy to anticipate what will happen next.
That's why local area network games have become popular among gamers.
A local area network consists of computers set up in one location connected by Ethernet cables and a central hub that allows them to communicate with one another.
By getting together with a few friends and their Macs or PCs, gamers can easily transform a single-player computer game into a multiplayer contest.
Jordan Stobaugh and Andrew Monshizadeh, both 16-year-old juniors at Lawrence High School, have enjoyed local area network games since they were in junior high.
"The computer does the same thing it just has a handful of strategies," Jordan said. "But when you're playing a game against another person, you never know what they're planning on doing."
He recently organized a multiplayer game of StarCraft at his house. In addition to Andrew, Luke Henry, 16, an LHS sophomore, and Jordan's brother Eric, 12, joined the game. Jordan and Andrew faced off against Luke and Eric.
It only took Jordan about 10 minutes to get everything set up. The hard part was finding enough computers and space for all the players.
An ethernet connection enables four computer users to play the same video game simultaneously. Competing in a game of StarCraft are, from left, Luke Henry, Jordan Stobaugh, Andrew Monshizadeh and Eric Stobaugh.
For a round of StarCraft one of the popular local area network games on the market Jordan connected three Apple iMacs and his PowerMac G4 with Ethernet cable through an AppleTalk network.
StarCraft is a war-strategy game in which the goal is to destroy the opponent's buildings and resources. It can also be set up so players just have to capture the other side's flag.
Like a number of games, StarCraft is adaptable for single- or multiple-player use. Local area network games come in a CD-ROM format and can be played on Apple computers or PCs.
StarCraft game owners also can logon to a special server on the Internet www.battle.net to take on other players throughout the world.
Other popular local area network games, according to Jordan, are Rainbow Six, based on a Tom Clancy novel; the Command & Conquer series; and Civilization II.
For Luke, the appeal of local area network games is simple.
"It's just kind of fun seeing how you stack up against your friends," he said. "Once you've beaten the computer, it gets kind of monotonous."
"Instead of playing StarCraft with people on the Net who you don't know, you can beat your friends," Eric added.
It's possible to get quite adept at games like StarCraft, developing more complex battle strategies. It can be an addictive pursuit.
"Some people spend their lives playing these games, which is kind of insane," Jordan said. "When you play on battle.net, you can find people like that. I try to avoid them the game's over in five minutes."
To set up a good local area network game, Jordan said, you need computers with plenty of RAM say, 120 MB to run the game, a fast processor and an Ethernet hub or Apple's AirPort station.
Gamers who want to play StarCraft or another game over the Internet should have a digital subscriber line or cable modem. A 56K modem will be too slow.
For the record, Luke and Eric won the recent StarCraft contest at Jordan's house.
"It's just hanging out with your friends, playing games you enjoy and playing at a higher level of difficulty than against the computer," Jordan said.
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