Brained Area PC Gamers Website


	A Little History

It was the night of December 31, 1999; the big Y2K scare loomed in the hearts of many, but not us. Having no doubts about the stability of our machines, it was decided that we should have a LAN party. This was the first “large” LAN party that we had planned. The conditions were cramped to say the least, with over 20 computers in a small living room near Nisswa, Minnesota. Three computers on a card table was not out of the question, and TV trays were used to hold keyboards and mice. Somehow though, it was the best thing we’d ever done. So engrossed were we in our gaming that it was nearly 2 am before we realized we had survived Y2K. We continued gaming for 36 hours before we disbanded. This was the first of what was to become an ongoing and continually growing trend.

Over the last four years we have been continuing to hold LAN parties at peoples houses. The number of people attending slowly increased. It was decided that we should try to hold four big LAN parties per year, with perhaps a couple smaller ones tossed in the mix now and again. It was soon discovered that we could no longer hold these ever-growing parties at houses; there simply was not enough room. The quest for a place to have our LANs loomed on the horizon.

As if by some miracle, it was learned that we could rent the Community center in Nisswa. After a brief inspection it was decided that it would do nicely. On December 28th 2001 we held our fist LAN at the Nisswa Community center. This was the LAN that paved the way for all those to come. The next LAN, “spring break `02” was held on Friday March 15th. Our next LAN, the “fall frag”, which was held on Friday the 13th 2002, was somewhat of a breakthrough for us. The fall frag was the first “advertised” LAN, and we also obtained our first sponsorship from Cascade Computers at that time. We had originally tried to have the LAN in the summer, but there were some scheduling problems that prevented this.

This brings us to our latest LAN, the “Winter Wonder-LAN”. After the conclusion of the fall frag, it was decided that we would need to become more organized if we were to continue to provide a good gaming experience to our LAN attendees. After some deliberation we choose the name Brainerd Area PC Gamers, and began to hold regular meetings to discuss our upcoming LAN events. So far, we are not much more than a group of nine friends, who all share a love for LAN parties, and donate time, resources, and monetary funding to make our LANs the best that we can. For us, it’s never been about money, just about the experience. We choose not to charge any more than we have to, and every spare penny goes towards making the next LAN better in some way. I was surprised at the response we are getting from businesses, both local and abroad. We have just recently acquired Nvidia, Bawls, and Uslink as sponsors. In the future BAPCG hopes to continue to grow and provide place for gamers to come together and test their skills, because it has always been just about getting together to game. We LAN like it’s our job, but have a great time doing it. “LAN it and they will come” rings true.