Heyas all,
I'm teach a computer class at a middle school, and one of the best things I've done as a reward for the kids is host a LAN party. We bring in xbox's for halo and such, and I have a ps3 that I use for Gran Turismo with a wheel and pedals. I also have a lab of early i5 boxes that DO have a dedicated video card (Radeon HD 5250 or some such? nothing fancy, but decent). Anyway, I'm thinking it's time to bring them back for this school year!
In the past, we had multiple copies of WC3 and a couple Starcraft disks to spawn from. Well, these pc games have disappeared since we used to run the LAN parties, and to be honest, it would be nice to have something they might be more familiar with (middle school kids haven't played these much, and I can't find half of them).
Of course, we're on a shoestring budget. I've considered a lab pack of minecraft and I have a dedicated server in my room for other school software that could run a server for the parties. There are so many kids who have their own accounts, though, I wonder if it would be worth buying more.
So, I guess what I'm asking is: What games would you use (preferably free or very cheap) for such an event? I have 33 stations in my lab and would like to have 2 or 3 options for the kids.
TIA for any and all advice!
I'm teach a computer class at a middle school, and one of the best things I've done as a reward for the kids is host a LAN party. We bring in xbox's for halo and such, and I have a ps3 that I use for Gran Turismo with a wheel and pedals. I also have a lab of early i5 boxes that DO have a dedicated video card (Radeon HD 5250 or some such? nothing fancy, but decent). Anyway, I'm thinking it's time to bring them back for this school year!
In the past, we had multiple copies of WC3 and a couple Starcraft disks to spawn from. Well, these pc games have disappeared since we used to run the LAN parties, and to be honest, it would be nice to have something they might be more familiar with (middle school kids haven't played these much, and I can't find half of them).
Of course, we're on a shoestring budget. I've considered a lab pack of minecraft and I have a dedicated server in my room for other school software that could run a server for the parties. There are so many kids who have their own accounts, though, I wonder if it would be worth buying more.
So, I guess what I'm asking is: What games would you use (preferably free or very cheap) for such an event? I have 33 stations in my lab and would like to have 2 or 3 options for the kids.
TIA for any and all advice!