FOTL LAN Party: Return to the Nineties

FOTL LAN Party: Return to the People

29. June 2026.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. Varaždin, late nineties. A local gaming center, about 20 computers and us, a bunch of kids eager for video games. My first encounter with LAN gaming. Quake 2, Half-Life, StarCraft, Red Alert, Age of Empires, and many others. We spent countless hours and stayed up many nights with Gordon Freeman, Dark Templars, railguns, and Shock Troopers. Just recalling it brings tears to my eyes.

A few months ago, we wrote about the association Fellowship of the LAN: Let's go back to the games of 2001. and now, after twenty years, I finally had the chance to attend one of the LAN parties that FOTL holds on a monthly basis.

I signed up for the event through their Facebook page, filled out a short form, and eagerly awaited that day.
The community center in Gornji Kuršanec that summer Saturday was a place of gathering, laughter, and camaraderie. But most of all, nostalgia.

Right at the entrance, one of the organizers greeted me, directed me to the info desk, wrote my name on the list, recorded my donation (in exchange for which you get a beer or a soda), noted my pizza preference, and guided me to my assigned computer. Because, although you can bring your own computer, for those who don’t have one, there is a certain number of donated computers ready for playing all the games on the roster. And this Saturday, they played Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
I admit, this was my first encounter with these games and I was bad at them. Maybe even the worst. But I’m not looking for excuses. What matters is the socializing and fun. No Discord, no online matchmaking. Headphones were optional, but even they couldn’t diminish the victorious cheers and joy or frustration from a perfect headshot. It depends on which side of the barrel you were on.

During several past events, a tournament in Call of Duty was held, and now the best players were announced and awarded, while the worst (it wasn’t me :D) received a very original transitional trophy (see the picture in the gallery).

In another room, a Retro corner was set up where you could browse old issues of Hacker, PCPlay, and Score, try your hand at Mega Man on SNES, Tekken 5 on PS2, and Icy Tower on PC, and those who had the best score received prizes from the sponsor - the brewery Lepi Dečki.

Of course, it was also the evening of the World Cup match against Ghana, so outside under the starry sky, on a projector, with lots of comments, conversations, and discussions, everyone closely followed what was happening on the field. It also attracted some neighbors who recognized the great atmosphere and came in good company to support our footballers and celebrate the victory.

After that, part of the team stayed to play, while I slowly went for a well-deserved rest. Happy and full of impressions.

Now follows the summer break, and for the next LAN party, tournaments in Star Wars Episode One: Racer on PC and Mortal Kombat 11 on PS5 are already planned.