You might consider reading our About Us page.

Yes. From when we started in 2002, up until 2010, we were known as Traverse City FragFest.

We did this for a number of reasons. One of the primary reasons was because we wanted to de-emphasise the name "FragFest" as the name is used by many other LAN party organisations. On the flip-side, we didn't want to throw away our heritage either. Ideally we would have like to be simply known as TCFF.

Unfortunately (for us anyway), Traverse City already has a festival with the acronym "TCFF," The Traverse City Film Festival. Now granted, the Film Festival came around long after we started, we were in no position to challenge such a locally respected non-profit organisation.

Considering these facts, among others, we decided to become GTFF, Grand Traverse FragFest.

In general, a LAN Party can be any number of people physically coming together and using networked devices, like a computer, or gaming console, to interact with one another over a high-speed network.

With the right equipment, anyone can host a small-scale LAN party, in their garage, house, pole barn.

What GTFF offers (among many other features) is capacity for a much larger scale party (300+ gamers) to come play video games.

That depends entirely on when and if you sign up ahead of time. We maintain a Sign-Up List to find out who all is coming: (see why). If you're on that list, you get a discount. Here are the rates:

$15

Preregistered before cutoff date

$20

Preregistered after cutoff date

$25

At the door

$5

Guests

The sign-up list serves a number of purposes. Primarily we use it to gauge how many people to anticipate, so we can make sure we have enough resources (tables, chairs, etc.).

In addition to expected attendance, we also collect a bit of information about you, including what games you're playing, what gaming group / clan / guild you're in, and the specs of your computer. All of which are optional. We post this information in our sign-up statistics page for other gamers to see. This helps us decide what tournaments to host, and gives other gamers an idea what we're all playing.

Lastly, and certainly not least, those who sign-up/pre-register on the list save money on admission. Those who sign-up early, before the cutoff date, save $10. Those who sign-up after save $5. The cutoff date is usually about a month away from the event. See the sign-up page for details.

If you plan on playing on a PC, you should bring the following:

• Yourself
• Your Computer
• Speakers are welcome, but headphones are encouraged.
• Your own power strip

Similarly if you are playing on consoles you should bring the following:

• Yourself
• Your Console (i.e. Wii, PS3, Xbox)
• Cables
• Television (there are a limited number of available TVs if needed)
• Your own power strip
• Wired network adapter (not required, but recommended)

Lastly, these items are not required, but you might find a more enjoyable experience if you bring the following:

• Your own chair
• Legal up-to-date copies of games
• Music
• Party lights
• Snacks & beverages (see Bawls and Food Runs)
• Extra money for food and raffle
• Sleeping bag if you plan on "staying the night"

We are pretty laid back and won't get in your face for most things. That said, there are a few things we'd like you to leave at home:

• Bad attitude - We're here to have fun. If you prevent others from having fun, we just can't have that.
• Illegal drugs and alcohol - It's a liability on our part, and the civic center just won't allow it.
• Malware - Make sure your computer is virus/worm/malware free before you come to the party.

The short answer is, you still have to pay. Check out our guest policy.

A "guest" is someone who doesn't have a computer or console and is either:

• Assisting an attendant drop off / pick up equipment
• Playing on an another attendants equipment
• Just checking out the party

All guests require a "Sponsor." A sponsor is an attendant who has paid in full for the weekend who is responsible for the actions of the guest. If the guest misbehaves, the attendant and his/her guest may both pay the consequences. If you're a guest, you must have a sponsor, or you will not be admitted in.

Guests may visit the party free of charge for up to 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, the guest must either pay a $5 cover charge, or leave.

Bawls Guarana is an energy drink made popular by the LAN party scene, and is the drink of choice for FragFest. There are various flavors of Bawls including: Bawls Guarana, Sugar Free, Cherry, G33K B33R (Root Beer).

Bawls is on sale at FragFest (and commonly given away as prizes). While any of the above flavors are available for pre-order (contact staff for details), we will only keep stock of Original and G33K B33R.

Prices:

• $2 per bottle/can
• $5 for 3 bottles/cans
• $40 for 24pk case