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"Obligatory SR i17 topic"

I swear I make one of these for every i-series event I go to, and as yet have found .. one? two? other people who go along.

*clears throat*

Come to i17.

If anyone's managed to avoid my ramblings about it so far, it's a massive LAN party (looks set to be around 1000 gamers this time) held in Newbury racecourse. I go along with a load of my mates, and this time we're stealing Grix too, and I want as many of you there as possible. Doesn't matter if you're not in a clan or not a hugely avid gamer, it's just great fun.

It's £70 for 4 days, held over August bank holiday weekend (22-25), and completely defies the image of gamers being sad lonely people who sit on their own for days on end - everyone is chucked in a massive hall, sorted in to game areas by clan, with tournaments and general other contests; Drinking races, football matches, cockfighting (oh yes..no harm to animals involved)..

Upstairs, there's...well, a biig bar area :D Dominos deliver pizza to seats, you can camp outside or sleep under your pc, and..that's it really. Be there. Throw any questions here, but most importantly, give in to 4 days of really random fun - honestly, gaming goes out the window after the bar opens up ;)

Pfft our clan comes from wales, essex, leeds and..wherever the hell Sam lives =)

The badge is..well, a badge, they usually give you a little rope thing so you can wear it around your neck, it's not likely to go far to be honest..Having a small PC can be a great advantage, just in terms of making it easy to get there - at the moment we're taking 3 cars just to fit us and our stuff in =/ I wasn';t sure whether or not to trust peopel at first, but everyone's just there to have a good time, and knows if they try to nick something, they will be found out and get kicked out of the event and online community.

Bit far away for me, since I live in the east of Surrey. Shame.

Sounds fun.

Problem - My PC sucks.

So that means you have to keep the badge pretty close to you, or they could just make off with the PC legitimately...

Thing is, although my PC is small, it has no cover - it's basically a Shuttle with a normal sized PSU on top with wires hanging out.

Well, I've only ever heard of one incident of theft at an event, and that was only something very small...

Basically, when you enter the venue, you get given a badge and 2 stickers - one for your pc, one for the monitor. There are security guards on every door, and if you try to leave with a PC, you have to have the badge which matches it. Info on the badges is Booking ID, Name and Nickname, so no 2 are identical. The other major deterrant is the presence of other people all day and night - I've certainly had a few nights where I've not slept at all, and there's usually a few people in each row who will watch out for shady types poking around with other people's kit. You can't really open a case, take out a card and make off with it without someone noticing..The kindof gaming community spirit surrounding the event generally stops people anyway, everyone's there just to have a good time, and the few troublemakers are dealt with swiftly..

What if my PC gets nicked?

Mm, seems like a lot, but tis worth it without a doubt. We always wait to attend a 4 day one, as it's only £10 more than a 3 day lan, but considering how much people pay for other entertainment (up to £30 for a concert ticket? Almost as much for a football match) which last only a couple of hours, I'd say it works out at pretty good value. Hiring an entire racecrouse for 5 days doesn't come cheap..

£70 is a kings ransom to me

Yep, that's right. Two blokes lie on the floor next to each other and first of all hook their legs round..

Yep, that's right. Two blokes lie on the floor next to each other and first of all hook their legs round..