LAN party without internet

The switch will work fine to connect the PCs together, but they are going to need IP addresses to be able to communicate with each other. You can either manually configure static IPs, or connect a router to assign IPs but do not connect the WAN port to the Internet.

Where are you at? I have a couple of old 10/100 ethernet switches I would give away just to get them out of my closet. Gigabit ethernet is so cheap now no reason to waste money on 10/100 any more...

http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unmanaged-GREENnet-Standard-1000Mbps/dp/B001QUA6RA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361469693&sr=8-1&keywords=gigabit+switch

I know money is tight for students, but this is a cheap alternative... Only $8.00 more than the slower 10/100 switch...

Of course what PhilFrisbie says is right, you need to configure IPs so it all can talk correctly, and depending on the game, you may be required to have an internet connection to talk back to a game server.

Do you have WiFi in your dorm? Might be easier to get folks talking over WiFi and be done with it...

B.T.W., I wasn't kidding about needing to get rid of 10/100 switches. I have 2 of them I will never use again. If you are in the Houston metro area, drop me a PM, I will happily donate these to college students... They are good enough for education. Just kind of slow for my needs...

I'd recommend TRENDnet as well. A ton of people have had LAN parties for many years now, it's very simple to do - just setup static IPs as mentioned. You can save it then toggle the network from what you normally use to the static IP so in the future it's fast.