Soldiers of the resistance, you know that to be efficient you must know your environment and enemies just as well as your allies. We're now able to inform you all that the games and tournaments have been decided!

There will be TWO clan events, FOUR big team events, and of course our beloved 16-player 1v1 double elimination competition.

The 1v1 game is...

• F.E.A.R. Combat: SlowMo Deathmatch! In F.E.A.R, you took control of an operative on the frontline of an imminent apocalypse, driven by the paranoia and rage of a ghostly little girl. F.E.A.R.'s multiplayer portion was made into its own free downloadable game some time ago - you do NOT need to buy anything to run and take part! One deathmatch mode features a limited SLOW-MO ability. Get it here!

The four big team tournaments are:

• Projector Games: Zombie City! Battle against a sea of zombies and get to the chopper! Just hope you can make it before the chopper is full...
• Armagetron Advanced! Ride in a virtual space on your Light Cycles, drawing walls as you go, creating an unending wall across your opponents' paths and outlive them all. That is, if you can dodge every other wall in the arena!
• 4v4 Left 4 Dead! Two weeks after first infection, and America's population has dwindled as the 'infection' spreads, turning reasonable humans into rabid animalistic shells. 4v4 vs mode two-map matches.
• 4v4 Half Life 2: Team Deathmatch! The inter-dimensional 'Combine' has devastated mankind, but the human resistance remains! Civilians and Combine fight across a ruined city landscape!

Two clan tournaments are...

• FPS: 5v5 Team Fortress 2! Our batty mercenaries continue killing eachother, heedless of the cataclysm.
• RTS: 2v2 Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne... OR... 2v2 DEFCON! Warcraft pits four playable races against eachother (including the Undead... even MORE zombies! ). DEFCON ("Everybody Dies") is called 'The World's first Genocide 'em up' by the developer. Inspired by such films as 'War Games', it's Global Thermonuclear War and nobody wins. But maybe - just maybe - you can lose the least.

What's with the RTS game? Warcraft III is popular, but we wanted to present the option of an RTS that befits the theme of LlamaLAN XIII perfectly - DEFCON.

Homepage: http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/

Some of you already have it. Those who don't and think they might like this sort of thing, you can try the demo from their site. You can buy the full game via Steam for about a fiver. Think about these RTS options and then please cast your vote! Which will it be? See the poll in the LlamaLAN XIII forum and vote before February 13th. Also, note that the 1v1 and clan tournaments will open for registration on the night of February 13th just before midnight.

Doubtless someone out there will have an opinion on all this. We'll see you in the dedicated thread in the forum.

FEBRUARY 1st, 2010: 10.5 WEEKS UNTIL LLAMAGEDDON...

Llamas - Welcome to the point of no return! The cut-off date has been reached, and so begins our last desperate stand against the tide of world-shattering forces!

First of all, let us recognise the efforts of the resistance so far. At the time of writing, only THIRTEEN seats remain unclaimed. Thanks to you, there was no concern that we wouldn't have enough man and womanpower to survive the coming 'LAN to end all LANs', comfortably reaching the minimum required attendees to afford to run the event.

We've been asking you all to repopulate your list of games you own and love. Every entry in your list, even the position of each entry in your list, affects the outcome of LlamaLAN XIII's own list of top games. It is from this that we take inspiration when deciding what we'll play in the official LlamaLAN tournaments and now the cut-off date is here, it is time for us to make these decisions. Of course, as we've only just reached this point, we haven't fully decided on everything yet. Remain vigilant! Keep an eye on the forums - and your inbox!

Also, we have to report that now the cut-off has been passed, the post-cutoff seat price is now in effect. Don't hang around, llamas. Time is running out! Don't lose your seat - we cannot provide any more seats than available so be sure to pay as soon as you can. We've said it before, and... what the heck, don't be left behind!

Stay frosty!

It was a close call, but we're safe... for now.

Detonating our personal 'Games Lists' into the face of the asteroid has prevented our immediate total destruction! We ask that you now get back into your profiles and honour the loss by recreating your lists (using Kanonfodda's slick new dynamic Games List interface. )

Continuing the theme of GOOD news, we've secured enough soldiers to stand our ground. With merely 17 seats remaining with over 12 weeks to go, we're delighted to report we've once again met the cut-off date easily! Thank you all!

This battle was won but the LAN TO END ALL LANS is still coming! So remain vigilant and stock up your armouries, llamas. Repopulate your games lists - for then, on the day of the cut-off, 1st February 2010, we will know the games in which we will fight to the last!

JANUARY 15th, 2010: 13 weeks until LLAMAGEDDON...

RED ALERT!

Survivors, I bring you urgent news. At this most critical time, the coming LANaclysm is about to claim its first victim. There is hope, but this hope depends on every one of us. You may want to sit down.

You may know that in our profiles on the website we can construct our personal GAMES LISTS. This should list all the games we own, while our favourites are at the top. This is YOUR way of influencing the games that are played at each LAN event - the overall 'Games List' is generated from all our lists combined. To see this for yourself, open up the LlamaLAN 13 page and check the Games link. The top games in this list are considered for official tournaments!

In just five days time, on Wednesday 20th January, a giant fiery comet will wipe out all LANs as we know it, leaving little but our mouse scrollwheels lying in the crater. Do not lose heart! We can subvert this fate but ONLY by jettisoning every single GAMES LIST directly at the comet, blowing it apart before impact. Of course, our lists of games will not survive. A noble sacrifice.

There is one positive side effect. By detonating our Games Lists, we will each have to log in to our website profiles and reconstruct them. This means we purge the system of old selections and can bring our lists bang up to date, ensuring that when LLAMAGEDDON begins, the games we engage in are games we actually own and want to play.

Plus, we'll replace the current interface with something a bit sleeker, for your games list management pleasure!

Unreal Tournament 2004 has been a solid game for our 1v1 tournament and has been used for a few years now based entirely on its position in the overall Games List. Is it really still that popular or will its throne be usurped? We're about to find out.

In short - our personal Games Lists will be purged next Wednesday the 20th January and we ask all of you to log in and reconstruct your lists once this takes place. Please include all that you own, while placing at the top the ones you like the most. PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING: For your selection to influence the official tournaments, your lists must be updated by the cut-off date - which is the 1st of FEBRUARY.

We should also say - THANKS to those of you who have paid and secured your seats. At the time of transmission, we have only twenty three seats left! This is fantastic news so early on, with blue and green teams rapidly running out of space. But that means we still need THREE MORE paid attendees before our defences will be sufficient to allow the event to take place. We MUST have three more by the cut-off. There's time yet, but don't leave it too long. In these crucial days of total annihilation, it looks like the last surviving LAN hall will have a hard time accommodating everyone who doesn't want to be left behind...

Good luck everyone!

WALDERSLADE, JANUARY 1, 2010...

The lives of nearly forty llamas changed forever in the early hours of November 1st, 2009. The survivors of the nuclear fire called the war 'Llamageddon'. They survived only to face a new nightmare - a war against an apocalypse. Actually, against a handful of apocalypses. Or would that be apocalypsi..?

Anyway...

Soldiers of LlamaLAN, we must prepare to rage against the machine, to stave off extinction, to stand together against the horde! Following the events of LlamaLAN XII, with the initation of LLAMAGEDDON comes a series of cataclysmic forces. There's only one way to survive them all: LLAMALAN XIII.

LL/XIII 'LLAMAGEDDON' arrives April 16th-18th 2010.

If you've been to a LlamaLAN before, you may remember some key facts about how our LANs work. To summarise:
1) We make no money from any event, channelling any cash left over into future events for better hardware, prizes or random party props and goodies, which means
2) we must have at least 20 PAID ATTENDEES before the cut-off date.

The cut-off is FEBRUARY 1st 2010!

We can confirm that the call to arms has already been answered by a stalwart number of llamas. Nine soldiers are ready for deployment. This means we only need another ELEVEN steely-faced llamas to join them on the front line, meeting the requirements to go ahead with the LAN.

Now pay attention! Once again, the four BIG TEAMS are ready to avert the end of Llamakind. When you choose your seat, you'll be choosing who you fight for.

• The Yellow Freemans: Fighting against genocide at the hands of alien invaders!
• The Red Resistance: Trained to withstand the inevitable (morality-free) AI threat!
• The Blue Bruces: In honour of the big man himself, standing in the way of natural and/or nuclear devastation!
• The Green Immune: The first and last line against the zombie apocalypse!

(Of course, this is just for fun and to organise teams for the bigger tournaments. Your choice doesn't affect what games you'll be playing, nor does it stop you from forming your own clans.)

Dare you fight to the end, or will you be left behind? Your LAN needs YOU! Sign up TODAY, and please pay as soon as you can. Remember, the cut-off is February 1st. If we don't have twenty paid attendees by this time, then our defences will be breached and it'll be the end of the LAN as we know it!

Keep this channel open for further updates, llamas.

Watch in HD and comment here!

Commiserations to the Pirates (yah boo! ). And congrats to the ninjas! We have successfully brought about the apocolypse! Did you see it coming?

After Friday's internet collapse and Steam's excelling ability to lose all sanity when offline, we had to pretty much do it all on Saturday. We did all the big games and the 1v1 though, good work people. If our continuous hassling to get you playing your 1v1 matches was a pain... tough.

Hope everyone had a great time and see you at the end of the world - next April!

From the dawn of time they came; shouting loudly at eachother down through the centuries, clashing cutlass with nunchuka, battling to reach the time of the Llama; when the few who remain will fight to the finish. Pirate or Ninja... No one has ever known who would finally win... until now.

LANers, your time has come!

Two days before the big battle commences, we have one more announcement and a couple more reminders to ensure we all get the most out of this weekend.

First off, some news regarding our third big tournament, the Battle for the East, what was going to be our Plain Sight tournament. The plan was to come to an arrangement with Beatnik, allowing us to play this game for nil cost to you for the duration of the LAN and them to bring the game to your attention. They were enthusiastic about the idea but, game development being what it is... it is sadly not ready. Plain Sight features ninja robots, fitting the bill for our multiplayer ninja-related gaming madness. So, what's to replace it?

We figured we'd do something a little different, something quick and fun and accessible to all. Many years back, a certain platformer was heralded as a landmark in gaming. It's name was BRUCE LEE. The fight for the East will now celebrate a historical landmark in gaming, martial arts and, of course, NINJAS - a race to the Bruce Lee finale! The first ones to defeat the wizard will win Golden Llamas for their team. This game is easy to get hold of and, importantly, will cost you NOTHING. Get it from here if you want to get some practice in before the LAN itself: http://www.planetflibble.com/blitz/

Else, it'll be available on our FTP server.

It will work simply - everyone taking part will get ready to play the platformer, and on the word GO play simultaneously. When you reach the final level, pull the lever and defeat the wizard, do NOT go through the door. Stand up, pull off your best ninja move and scream 'HIIII-YAH!' That will tell us you've done it and your position will be checked and recorded. Teams will be awarded Golden Llama points based on their quickest player!

Okay, more preparation before the LAN. Some of our games will be running through the Steam platform. Make sure you have run Steam and all games you wish to play in OFFLINE MODE, before you bring your PC to the LAN party. Please carefully read the ESSENTIALS thread, located in the LlamaLAN XII forum. This includes a lot more information and advice on what to bring, where to go, and so forth. Don't say we never warned you.

Finally, prepare to do some extra treasure huntin' yourselves. Scattered about the venue will be several bags of gold coins! Sure, you could try and find them on your own. However, clues to their whereabouts will be provided using the PLAYER UPDATES panel. This you'll find in the lower-left corner of every page on the LlamaLAN website at the LAN itself, so if you fancy getting your hands on the booty, keep your eyes open for hints.

This it it, llamas! Travel safely, prepare for the unexpected; we look forward to seeing you in a couple of days.

The time left to prepare has dwindled to mere DAYS! The ultimate battle between Ninja and Pirate is about to commence! What part will YOU play in this final deciding skirmish?

If you want to take part in the big Pirates 2 game (and we'd like to see as many as possible), there's one important product you will need - Battlefield 2! You can now get hold of the Complete Collection, which is BF2 1.5 and all its expansions, for less than a tenner. Actually, it seems you can get the complete collection for less than BF2 on its own! If you want convenience, you can get it through Steam for £14.99. If you want to save the cash, check out Amazon's deals starting from about £8:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B000N3RLK6

Unreal 1v1 Tournament has been drawn, round one is ready to go! Check the tournament tree and see who your first opponent is. These matches can take place at ANY TIME during the LAN so long as both parties are free and not required for any bigger games within the following 15 minutes. Please be mindful of the timetable to avoid delays and clashes.

And some more advice:
- If you are intending to order anything online for the event, remember the postal strikes and make sure you'll get your stuff before Friday 20th!
- IMPORTANT! If travelling by car, please remember to check the Transport forum on the website as some people may be asking for a lift. Wolfsijn is still in need of transport!
- If travelling by train to Chatham, someone may be able to get you and your hardware from the station. State in the transport forum when you expect to arrive so we have the chance to arrange something.

We still have FIVE SPACES LEFT. It would be fantastic to fill the hall completely, so invite anyone you know who'd be up for a weekend of LANing fun.

LlamaLANers,

With just TWO WEEKS remaining until our twelfth event, things are hotting up for a rather awesome LAN party.

Following a couple of cancellations, note we now have five spaces left. Of course, you can turn up on the day and pay at the door but remember we cannot guarantee a seat. It is always best (and cheaper for you!) to pay and select your seat in advance. As we have just a few spaces left there is room for more of your own friends. Can you think of anyone who'd enjoy taking part at LlamaLAN? There are benefits to you too - drag them along (and their PC) and you'll have someone to talk to on the journey here and back again, you may be able to share travel costs, share a tent and have someone to do some local shopping with.

On this note, other attendees may need assistance with travel and if you're in their area, or passing through, can you assist? Wolfsijn, our resident lycanthrope, is hoping to make it and assist with running the tournaments. But he needs your help! If you live in, near, or pass by Hemel Hempstead, find the thread in the LlamaLAN XII forum: 'Wolfsijn needs transport!' and let him know.

Tournaments! With just two weeks left, there are merely TWO SPACES in both the Unreal 2004 1v1 Tournament and the Warcraft III 2v2 Tournament. In the 1v1 we have four players representing Green, four representing Blue, four from Red and just one player flying the flag for Yellow. With just two spots left, you'd best hurry if you want a chance to win more Golden Llamas for your team and more glory (and some nifty goodies) for yourself!

We can also confirm the prize for the Warcraft 2v2 Tournament will be a £15 play.com voucher for two members of the winning clan, and the prize for the winning big team (that's out of yellow, red, blue and green) is a £10 play.com voucher for each member!

See the previous update for prizes in the Unreal 1v1.

What else is going on in the forums? Let's also mention TheBrook's UNOFFICIAL Left 4 Dead tournament. He wants anyone who wants an infected piece of this pie to let him know in his thread in the LlamaLAN XII forum. Give it a nod if you fancy it. And Cyberdrac is spearheading name gathering for some 4-pack deals on Steam - namely, Left 4 Dead 2 and Borderlands. If either of these games take your fancy and you want to save a bit of cash, get involved in his thread which is listed in the Announcements, regardless of the forum you view.

If you want to know what's happening and when, look in the LlamaLAN XII forum for the timetable. Games can take place before their allocated slots, but it is during these slots that we'll really try and push to get them all complete. This way, we hope to have no official games left over after Saturday and you all have plenty of time to play what you want.

LAN ahoy!

Just two and a half weeks to go, llamas. Time certainly has stampeded onwards! Not yet bagged a seat at LlamaLAN XII? There's still a chance for you to make your stand for your inner pirate or ninja but there are only SIX SEATS remaining!

WARCRAFT! There are just THREE SLOTS LEFT for two man clans. Do you want in? If so, aside from registering ASAP to ensure you CAN play, also note the activity in the forum. We can change the tournament slightly to use 'The Frozen Throne' expansion, but only if everyone taking part has it. If you do or do not own this, please let us know in the LlamaLAN XII forum thread 'Warcraft 2v2 Tournament: Frozen Throne or Not?'.

UNREAL! Our 16-player double-elimination 1v1 Unreal Tournament Tournament (gah) has only SIX SPACES LEFT, so hurry up and register on the site if you want to take part. If for you it's NOT just the taking part that counts and you need extra incentive, check out our prizes.

The top FIVE players receive a small treasure chest of Crucial booty - a pink squishy pig, a bouncy ball thing, a hard mouse mat and a t-shirt. Additionally, the second place prize is 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 CL4 Ballistix (Matched Pair) RAM. The top player will receive a Coolermaster Sentinel 5600 DPI Gaming Mouse with OLED display. This highly advanced gaming mouse has received very high praise from reviewers, and it's easy to see why. Check out Cooler Master's spec page here: http://www.cmstorm.com/micro/sentinel_advance/

It would be a good idea if teams chat in their private team forums about the imminent battle. Who is taking to the seas in Battlefield Pirates 2? Who is the best at flinging urinals at a moving target in Half Life 2 Team Deathmatch? Who is bringing the pieces o'eight? Planning a crazy outfit? Customising your area? Rest assured - not even the admins have sight of other team leaders' team forums in their view!

If you have anything to arrange before the LAN arrives, we recommend you arrange it ASAP. From this point on, time will pass even quicker and before you know it, our final battle will begin!

What we consider essential games for this event:

• Battlefield 2
• Half Life 2 Deathmatch
• Unreal Tournament 2004

And these are very likely to be played:

• Quake 3 Arena
• Call of Duty 4
• Team Fortress 2
• Left 4 Dead

Finally llamas, a bit of LAN gossip for you. Be prepared for a little surprise at the LAN when the big games are done and the battle for the Golden Llamas reaches its conclusion...