Manchester LAN Association

The Manchester LAN Association was founded in 2001 in Delaware County, Iowa. Facilities were primarily housed at the Manchester branch of Hansenlabs with contributers including BrentCo Industries, Jewett International, and Griffith Observatories. Internal communication has been provided through an in-house IRC server maintained in the climate-controlled server room of the Hansenlabs Manchester facilities. Activities were limited to direct LAN access for all gaming from 2001-2005. In 2005 online gaming through match-making services was introduced to the group.

Original core games included Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike, Day of Defeat, Battlefield 1942, Battle Painters, Theivery (mod) and Trench Wars (Continuum). Over the following years Battlefield Vietnam, Battlefield 2, Unreal Tournament 2003, 2004, JointOps, and SWAT 4 (Sheriffs Special Forces Realism Mod) became stock titles played. In more recent years Battefield 2 (AIX2 mod), Sanctum, Payday: The Heist, ARMA 2, Shattered Horizon, Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Magicka, and Killiing Floor has been added to the pool of games.

Gameplay of the MLA is oriented around co-op and team-based principles. Bots are used often to sidestep the obnoxious and misguided tendencies of online communities though online play has expanded among the MLA ranks. Members are now spread across the United States but the spirit of gaming has perpetuated group relations over the ten years of existence of the Manchester LAN Association.