Best LAN Party Games With Dedicated Servers (2026 List)

The best LAN party games with dedicated servers are Counter-Strike 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Sven Co-op, Xonotic, Teeworlds, Wreckfest, SuperTuxKart, Clone Hero, Zandronum (Doom) and Factorio. A dedicated server keeps the match alive when someone's PC crashes, gives everyone the same ping and lets you set the rules once for the whole night. Half of them are free, which saves the usual hour of "I don't own that one".

A good LAN party lineup mixes short competitive rounds, a co-op game for when people are tired of losing, something silly, and one long game to leave running in the corner. The list below covers each slot.

LAN night lineup

1. Counter-Strike 2

The default LAN game. Your own server means 5v5 with friends instead of strangers, practice configs with infinite ammo and grenade trajectories, and wingman for when only four people are still awake. CS2 needs a Steam server token to accept players from the internet, and we make one for every server automatically.

• RAM: 4 GB for 5v5 or wingman.
• Setup help: CS2 practice server config and how to play CS2 with friends and bots.

2. Left 4 Dead 2

Four survivors, one AI Director, and a lot of shouting. Versus mode turns it into an eight player game with two teams taking turns as the infected. With SourceMod and slot plugins, community servers run campaigns with eight or more survivors, which suits a big LAN. Workshop campaigns give you new maps for every party.

• RAM: 2 GB stock, 3 GB for eight player co-op with plugins.

3. Sven Co-op

A free standalone game that grew out of a Half-Life mod. Everyone teams up against scripted monsters, and it ships with co-op versions of Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift and They Hunger, plus twenty years of community maps. A LAN of 12 can play through Half-Life together, which is exactly as chaotic as it sounds.

• RAM: 2 GB for the bundled campaigns.

4. Xonotic

A free, open source arena shooter in the Quake and Unreal Tournament style. Strafe jumping, rocket jumps and instagib make it the purest skill test on the list, and the download is small enough to share over the LAN.

• RAM: 1 GB for duels or a small free for all.

5. Teeworlds

A free 2D shooter with round little characters and a grappling hook. Rounds take minutes, anyone can learn it in one, and 16 players fit on a server. It is the game you play while the pizza arrives.

• RAM: 1 GB.

6. Wreckfest

Demolition racing where the crash is the point. Lobbies switch between track races, figure 8 crossovers and last car standing derbies, and bots fill the grid to 24 if you are short on drivers. Set vehicle_damage to realistic for a properly brutal derby.

• RAM: 2 GB for a small lobby, 4 GB for a full 24 car grid.

7. SuperTuxKart

Free kart racing on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. One lobby can run races, battles, capture the flag or soccer, and kart soccer at a LAN is surprisingly competitive. Old laptops run it fine.

• RAM: 1 GB.

8. Clone Hero

Bring the plastic guitars. Clone Hero is a free rhythm game with a giant library of community charts, and a server runs sessions of up to four, each on their own lane. Songs live on each player's PC, so share your song folder over the LAN before the party starts.

• RAM: 1 GB.

9. Zandronum (Doom)

Doom co-op through a megawad or a deathmatch on classic maps never gets old. Zandronum is a multiplayer source port that runs the original games and nearly every WAD made since 1993. Each player still needs the Doom or Doom II data file.

• RAM: 1 GB for co-op or deathmatch with a few PWADs.

10. Factorio

The game you leave running on a spare monitor. Factorio's headless server keeps the factory going all night, people wander over between matches, add a production line and go back to shooting each other. Days later the factory is still there.

• RAM: 2 GB.

Local server or hosted server for a LAN

Be honest about which one you need:

• Everyone in one room, bad venue internet: run the server on a spare PC on the LAN. No internet means no hosted server.
• Everyone in one room, decent internet: a hosted server works and saves a spare machine, but each player's ping now depends on the venue connection.
• Online LAN night, everyone at home: a hosted server is the right answer. Nobody needs to forward ports, nobody's PC is the host, and the server is already set up when people arrive.
• Before and after the party: a hosted server can stay up for a week, so the Factorio base and the Minecraft world carry on after the tables are packed away.

If you host on a home PC for an online night, you will need port forwarding. How to host a game server without port forwarding lists the alternatives.

Hosting an online LAN night

A GamezServers server is live in about a minute, priced by RAM, and you can switch game or server type from the panel when the group moves on from CS2 to Left 4 Dead 2. Split the bill with up to 10 friends so each pays their share for the night's server. Start with Counter-Strike 2 or browse every game we host.

FAQ

What are the best free LAN party games?

Counter-Strike 2, Sven Co-op, Xonotic, Teeworlds, SuperTuxKart and Clone Hero are all free to download.

Do LAN games need internet?

Not if you run the server on the local network. A hosted server needs internet, but it lets friends join from home too.

What is the best co-op game for a LAN party?

Left 4 Dead 2 for groups of four to eight, and Sven Co-op for bigger groups that want to play through Half-Life together.

How many games should a LAN party have ready?

Three to five: one competitive shooter, one co-op game, one quick party game and one long game to leave running. Install them before the party.