I want to see if it's possible to combine MP with the atmosphere you get of playing a board game with people in the same room.

I've linked two pcs with a null modem cable at home to do 1 v. 1 multiplayer - it's got some advantages compared to playing over the internet, like no crashing modem connections mid-battle, and the ability to laugh at the loser in the same room when you drive their army from the field.

Any ideas on how to do this with three or four pcs?

- i.e. to set up a mini LAN at home. I'm not a LAN techie so have little idea how to do this - is it as simple as fitting two null modem cables into the back of a host pc, or is it more complicated?

Grateful for any suggestions.