Eyes were fixated on computer screens. One hand was on the computer's keyboard, switching off weapons and checking inventories. The other was on the mouse, clicking, firing, clicking, firing.
The computer gamers' tournament Saturday at Minnesota State Community and Technical College Wadena was intense.
Dave Brauch, of Hewitt, is a self-described "hard core gamer" who came to Saturday's event to play Battlefield 1942, though he said his main game was Counter Strike Source. Brauch said he and friends from Staples set up tournaments of their own, and usually play Counter Strike Source, a first-person shooter game.
Derek Franz, of Staples, said he prefers the MMORPGs -- that's Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game -- and his favorite right now is Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne.
The two were among about 40 gamers to show up and test their skills against their peers for four hours Saturday. They played Battlefield 1942, Halo and StarCraft.
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The turnout for the second annual event dwarfed last year's: about 40 of the 48 computers were occupied as the day started, while only 10-12 came last year.
One man who returned from last year, Andrew Sullivan, a Brainerd native, brought his own mouse and keyboard, a clear step up from the standard-issue Dell input devices. Sullivan knew his stuff: he was last year's champion, winning in a Quake 3 tournament.
Organizers were pleased with the turnout, and their only worries were if the electrical system would trip a breaker -- with so many computer fans, graphics cards and monitors sucking power -- and if they had bought enough pizza to feed the crowd.
Neither turned out to be a problem as the day got underway. The electrical system handled the load, and when "pizza's here" was announced, no one even moved a muscle.
The game was afoot.
