LAN party meets family goals in the coolest house you’ll never be invited to

In Austin, Texas, Kenton Varda and Jade Wang live in a house that’s part family home, part gaming paradise. Built from the ground up and finished in 2023, it’s where the couple, their two kids, and their cat have created a space that’s equal parts cozy and cutting-edge. And yes, it’s a house where LAN parties happen — a lot. But good luck scoring an invite — it’s not exactly easy.

What’s a LAN party, you ask? Well, if you were born after 2000 or just missed out on some epic childhood moments, here’s the deal: a LAN party is when friends all gather in one spot, hook up their PCs to a local network, and game together all night long. It’s gaming + real-life hangouts = absolute chaos and fun. The OG LAN party games? Think Doom 2, Counter-Strike, and Warcraft III. Basically, it’s a gamer’s version of a party — only way cooler (and with way more snacks).

Kenton, an ex-Cloudflare and Google engineer who founded Sandstorm.io (with Jade)  and Cap’n Proto, teamed up with his wife, Jade — a total powerhouse with Neuroscience PhD, entrepreneur, former Cloudflare Head of Startups, and ex-NASA researcher — to build this place. They brought their tech and creative A-game, with a not-so-little extra help from Kenton’s dad, architect Richard Varda (the guy behind the Kingdom Centre in Saudi Arabia —casual). Together, they turned their vision into reality. And it’s not just a gaming den — it’s a family-friendly, multi-purpose space with something for everyone.

The centerpiece? A custom-built gaming room with 20 gaming stations. We’re talking top-notch PCs (for the nerds: Intel Core i5-13600KF, Gigabyte Windforce RTX 4070, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD), giant 4K monitors, and fiber-optic cables running through the walls for low-latency gameplay. It costs around $75,000 just to set up the game room, but the couple says it’s worth every penny. Guests can walk in, grab a station, and start playing right away. No setup. No dragging your gear around. Just instant gaming.

The rest of the house is equally impressive. The property itself was purchased in 2019 pushing the total cost into the seven-figure range. They didn’t skimp on the details, either. Kenton personally designed things like the game station cabinetry, a custom conference table for work, and shelves for their cat. The whole place feels sleek and modern, but also homey enough to be comfortable for their kids.

There are quirks too, like a dedicated room for DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) with built-in dance pads.  They also have private cat doors leading into their bedroom because locking out the cat would mean non-stop meowing. Little details like this are what make the house unique — it’s not just about the tech, it’s about making life easier and more fun.

The family originally moved to Austin for practical reasons. More space, better schools, and a chance to escape Palo Alto’s sky-high prices. But looking back, they admit they got lucky. They bought before Austin’s housing market exploded, and today, they say they couldn’t have pulled this off anywhere else.

For Kenton, the house is also the next step in a long love affair with LAN parties. He’s been hosting them since he was 14 and even built a smaller LAN party house in Palo Alto in 2011. 

When it comes to LAN parties, one does not simply walk into one — “Sorry, you must be invited”. You either Trojan horse your way into friendship with Kenton or Jade, or one of their crew and hope they’ll vouch for you. Or get hired at Cloudflare. Simple.

And while the gaming setup gets a lot of attention, it’s really just one part of the story. The house is designed to be flexible and fun, with plenty of space for the kids to grow, areas for Jade to work on startup projects, and even a massive 85-inch TV for movie nights. Mission accomplished.