Home network is easy - you just need either a switch to go with your router and some network cards in teh computers and some network cables - tehn use the networking wizard.

If you want to avoid runnig cables you can go wireless but I refuse as it's both slow and unsecure.

The networking over the mains stuff seems to work, usually a lot faster than the internet itself, but it can be iffy over different floors of a house if they are on different fuses on teh fusebox and they do NOT like extension power leads to teh PC. BUT, and its a big but, while I was using them (I have now given up) I repeatedly fried teh bridges in modem-routers. I must have killed half a dozen. Since going back to cables system modem-router and switch I am running 3 pcs, two printers (one of them multifunction) and network storage with no problems - and I have in the past had a W95, 2 98SE and 3 XP machines and a Mac all happily on the same network (until the network storage decided to re-allocate the locations).

I don't game but I gather hanging too many things on can stuff your ping.