After 36 straight hours of shooting, explosions and general melee on more than 100 computer screens, with little time to make up for lost sleep, Intel employees are already trying to figure out what tournament to do next.

About 117 computer gamers tested their mettle in Intel's gaming tournament, which ran from Friday night to Sunday morning, raising $1,500 for the United Way of New Mexico in an event the organizers are calling a success on all fronts.

According to PAGLAN's Jason Rose, who ran the server for the event, players came from as far away as Pittsburgh to play in the tournament. One man from Vancouver flew in to play with members of his team who live in El Paso. Others came in from Durango, Colo. The heaviest draw, Rose said, came from Albuquerque, where he regularly hosts tournaments at the University of New Mexico. Intel community relations specialist Scott Stalla, who organized the event, said there were no real problems with the computer setup and no issues with or between the players, at least not outside of the computer screens.

"The competition was definitely heated," he said, adding that the players were quite subdued in their reactions to what was happening in the game.

Stalla fulfilled his prediction that he would be soundly beaten if he entered a game.

"I was target practice, man," he said. "I just ran around and got shot for five, 10 minutes."

Although Rose had never before hosted a tournament of this size, he said the facilities at Intel, which included an abundant power supply, made the operation easier.

"It went by so fast," he said. "I've never done a 36-hour event, and it went by so fast."

Despite how smooth the event ran, Rose said he could make improvements for future events.

"There were some things we can change for the better, but we end up learning things after each time," he said.

Not all the action took place on the computers, as one of the gamers had his head shaved to earn an Intel processor and a motherboard, the pair valued at about $1,500. Rose said more than 30 gamers volunteered for that deal.

But despite all the action, Rose was not able to partake in his favorite aspect of the tournaments.

"I enjoy doing them; I just miss the gaming part of it," he said.

Stalla said that, although the tournaments have been hosted annually for the last three years, there is talk to bring more tournaments more often. The release of the video game Halo 3 will probably prompt a tournament, he said, with the winner earning an advanced copy of the game.

The Super Bowl may also provide an excuse for another tournament. Stalla said he has pitched the idea of playing the newest incarnation of the John Madden football game franchise in honor of that game.

But the real reason for the tournament was to raise money for United Way of New Mexico, and the $1,500 in entry fees will be donated to that charity, as will a $1,500 match by Intel, Stalla said. In addition to matching the donation, Intel provided many of the prizes given out during the tournament.

Although Rose said he hasn't discussed his future role with the Intel tournaments, he does host other events throughout the area, which can be found on his Web site at www.paglan.com.