I can join games but can't seem to start a new one myself

Basically I would like to be able to start a game with a map of my choosing and have a few of my friends play along. How can I do this? (I'm a noob, and just re-discovered this game after having grown up with Mac Bolo).

Thank you for any input!

Welcome!

1) Join IRC using the mibbit link on the main page -or- via a client:

http://www.winbolo.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2857&highlight=mirc

2) Tell a bot to map something. Example comment: minbot mapo -or- minbot map chew toy 3.map

3) Use the winbolo client to join! http://www.winbolo.net/links.php