PSYCHO CON 2004 took place from the 8th to the 10th October at the Clifton Hotel in Scarborough. Representatives from all four corners of the land attended (Scotland, England and Wales) with a contingent from Ireland also over for the duration of the con.

National rivalries certainly came to the fore during the Formula Dé tournament with each nation trying to assist their teammates in ensuring a win for them rather than for the other countries! The tournament took place over two rounds, with the top three in each heat going through to the final. This has to have been one of the most participated in games of the whole convention and was hugely enjoyable - even though we later discovered we hadn’t quite got the rules right - next year we will know better! In the end Brian O’Farrell took home first place for Ireland, with Stephanie van Bemmel, who had led the way for the whole of the race, coming in a close second. Both first and second place were awarded a £25 voucher from The Board Games Company towards their next purchase.

Puerto Rico was perhaps the second most contested tournament, and certainly in terms of number of games played it was the most popular game of the convention. In the end it was close, with Mike Dean managing to scrape into first place, and Tash Turner a very close second. Third and Fourth places were not far behind being claimed by Brian O’Farrell and Jerry Elsemore respectively. Both first and second place were awarded a Puerto Rico Expansion Set by Rio Grande Games.

The Settlers of Catan tournament was not a particularly popular event, and having played in one of the games personally perhaps it is easy to see why. Due to the random board set-up the game was long, tedious and boring, which was a real shame as normally Settlers can be a fun game. The particular game in question, having taken over 2 hours, was eventually abandoned at 2:30am as the participants were too sleepy to continue! There are lessons to be learned for the future - perhaps tournament games should follow the "standard" set-up to ensure a more even distribution of tiles, which would also probably make the tournament fairer to all participants! The winner of the tournament was Steve Turner who was awarded a Settlers of Catan cap by Mayfair Games.

John Stratford has a very successful weekend walking away with tournament prizes for both the Acquire tournament and for the Tigris & Euphrates tournament. Acquire was sponsored by Flagship and John takes away a year’s subscription to Flagship. GamesWeb sponsored the Tigris & Euphrates and David Lunn from GamesWeb was there to award the prize personally, a copy of Avalon Hill’s Betrayal at House on the Hill. David also set up his wares on the last day of the tournament and business was brisk! Perhaps the most sought after game was Trans America, which although it did not feature as a tournament game was extremely popular as it was quick and easy to learn. Steve Turner, CyberBoard guru, has already begun development of a CyberBoard version to be played on the PSYCHOPATH website in the near future.

Eagle Games kindly sponsored Age of Mythology and Attack! and offered the winners a 25% discount voucher off their products purchased online. These were won by Ally Bain and Donogh McCarthy respectively.

Some special awards were also made:
Spirit Games provided a £20 voucher to the player exhibiting the "Most Sportsmanlike Behaviour" over the weekend. Jerry Elsemore was awarded this prize for his enthusiasm, for his patience in explaining rules to games, for his organisational skills, and for ensuring that the whole convention was a success. Thanks Jerry!

The "Sleepiest Gamer" award was provided to Tash Turner for being asleep at 2:30am on Sunday morning while games were still going on around her. She was awarded a copy of The Haunting House. And finally, the "Youngest Gamer" award went to Jennifer Edwards (13) who was given a copy of Say What? The prizes for these awards were provided by Twilight Creations.

A number of other tournaments were not contested this year, but prizes have been retained for PSYCHO CON 2005! A large number of other games were also played over the weekend and included: TransAmerica, Ticket to Ride, Empires of the Ancient World, Alhambra, Birth of Empires, Chrononaughts, Carcassonne, Merchants of Venus, Nuclear War, Frank’s Zoo, A Game of Thrones, and probably lots more I’ve forgotten about!

Thanks go to all the participants at PSYCHO CON 2004 for making it such a success, to the Companies who provided sponsorship for the tournaments and awards, and to the games designers without whom none of this would be possible! All in all the attendees at the con had a fantastic time, enjoying the games playing, the good company and the bracing sea air! Although Scarborough is a wonderful seaside town and the weather was kind to us, next year we will be in a much more convenient location for travellers. It is most likely we will be in Leeds, West Yorkshire, in a location convenient for the airport as well as for those travelling on public transport. Watch this space for further details, and make sure you book your space early!