Co:Edinburgh 2025 - Saturday, 18th October

[Adam Beach]

Aye, ye better believe it: October's annual Scottish FOCAL event is heading back to the capital. So, tighten your jobby catchers, crack open an Irn Bru, and whip out the haggis, cos we're gannie Edinburgh fer a wee day of words and maths, ye bampots.

Yes, the resident Geordie of the co-event circuit is back to bring you another tourney. I've been lucky enough to grab a last-minute second slot in this year's bustling calendar, and since there was seemingly little interest among organisers for a Scottish event (perhaps after the lack of attendees at Glasgow last year), I couldn't go without taking Edinburgh onboard.

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Date and times
Saturday, 18th October 2025

• Doors open: 10:00
• Introduction: 10:45–11:00 (15m)
• First round draw: 11:00*
• Round 1: 11:00–12:15 (1h 15m)
• Round 2: 12:15–13:30 (1h 15m)
• Lunch: 13:30–14:30 (1h)
• Round 3: 14:30–15:45 (1h 15m)
• Round 4: 15:45–17:00 (1h 15m)
• Grand final: 17:00–17:45 (45m)
• Prize presentation: 17:45–18:00 (15m)

*Please be aware that if you are late, you will be "Pruned" for each game that has already started at the time of your arrival. If the other two players on your table are present, they will play their game first to give you time to arrive without missing out on any gameplay.

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Overview
The event will be carried out in the "Lincoln" style (originally — and aptly — known as the "Edinburgh" style, dating back to the days of the Edinburgh Countdown Club). This comprises tables of three, at which there are two players and one host. You will rotate with those on your table, hosting one game and playing two in each round.

You will play eight preliminary games of Countdown in the 9-round format. There will be a random draw ahead of the first game to determine the fixtures. To change things up, we will then incorporate MSR's "Birmingham" style of fixture generation, whereby from round 2 onwards, you will be matched with players by number of wins then random choice, ignoring standings position.

Once the four preliminary rounds have concluded and the scores have been gathered, the two contenders with the most wins and points will compete in the 14-round grand final (the format used for grand finals on the show prior to Series 46) to determine the event champion. In what is now the typical grand final setup for a "Lincoln"-style event, it will involve my board at the front of the room, which is elevated to give everyone involvement in the game and potentially better the players.

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Venue
The New Melville Bridge Club, 1 Pinkhill, Edinburgh, EH12 7BA. This was the venue used for both the 2019 and 2022 Edinburgh tournaments.

Getting to the venue:
The club is located 3.2 miles west of Edinburgh Waverley, and 1.9 miles west of Edinburgh Haymarket. If you want to get your steps in, it's a 1h 10m walk from Waverley or a 43-minute walk from Haymarket according to Google Maps. If not, the following East Lothian bus routes will take you to the Pinkhill stop, located just outside the venue on Corstorphine Rd: 12 to Gyle Centre, 26 to Clerwood, and 31 to East Craigs. The closest tram stop to the venue is Balgreen, which is a 14-minute walk from the venue, and you can catch this from St Andrew Square in the city centre. The same route stops directly outside of Haymarket station.

For anyone planning on driving in, the venue has very limited parking spaces, so it's recommended you use public transport if possible. Edinburgh Zoo, over the road from the venue, has a car park joined onto the Holiday Inn, but this will likely be full on the day with it being a Saturday.

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Prizes
The top 3 players will receive prizes for their performances.

Prizes will be awarded at the end of the tournament for the following:
• Rudest word offered.
• Best word from Scottish English, such as KEN, DOUT/DOWT, BAIRN, BAHOOKIE, etc. The ODP entry must be listed under Scottish English in order to qualify.
• Closest accumulative score to a random number.
• Lucky Stiff — the player whose aggregate margin from their 3 closest wins (should they win that many games) is the lowest. For instance, beating three opponents by a single point each time would contend for this prize.
• Tuff Luck (the opposite of Lucky Stiff) — the player whose aggregate margin from their 3 closest losses (if they lose that many games) is the lowest. For instance, losing to three opponents by a single point each time would contend for this prize.
• Tim Down Award — the player with at least 3 losses whose opponents end the tournament with the highest average standings position.
• Second Wind — the player with the biggest score improvement between one round and the next.

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Admission
£15 per person. You can sign up via this Google Form. Please also answer the two questions on the form.

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Lunch and snacks
As with most co-events now, lunch will not be provided. The venue has a refreshments counter selling tea, coffee, alcohol, biscuits and crisps, which can be used at any time throughout the event. Otherwise, there's a Subway and a Greggs on St John's Rd. For anyone driving, there's a McDonald's, Lidl and Tesco extra further along the road, just off Drumbrae Roundabout.

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Evening plans
I initially planned to book Mamma Roma, an Italian restaurant in the city centre, but they sadly had no availability when I rang them up, so I've made a booking for 20 people at Zizzi Edinburgh Queensferry Street for 19:30. This should be enough time for all of us to get back to the city centre once the event is over.

Menus
• Eat In Menu
• 3 Course Set Menu

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Parkrun
For the ever-growing number of parkrunners among us, there are four viable course options to choose from that should get you back to the venue in time for the first round draw: Edinburgh, Holyrood, Portobello, and Oriam (within Heriot-Watt University). Again, please consider travel times and such before opting for one of the distant courses.

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External links
• FOCAL website page
• Facebook page

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All event organisers and attendees are bound by the FOCAL Code of Conduct.

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Entrants (as of 10th October 2025)
1. Dylan Taylor
2. Euan Crabb
3. Logan Skelton
4. Callum Jones
5. Phil Stanton
6. MSR
7. Coral Heath
8. Adam Latchford
9. Adrian Fletcher
10. Jase Cullen
11. Ian Wray
12. Tom Carey (Maus)
13. Brandin Allan
14. Gabriel Thallon
15. Mike Springett
16. Hidden
17. James Burley
18. Hidden
19. Stu Harkness
20. Phil Hannan
21. Mark Jeary-Fairbairn
22. Iain Sime
23. Euan Sime
24. Hidden
25. Ed McCullagh

[Ian Volante]

I'm tempted, will have to see what my schedule is like nearer the time. Can vouch for the venue being excellent, and I et at Mamma Roma on Saturday with my korfball team, it's a nice place.

[Adam Beach]

I'm tempted, will have to see what my schedule is like nearer the time. Can vouch for the venue being excellent, and I et at Mamma Roma on Saturday with my korfball team, it's a nice place.

Nice one Ian. I'll invite you on the Facebook page

[Adam Beach]

ENTRY FEE INCREASE
From Monday, 15th September

Hi everyone. This is the last thing I wanted to resort to, but due to the ever-increasing costs in this current climate, I'm having to up the entry fee. Therefore, from Monday, 15th September, admission to Co:Edinburgh 2025 will be £15 — up from £12.

At the time of me writing this, we're at 12 sign-ups, which isn't bad by any means. If we reach enough entries before the 15th, the increase won't be necessary; however, I'll need 35 for this to be the case, which would just about make up the cost of the venue and the trophies.

Please be aware that I won't be able to issue refunds to any dropouts due to the budget constraints here. I was left out of pocket by £100 after Co:Durham, specifically for this reason, and I can't have a repeat of that.

If you're set on coming to this event, PLEASE sign up as soon as you can.

Thanks guys.