So here we are again — one more revolution around the Sun. After months of secret planning, late nights and questionable amounts of activity in the Skynet admin channel, we finally arrived at Skynet 2026!
Once again, our home for the weekend was Theatr Brycheiniog in Brecon, beautifully situated right on the canal basin. It makes for a rather spectacular setting for a LAN party — particularly when you can look out at the water between matches and question why you ever thought going outside was a good idea.
The tables were set, the miles of cables carefully arranged, the lights dusted off and the speakers turned up to full. Everything was ready.
Due to popular demand — and an overflowing reception — the doors were opened early, allowing the LAN to get underway ahead of schedule.
It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces returning for another year, alongside plenty of new faces experiencing Skynet for the first time. There were shiny, upgraded machines alongside some wonderfully nostalgic old hardware, proving that at Skynet, there is always room for one more computer!
The unmistakable voice of Pope soon rang out over the microphone, welcoming — and occasionally embarrassing — our newest members as they arrived for their first LAN.
With the initial setup complete, the atmosphere quickly settled into the familiar Skynet rhythm: catching up with people we hadn't seen for a year, admiring each other's hardware, eating snacks and generally pretending we had come prepared to be productive.
Slowly but surely, we made our way towards the evening's main event: the pub quiz.
Our glorious Quiz Master, Vitamin, was once again behind the microphone, bravely battling his way through the questions, questionable pronunciations and the inevitable abuse from the audience.
Before the quiz began, we took a moment to say a huge thank you to our wonderful sponsors, Calibre Connections and SudoCyber, whose support helps make it possible for us to put on such an amazing event.
Then it was time to get quizzing.
After plenty of laughter, questionable answers, friendly arguing and more than a little teasing, we finally reached the end of the quiz. The Mystery Game was revealed as this year's classic: SuperTuxKart!
With the challenge set, everyone was encouraged to fill themselves with cake before returning to their computers to begin the all-important practice sessions.
Naturally, this was taken extremely seriously.
As the evening continued, Skynet settled into its usual chilled-out rhythm. Games were played, snacks were consumed and conversations continued late into the night, while outside, the lights around the canal basin provided a rather nice backdrop to the chaos happening inside.
Eventually, everyone gathered around the big screen for Skynet Movie Night, with Tropic Thunder providing the evening's entertainment.
As the film came to an end, the lights were turned down and the LAN began to quieten. The veterans of Skynet slowly surrendered to sleep, preparing themselves to wake up “refreshed” and ready for the tournaments that awaited them the next day.
And with that, another day — and another revolution around the Sun — came to an end.
