MrWCF: Yes, the prize must be provided first. The reason is that we had had problems with prize tournaments in the past because of users who disappeared from BrainKing shortly after the tournament start and when it was finished, there was nobody to provide the prize. This is the proper action to do:

1) Create a prize tournament and describe the prize in the tournament name or description.

2) Use the "Paid Membership" page to pay for the prize. Don't forget to check the "Select if you want us to process it manually" option before placing the order.

3) When the payment is received, I will click the "prize provided" button.

I know that this system is not too straightforward but I want to make it a little more automatic in the future.

Fencer: Perhaps I have misunderstood  how one can contribute a prize for a Prize Tournament.  My profile shows five Brains. (I would have more to offer, but the 40 Brains I've won in another tournament will not be awarded to me until everyone finishes playing their games, years from now.)  Anyway, can I not use those five Brains as a prize in a tournament that I've created?  Or must I purchase something in order to offer a prize?

MrWCF: Of course, if you want to give Brains as the prize, just send me the tournament ID (or URL) and I'll do the rest.