Competition Rules

Competition Overview

Competition Divisions

Discovery. Students in Grade 6 and below are eligible for Discovery competition. Eligible students may compete in either Discovery or Expedition.

Expedition. Any student currently enrolled in a K–12 educational program is eligible to compete in Expedition.

Philosophy

The game is designed to reward autonomy, allow recovery from failures, preserve earned accomplishments, and encourage skill progression. It functions as both a robotics competition and a curriculum assessment system.

Tournament Format

• Each team receives five (5) matches.
• The best four (4) match scores count toward final ranking.
• The lowest score is discarded.
• Teams are ranked by the sum of their four highest match scores.
• The highest-ranked team is the winner.

Awards

• Discovery Champion
• Expedition Champion
• Overall Champion — highest-ranked team regardless of division.

Tie Breakers

Applied in order until the tie is resolved:

1. Fewest Touches / Timeout Cards used
2. Highest raw score before penalties
3. Most distinct missions scored
4. Tie-break match
5. Coin flip

Spirit of Botball

This competition promotes creativity, engineering, teamwork, problem solving, and gracious competition. Teams compete with honesty, integrity, and respect for competitors, judges, volunteers, and spectators. Winning matters, but learning, innovation, and teamwork are valued equally.

Teams may not intentionally damage the field, game objects, or another team’s equipment; interfere with another team’s match; use abusive or inappropriate behavior; or gain an unfair advantage through deception.

Game Format & Match Structure

Official Playing Area

• Interior dimensions: 93 in × 45 in.
• Official grid spacing: 2 in × 2 in.
• Origin (0,0) at the lower-left corner; X-axis along the long side (0–93), Y-axis along the short side (0–45).

Mission Types

Every mission component is one of two types:

Progressive Mission Logic

Missions may contain a Base, a Bonus, and an Advanced Bonus task. Completing one stage unlocks eligibility for the next.

Match Flow

Pre-match — teams declare intended missions. Live match — only active live-scoring items are displayed; when a live mission is completed the judge checks it, it leaves the active list, and associated bonuses become available. Final scoring — the judge evaluates all final-position missions. Review — before submission the judge may modify items and correct mistakes.

Match End

At 150 seconds the match immediately ends. No additional robot movement, settling time, or task completion is permitted afterward. Scoring is based on the condition of the field at the moment the match ends.

Robots & Equipment

Robots

• Teams may operate up to two robots, working independently or cooperatively.
• Any robot platform capable of autonomous operation is permitted.

3D Printed Components

Starting Conditions

At the start of a match, all robots and independent structures must be fully contained within the vertical projection of a starting box, with a maximum starting height of 15 inches. The Starting Volume is the starting-box vertical projection up to that 15-inch height. Robots may expand beyond their starting dimensions after the match begins.

Independent Structures

• No more than two detached independent structures on the field at any time.
• All must begin within the Starting Volume and may only enter the field through deployment by a robot after the start.
• They remain part of the team’s robot system.

Communication & Autonomy

After the match begins, robots must operate autonomously — no wireless control, remote control, teleoperation, or human communication. Programs and configurations may be modified between matches only; recompiling is permitted between matches only. During authorized Touch or Timeout periods teams may adjust mechanical issues but may not modify software.

Safety

Robots may not contain components intended to damage the field, field elements, or game objects, or to create unsafe conditions. The Head Judge may prohibit any robot or component deemed unsafe, and that determination is final.

Match Procedures & Recovery

Discovery Touches

• A Touch may only occur after the robot is returned completely within a legal starting position.
• The match clock continues to run during all Touches; there is no limit to the number permitted.
• Touches are tracked at the team level and shared across all robots.

Expedition Timeout Cards

• Each Expedition team receives two (2) Timeout Cards per tournament.
• Any robot continuing in the match must be returned to a legal starting position before play resumes; independent structures need not be returned.
• The match timer stops during a Timeout and resumes when play restarts. Activation consumes one card regardless of duration.

If a robot is controlling a scoring object when a Timeout Card is played, the controlled object (or full controlled assembly) is removed from the field, becomes ineligible for scoring, and remains removed for the rest of the match. During a Timeout, teams may not reposition game pieces or field elements or alter field setup.

Independent Structures During Recovery

If an accidental detachment causes a team to exceed two independent structures, one or more must be removed during the team’s next legal recovery opportunity. The removal may not cause a mission to score or become unscored, reposition game objects or field elements, or otherwise alter the field. Judges may deny or modify a removal that would affect scoring or gameplay.

Scoring Framework

Multi-Scoring Policy

The game rewards efficient design and task integration. A single robot action, object movement, placement, delivery, or final configuration may satisfy multiple missions simultaneously unless a rule specifically prohibits it. If all requirements of multiple missions are satisfied, all applicable points are awarded.

Valid multi-scoring combinations

• M2 · Relocate the Red Cube, M5 · Top Shelf Delivery, and M8 · Deliver the Red Cube — same palletized red-cube assembly.
• M12 · Restack the Freight and M16 · Freight Shelving — spilled-cube stack on the Green Cube.
• M13 · Rebuild the Shipment and M17 · Freight Racking — unstraight-cube stack on the Brown Cube.
• M9 · Recover Botguy and M18 · Safety First, All Hands on Deck — Botguy.
• M14 · Traffic Control and M18 · Safety First, All Hands on Deck — Traffic Cones.

Scoring Restrictions

Live & Final Scoring

Live Judged — the judge must observe the scoring condition occur; once awarded it remains earned unless the mission specifies otherwise. Final Position Judged — only the final state of the field is considered. Before submission, judges may modify scores and correct scoring or data-entry errors.

Definitions & Interpretations

These definitions apply throughout unless an individual mission specifies otherwise. Mission-specific requirements take precedence when a conflict exists.

Touching

Two objects are TOUCHING only when in direct physical contact. Contact through a robot, attachment, field element, or another game object does not count.

On Top Of

An object is ON TOP OF another when in direct contact with the uppermost surface of the target. If there is no horizontal upper surface, the surface closest to horizontal is used. Additional support from a robot, field element, or structure is permitted unless a mission says otherwise.

In

An object is IN a container, enclosure, basket, or zone when any portion extends into its interior space, unless a mission says otherwise.

Off

An object is OFF a line, tape, boundary, or zone edge when no portion is touching it.

In a Zone

A robot is IN A ZONE when touching the specified zone and not touching any black line boundary or adjacent zone.

Simultaneously

Two or more conditions are SIMULTANEOUS if all are true at the same moment. No minimum duration is required unless a mission specifies one.

• Judges need not measure time — only observe a single instant where all required conditions are true.

Fully Within

An object or robot is FULLY WITHIN an area when every part lies inside the interior vertical projection of that area’s boundaries.

• When uncertain, the robot is not fully within until judges are satisfied all portions are contained.

Controlled Object

A Controlled Object is any game object being carried, lifted, supported, restrained, held, pushed, pulled, trapped, or otherwise actively manipulated by a robot. Brief incidental contact does not constitute control.

Legal Starting Position

A robot is in a LEGAL STARTING POSITION when fully within the vertical projection of any starting box and otherwise compliant with all starting requirements.

Field Elements & Setup

Fixed Field Elements

Not intended to move during a match: PVC enclosures, the loading dock, field walls, starting-box walls, field lines, and any permanently attached structure. Teams may not intentionally reposition fixed elements for advantage.

Movable Objects

Intended to move during a match: baskets, pallets, cubes, poms, traffic cones, Botguy, and any mission-specific object. These may be pushed, pulled, carried, lifted, transported, stacked, or relocated unless a mission prohibits it. Baskets may be freely moved anywhere on the field.

Field Setup & Reset

Before each match the field is reset per the official setup guide; the Head Judge verifies readiness. Pallet orientation and basket placement may be chosen by teams provided each stays within its designated location. Once a match begins, the setup is official.

Displaced or Damaged Elements

If a fixed element is accidentally displaced, judges may restore it when doing so gives no advantage or disadvantage. If a robot intentionally repositions a fixed element, judges may restore it, disallow resulting score, require corrective action, or apply penalties. If an element becomes damaged, the Head Judge decides whether to continue, restore, or replay.

Inspection & Operations

Robot Inspection

Inspection verifies that robots are safe, autonomous, and rules-compliant. It does not evaluate quality, engineering approach, programming language, sensor selection, or design choices. A robot that passes inspection is legal unless subsequently modified.

Inspection verifies starting-configuration legality, autonomous operation, power-system safety, and general field compatibility. At the start of a match no game objects may be possessed, held, supported, or controlled by a robot or independent structure. Teams may be reinspected after modifications or whenever officials determine it necessary.

Judge Review & Appeals

A scoring review may be requested by a designated student representative or a coach, immediately after scoring and before the field is reset. Reviews are limited to scoring errors, data-entry errors, and mission-interpretation errors — not robot performance, programming, mechanical failures, or in-match strategy.

Governance & Authority

Official Clarifications

Tournament organizers may issue official clarifications carrying the same authority as published rules. They may explain rules, resolve ambiguities, correct errors, and provide guidance, and are enforced as part of the competition rules.

Rule Precedence

If a conflict exists, the higher item takes precedence:

1. Official Clarifications
2. Written Rules
3. Setup Diagrams
4. Photographs

Head Judge Authority

The Head Judge interprets and enforces the rules — resolving disputes, interpreting ambiguity, determining scoring when required, and directing corrective action. The Head Judge does not create new rules but may interpret existing rules and clarifications.