The Game in 2011
by Steve G.
LOGO MOTION is the name of the game in 2011, and it looks to be unique from games of past years. Logo Motion features game pieces similar to the colored inflatable "inner tubes" you find in swimming pools. Except these "tubes" come in three shapes – triangle, circle, and square, all components of the FIRST logo.
The game is played by six teams, assigned to two alliances of three teams each. So there are six robots on the field during the match. The goal is to place the game pieces on the two 3x3 rows of pegs at each side of the field. Pieces placed on the bottom row gain one point, two points for mid row, three points for top. If the pieces are placed in a horizontal FIRST logo pattern (triangle, circle, square), the entire row score is doubled. Consistent with the FIRST logo, the triangles are red, the circles white, and the squares are blue.
On the field are four poles – two per alliance. This year, one of the aims of FIRST is to combine the skills and efforts of the FRC and FTC divisions. So each robot is allowed to carry a "mini-bot" and deploy it in the last 15 seconds of the game to race up one of the poles, activating a force sensor at the top. First mini-bot up gets 30 points, 2nd is 20 points, 3rd is 15, and 4th is 10 points.
This is unique from past years, in that FRC teams that mentor or work together with FTC teams have an advantage – the mini-bots need to be made of all FTC parts, and the skill and expertise of FTC team members could be invaluable to the success of the mini-bot.
"Autonomous" mode this year has a lot of potential. This is the phase at the beginning of the match when the robots operate entirely on their own without human control. Prior to the start of a match, robots are each given "uber tubes" (circles, like the white tubes, except they're yellow). During autonomous mode, robots can score two points for placing an uber tube on the bottom row, four points for the middle row, and six for the top.
Following autonomous mode, human players take control in what is called "teleoperated" mode. If a piece is placed over an uber tube during this period, that piece's score is doubled. A top row without anything gets 18 points, which isn't too bad – that's 2*(3+3+3) for the FIRST logo. However, with an uber tube, that's a 6 (for the uber tube) + 2*(6+3+3) which is 30. Thats twelve extra points, which is fantastic!
The Game in 2010
by Victoria R.
Each year, FIRST presents teams around the country with a new challenge in the form of a game -- each team must build a robot which can play the game. In 2010, the game is called "Breakaway" and requires the robot to control and propel soccer balls around the arena.
In each match, alliances will be formed, with three teams (robots) in each alliance. With two alliances on the field, there will be six robots in play. Each match lasts for 2 minutes and 15 seconds.
To make things interesting, there are elongated 12-inch high "bumps" which the robots must climb over. Or they can go through tunnels to get around the bumps. However, the tunnels are only 18 inches high by 36 inches wide, so it will be a challenge building a robot that can squeeze through a tunnel and still control the ball. On the other hand, the bumps have the potential to flip a robot or make it crash because of the steepness of the bump.
Each alliance has two goals -- robots will need to score by placing soccer balls in one of their own goals. Each goal scored is one point. As in soccer, an alliance can only score in their own goals or the other team gets the point.
Robots may play defense to prevent the other teams from scoring.
As the game comes into its last seconds, robots have the opportunity to score bonus points by suspending themselves from a 7-foot tower. This earns 2 points. However (as if things couldn't get more complicated), a robot can score 3 bonus points if it can suspend itself by hanging from an already-suspended robot (much like a barrel of monkeys).
That's the game in a nutshell.
