November Mission Model Discussion: General INTO ORBIT Robot Game Rules

Welcome to the November Mission Model Discussion! From now until just before Thanksgiving this space will feature ONE part of the FIRST LEGO League INTO ORBIT game challenge per day. The Robot Game is only 1/4th of the overall FIRST LEGO League challenge for teams this year!
This post is meant to be an aid, not a replacement for carefully reading the Challenge Guide and Updates!

Before we dive into each individual mission lets take a good look at some of the rules and specifics of the game board. This does NOT replace having every member of your team read the Challenge Guide!

Highlighted Rules:

All teams should be familiar with all of the GP rules! Gracious Professionalism is the guiding principle of all rule interpretation AND how the robot game will be conducted at all Oregon Qualifying Tournaments. If your team is unfamiliar with these rules, it is worth spending some serious time understand all five. 

R03: Motors: Every year we are asked about motors on attachments. Yes, your team may have a motor on their attachment, provided that the total number of motors at the competition field does NOT exceed 4. You are, of course, encouraged to have spares in your pit storage area. 

R10: Handling During the Match: Please be very aware of all the restrictions and permissions in this rule. There is a lot here and it can be confusing for teams. Of utmost importance is the restriction of COMPLETELY IN BASE. This includes the West and South border wall as a limitation of the Base.

R12: Storage: Most important to note for returning teams, items may NOT be staged on the competition field OUTSIDE of BASE, even if the robot is not moving through that area. All outside of base storage needs to be on a tray held by a team member or on your field table/cart. NOTE: Your Qualifying Tournament may not provide a space for this, your team should bring their own. The Championship Tournament will have small "TV tray" style tables for each team to use.

R13: Launching: Launching is not just done at the beginning of the match but anytime your robot is interrupted, either in Base or outside of Base. Please note the state the requirements prior to touching a button or signalingg a sensor to make the robot Go!  This goes rigbht along with R14!

Stopping a robot or reaching an unintentionally detached part - Teams are strongly encouraged to communicate with their referee when reaching onto the table. The tables at some competitions are too high for FIRST LEGO League team members to reach without knocking the missions. Please ask a referee to assist in stopping your robot or retrieving unintentionally detached items. 

We will not reset - Remember if you mess up on your first try your team may continue to retry any mission for the duration of the 2.5 minutes, but the table will not be reset during those attempts. If an item is placed incorrectly after leaving Base the referee will NOT give that item back to the team. 

Signing your Scoresheet -  All teams will be asked to have a representative sign the scoresheet, this will be true even if your tournament is using the digital scoresheet. Your team should copy the scoresheet for their own records AND make sure they agree with the referee's assessment before signing. If there is a question about the state of the field AFTER the scoresheet is signed, the tournament officials WILL NOT be able to make that change as the field reset will have already taken place. 

From the Updates:

There are currently no updates to the general rules. This may change before the tournament, so please keep reading the regular updates!

Advice from Oregon Head Referee Tom:

Disclaimer: Information in these notes are not official rulings.
Robot Game Rule GP5 gives the ranking of rules authority.

Reminders about the Mission Rules (see the Challenge Guide - Page 24):
Each Mission has a description, a section of “Simply Speaking” text, and a section of “Technically Speaking” text.

Referees will only use the information in the “Technically Speaking” text for scoring the results of a match.

Robot Game Rule reminders:

• The Robot must be no taller than 12” every time it is Launched from Base.
• The Robot must be Completely In base for every Launch.
• The 12-inch height limit for the robot applies to every Launch from Base during the entire match.
• To avoid an Interruption penalty when the Robot returns to Base, it must be Completely In Base when it is touched  - including both the curved boundary line on the mat AND the inside edge of the South and West walls that border Base.
• Oregon clarification - For “R13 - Launching”: A program Timer function is not considered a “sensor” for purposes of triggering a Launch. Referees must see a physical action before the robot goes. Examples include but are not limited to: waving a LEGO brick in front of a color sensor, pushing a touch sensor, engaging the ultrasonic sensor, or pushing a button on the brick.

Good Luck Teams!

This year's rules are simplified to maximize your creativity and create clarity for the referees. There will always be areas of uncertainty, but GP3 will remain in effect! If you have a strategy that you are unsure of please email Head Referee Tom at fll.rules.or@gmail.com. Tom may take some time to respond, but he should get back to you before the end of the November Mission Model Discussion.  You can also pose your question to FIRST at fllrobotgame@firstinspires.org.

Come back tomorrow when we discuss M01 - SPACE TRAVEL!