The Games of FIRST

At the beginning of each calendar year a new challenge, or “game” as many refer to it, is announced by FRC to all teams in the world. This game is what dictates our priorities in building that year’s robot.

The game is different every year in such a way that is unpredictable by the competing teams, which forces students to adapt from one year to the next. Whether it is the game pieces or the field itself, almost nothing stays the same from game to game.

You can find the manuals for any previous FRC game in the archived game documents.

The year of 2015 brought us Recycle Rush, in which teams had to stack special bins called totes. To get the most points, green cylindrical recycling containers had to be placed on top of the tote stacks, which could reach heights of six feet.

2014, Aerial Assist, had teams build a robot that could control and launch a large exercise ball.

The game of the 2013 season was Ultimate Ascent, where teams had to launch disks (a.k.a. frisbees) into certain areas and then climb a pyramid structure.

Rebound Rumble, the game of 2012, used compact foam basketballs that had to be shoot into hoops at various heights. At the end of the match, robots had to balance on a bridge in the middle of the field.