The game manual is the most important document of the season. Strong teams don't just read it — they analyze it, discuss it, and use it to guide every design decision.
// Section 01
How to Read the Game Manual
Don't read the manual once and move on. Use this 4-pass system as a team. Each pass has a specific job.
🕮
Do this as a team, out loud. Each person should read along and call out things they notice. Write notes while you read — don't wait until the end. Use your notebook from pass one.
01
▶ Skim — Understand the Game
Read through start to finish, quickly
Understand the basic game objective
Identify what robots do during a match
Don't stop to debate — just absorb
02
▶ Scoring Focus — Points Map
List every way to score
Write down all point values
Identify high-value vs low-value actions
Flag which scoring methods are fastest
03
▶ Rules & Limits — Constraints
Find all robot size and weight rules
Identify illegal actions and penalties
Note what's risky in gameplay
Flag any rules that surprise you
04
▶ Design Connection — What Wins?
Connect scoring methods to mechanisms
Ask: what does the winning robot do?
Ask: what can we realistically build?
Start a list of mechanism ideas
✅
Divide and focus. Assign each team member a section to track during Pass 2 and 3. The engineer focuses on robot constraints. The strategist focuses on scoring. The driver focuses on match flow and penalties. Everyone shares findings before moving to Pass 4.
1 / 5
// Section 02
Manual Section Breakdown
Every game manual has the same categories of information. Here's what to extract from each one.
A
Game Objective
How do you win? (most points, tiebreakers, ranking points)
What happens during autonomous vs driver control vs endgame?
What is the single most important thing your robot must do?
B
Field & Game Elements
What game objects exist? How many? What are they made of?
Where are they located on the field at match start?
How do robots interact with them — pick up, score, stack, move?
Are there field structures robots interact with (goals, platforms, zones)?
C
Scoring System
Every scoring method and its point value — list them all
Which action scores the most? Which is fastest to execute?
Are there bonuses (auton win point, elevation, possession)?
What scoring happens in endgame vs driver control?
D
Match Flow
How long is autonomous? What can score in auton?
How long is driver control? What changes at the endgame buzzer?
Is there an auton win point? What are the exact conditions?
What needs to happen before the match ends for endgame scoring?
E
Robot Constraints
Starting size limits (length × width × height)
Expansion rules — can the robot expand? When? How far?
Weight limits, part count limits, motor limits
Starting configuration requirements
F
Gameplay Rules
What constitutes illegal contact with opponent robots?
Are there protected zones (auton zones, home zones)?
What possession limits exist — how many elements can you hold?
What defensive strategies are legal vs illegal?
G
Penalties
What actions cause a Minor Violation (warning) vs Disqualification?
What behaviors are consistently called at competitions?
What should your robot design avoid to minimize penalty risk?
Note anything that seemed unclear — write a Q&A post for the VEX Forum
⚠️
Rules questions go to the official VEX Q&A. If you're unsure whether something is legal, post on the official forum at vexforum.com before building to it. A judge ruling can end a mechanism's competition life overnight.
2 / 5
// Section 03
Team Discussion Questions
Use these after finishing the 4-pass read. Work through them as a group. Write down your answers — they become your first notebook entry.
Scoring Strategy
▶ What is the easiest way to score at least once? What does that require?
▶ What is the fastest repeatable scoring cycle? What limits cycle speed?
▶ What is the highest-value single action in the game? How hard is it to execute?
▶ What scoring method will most teams ignore — and should we target it?
Risk & Competition
▶ What actions are most likely to cause a penalty? Can we design around them?
▶ What will the average team at our first competition try to do?
▶ What robot behavior would be most annoying to play against? Is it legal?
▶ What is the minimum viable robot that could win a match?
Design Direction
▶ What mechanisms does this game seem to demand? Which are optional?
▶ What would give us an advantage no one else has — even a small one?
▶ What should we NOT build, even if it seems useful?
▶ What would we need to score in autonomous reliably? Is it worth building to?
✅
Disagree out loud. If two teammates have different answers to the same question, that's a design decision that needs a matrix — not a coin flip. Write both positions in the notebook and explain how you resolved it.
🔬 Check for Understanding
After reading the game manual, your team agrees the highest-value scoring action is also the hardest to execute. What should you do?
Build toward it immediately — the points are worth the risk
Ignore it — if it's hard, it's probably not worth building
Document the tradeoff — score it on a decision matrix against simpler alternatives before committing to any design
Wait until after the first competition to decide
Correct. High-value but difficult actions are exactly what a decision matrix is for. Document the options, score them against criteria your team cares about (reliability, buildability, time), and make the decision with evidence. That decision — and the reasoning — goes in your Purple notebook slide.
3 / 5
// Section 04
Design & Notebook Connection
Game analysis isn't just reading — it's the first step of the engineering design process. What you learn here drives everything that follows.
Engineering Connection
Turn your game analysis directly into design requirements. For each question below, write a short answer in your notebook — not the final answer, just your current thinking.
►
What mechanisms might we need?
List every physical action your robot needs to perform
Name the mechanism type for each (intake, lift, launcher, etc.)
Mark which are essential vs optional
►
What movements are required?
Does the robot need to pick up from the floor? From a structure?
Does it need to deliver to a high goal or a low goal?
Does the endgame require a climbing or tilting mechanism?
►
What sensors might help?
Would a distance sensor improve autonomous accuracy?
Does the game reward precise positioning? (If yes: IMU + odometry)
Is color/optical sensing needed to identify game elements?
►
What should we NOT build?
List mechanisms that seem useful but are penalty-prone
List scoring actions with poor points-per-second vs effort
List ideas that exceed your team's build capacity this season
What Goes in the Notebook
Your kickoff analysis is your first notebook entry. It goes on a Green (Identify the Problem) slide. Here's what to document — not written for you, just what belongs:
■ Green Slide — Identify the Problem
Game objective summary in your own words
All scoring methods and point values (your scoring map)
Robot constraints: size, expansion, motor rules
Team criteria: what matters most to us this season?
Team constraints: what are our real limits (time, experience, parts)?
■ Gold Slide — Brainstorm (starts here)
Early robot concept sketches (rough is fine — date and sign them)
List of mechanism types you're considering for each function
Team discussion notes: who said what, what was agreed
Ideas you discussed and rejected — and why (this is important evidence)
ℹ️
Don't wait to start documenting. Judges look for evidence that your process started on kickoff day. An entry dated Day 1 that shows your team analyzing the game and forming initial ideas is exactly what the Design Award rubric rewards.
⚙ STEM Highlight
Engineering: Requirements Analysis
Game manual analysis is a form of requirements engineering — the process of identifying, documenting, and prioritizing what a system must do before designing it. Professional engineers call these functional requirements (what the system must do) and constraints (what limits the design). Reading the game manual to extract scoring methods, robot rules, and strategic priorities is exactly this process. Every design decision made later should be traceable back to a requirement identified here.
🎤 Interview line: "Our design process started on kickoff day — we analyzed the game manual to define our criteria and constraints before sketching anything. Our Green notebook slides document that analysis, and every mechanism decision we made later connects back to the requirements we identified there."
4 / 5
// Section 05
Kickoff Day Checklist
Run through this on kickoff day. Don't leave until everything is checked off.
🏆
This is your competition clock starting. Teams that finish this checklist on Day 1 have more time to iterate. Teams that skip it spend the first week re-reading the manual and arguing about what it says.
Read & Analyze
Read the manual once (Pass 1)Everyone reads, no stopping — understand the game
Complete the scoring map (Pass 2)List every scoring method with point values
Extract all robot constraints (Pass 3)Size limits, expansion, motor count, starting configuration
Flag risky rules and penaltiesWrite down what you must avoid — agree on it as a team
Discuss
Answer the team discussion questions togetherWhat scores fastest? What's risky? What do we NOT build?
Agree on a primary scoring strategyNot a final design — just a direction. Write it down.
List at least 3 mechanism concepts to exploreThese are brainstorm ideas, not commitments
Notebook
Open the team notebookDate the first entry — today's date is permanent
Write the game analysis summary on a Green slideObjective, scoring map, constraints, team criteria
Start the brainstorm on a Gold slideRough sketches, mechanism ideas, discarded options with reasoning
Record team discussion notesWho was present, what was said, what was decided
Next Steps
Assign each mechanism concept to a team member to researchBring findings to the next session
Schedule the decision matrix sessionWhen will you compare concepts and select one?
Post any rules questions to the VEX Forum Q&ADo this before building anything that depends on a rules interpretation
Ask a rules question in plain language. Claude answers based on Push Back 2025–26 rules and flags anything requiring official Q&A confirmation.
⚠ RECF EN4 — AI use notice
This tool is for informational purposes only. AI answers are not official RECF rulings — for any real question, consult the official Game Manual and the Q&A system. RECF rule EN4 prohibits AI-generated content in engineering notebooks and programming code. Do not paste AI rule interpretations into your notebook.