While Rock & Robots does rule, the robot tournament also has rules for safety and consistency. Here they are:

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Rock & Robots: Robot Tournament Rules v1.1, 24/5/2025

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1. Build rules

   1. Weight limits: Wheeled robots: 150g / Walkers, shufflers, hovercrafts: 300g.

      1. This weight limit may be split across multiple robots which work as a team in what is known as a clusterbot. The weight of wheeled parts plus half the weight of walker/shuffler/hovercraft parts must not exceed 300g (wheeled + (walker/2) < 150g). Clusterbot status must be declared before the tournament begins.​

   2. One dimension of the robot at its usual orientation during operation, other than height, must demonstrably fit through the pit opening regardless of expansion (i.e. no wider than 20 cm)

   3. Robots must have: accessible shutoff (switch/link/plug – can be hidden but must be quickly accessible with hands), failsafe settings coded, ability to move across the surface of the arena.

   4. Robots must not have:

      1. Anti-competitive weapons: adhesives, fluids, entanglement, magnetic/inductive systems.

      2. Weapons posing danger to audience: flame, explosives, electricity as a weapon (e.g. tasers), kinetic energy storage/transfer (i.e. spinners), drills, pressurised gas/liquid, sharp metal, untethered projectiles, weapons which deliberately detach, tethered projectiles with tether exceeding 30cm

      3. Messy weapons: glitter, confetti, weapons which may shatter.

      4. Batteries containing liquid acid, electrolyte, or exceeding a maximum of 24 volts.

2. Combat Rules

   1. Fights will last for a maximum of 2 minutes, with the exception of rumbles which have no time limit.

   2. No judges are appointed so fights can end in draws.

      1. Fights which must have winners which are drawn after 2 minutes are decided by a “joust” – an untimed fight taking place on a plank of Perspex stretched over the top of the arena.

   3. The aim of a fight is to immobilise the opponent. Robots declared immobilised are eliminated from a fight. Immobilisation is counted at the point when (i) a countdown which makes it from 10 to 0 begins (ii) a robot last makes contact with the arena surface before ending up in the pit or over the wall

      1. A countdown is started when a robot is not moving and is not in contact with another robot. The referee should start the countdown as close as possible to the point of noticing that a robot is not moving, but with some leeway to ensure that not every deliberate pause starts a countdown. Contact will reset a countdown to 10.

      2. The referee may declare a robot immobilised without a countout when it is wedged between the arena opening and the outer wall with absolutely no way of regaining movement (i.e. stuck above the pit).

   4. Movement counts as any change in position, whether this is fully controlled or in circles

   5. At any time in a fight, a roboteer may forfeit the fight by throwing one of the "Tap Out!" pillows into the arena. This action is not reversible.

      1. Roboteers are encouraged to tap out when they are reasonably sure that they can not regain mobility as this reduces fight congestion.​

   6. Pins against an arena wall or other immobile object may last a maximum of 10 seconds.

   7. Grabs with a weapon may be held for a maximum of 20 seconds.

   8. When a pin/grab is identified, the referee will count upward and when the maximum time is reached, the referee will call to disengage. If robots are unable to disengage, the fight will be paused and the robots will be separated, being placed in approximately the same position they were in when the pin/grab started.

   9. If a roboteer or a roboteer’s representative manipulates a robot or the arena during a fight by any means other than radio control, they immediately forfeit the fight. This includes touching, blowing, stomping, shaking the arena and throwing anything into the arena. The fight may still continue to its conclusion for entertainment purposes but for admin purposes, the forfeiting action overrides any eventual result.​

      1. If a neutral party manipulates any robot, the fight is paused, the robots are returned to approximately where they were at the point of interference and the fight is restarted.

   10. All parts of a clusterbot must be declared immobilised for the robot to be eliminated. Counts will not start on clusterbots until all parts are lacking mobility, so one part of a clusterbot may try to revive its teammate.

   11. No contact = no contest: if a robot becomes immobilised before any robots in the battle have made contact, the battle is restarted. A maximum of 1 restart is allowed per robot. A robot may be eliminated without making contact if contact has occurred between any of the other robots in the fight. Contact between 2 members of a clusterbot does not count as 

   12. Aggressor Rule: if multiple robots become immobilised at the same time, where one robot can be clearly identified as the aggressor to this action, the aggressor is judged to have won. A robot in control of a grab who reverses into the pit taking the opponent with it is considered an aggressor.

   13. If opposing robots become immobilised simultaneously with no clear aggressor with 1:00 or more on the clock, then the fight will be paused, the robots will be placed back in their start positions by the referee and the fight restarted with 1:00 remaining. No repairs or adjustments of switches are permitted but the roboteers may specify which way up their robot should start.

   14. If 0:59 or less is left on the clock in a faultless simultaneous immobilisation, the fight will end as a draw.

   15. If both robots are unable to continue after a restart, a draw is declared. If a winner is required, robots may be switched back on and can be worked on for 20 seconds without leaving the arena or using any tools before beginning a joust.

   16. The contact rule is reset for a joust, so each robot may have 1 restart if they leave the plank before contact is made.

3. Competition guidelines

   1. To ensure as many fights can happen as quickly as possible, each driver may only enter one robot into the main tournament. Each robot must have a dedicated transmitter, receiver, components and battery, none of which are shared with any other robot in the tournament. Loans for emergency repairs are permitted only when the loaning roboteer’s robot has already been eliminated.

   2. Each driver may substitute a different robot into the silver medal rumble.

   3. The event organiser has the final say on any issues and on enforcing rules and has the authority to disqualify roboteers for infringements or unreasonable behaviour.

   4. If a robot is not ready to begin a fight when called, its fights can be moved to the end of the list of currently scheduled fights. Due to the limited time given to the tournament, the event organiser is free to declare a loss for a robot which is not ready to enter the arena if it is judged that waiting any longer will delay the end of the tournament.

4. Fight variations

   1. 1v1 – two robots enter, fight ends after either 2 minutes or when one robot is immobilised.

   2. 2v2/team fight – predefined teams or pairs of robots enter. All robots may be active at the same time (no designated corners or tagging). Countouts only begin when all members of one team are immobile, so mobile robots can attempt to revive teammates. 2 minute time limit, team with more active robots at the end wins.

   3. Melee – 3 or more robots, each robot is counted out as it becomes immobile, positions are recorded. 2 minute time limit, joust between robots mobile at the end can separate positions if needed. Rules 2.13 and 2.14 only apply if the robots in question are the last 2 remaining.

   4. Rumble – 5 or more robots, countout only begins when only one robot is suspected to be mobile due to there being no dedicated referee. If immobile robots are in the arena when the last 2 robots become immobile together, the aggressor rule applies, where relevant, if none of the immobile robots in the arena can show movement within a 10 second countdown. Only the winner is recorded, all others are losers. No time limit.

   5. Boss fight – team of antweights v one larger robot. 2 minute limit, boss wins by eliminating all the antweights, antweights win by immobilising the boss. Unsticking rules still apply.

   6. Royal Rumble - 2 ramps provide entry points to the arena. 2 robots begin the fight in the arena together with 2 more robots powered on and waiting behind the red line on each ramp. After 20 seconds has elapsed, one robot parked on a ramp may be sent into the fight and another can take its place on the ramp. this repeats every 20 seconds until all robots have been sent in and the fight ends when only one robot is mobile. If the number of robots in the arena drops below 2, robots can be immediately sent in to make it up to 2, resetting the 20 second timer.

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Changes since last rule update

Robots operated by doglead (electrical cable between controller and robot) are no longer allowed and all references to them have been removed.

Pressurised gas/liquid weaponry is banned until trials showing safety can be done

Added Royal Rumble as a battle type

Added Tap Out pillows as the official forfeit method

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