Test games

Before kickoff and the official start of the FIRST Robotics Competition season, FIRST generally tests out game ideas and concepts to make sure they will actually work. Although the specifics of these tests are not really meant to be public beyond their impact on the official, final game rules, some information about early test games has become public over the years.

1992 Test Game

In late 1991 as part of developing Maize Craze Deka and FIRST employees built robots and a playing field to test the concept and gameplay. At one point in development the tennis ball "treasure" started in several small pyramids around the field instead of in a circle around a central pipe. Some of the robots built for these games were later seemingly used as surrogate robots at the 1992 FIRST Robotics Competition, with one redressed as a pig and another formed into a chicken with pecking beak.

Gallery

• Additional photos on the FRC Archive
• 
  December 1991 test game setup where the balls started in pyramids around the field. The robot on the far side of the field would be modified into the pig, and the robot with the large wheel in the bottom right corner became the chicken. The robot on the left is unidentified. [1]
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  The large wheeled chassis of the chicken in a January 11, 1992 news article [2]
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  The chicken robot sitting in the corner during a match at the 1992 FIRST Robotics Competition [3]
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  The pig similarly sitting out during a match [4]
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  The chicken playing in team -16's position in heat 19 of the 1992 FIRST Robotics Competition [5]

1995 Test Game

An example robot equipped with drill motors and the 1995 control system was shown operating at the 1995 Kickoff event. It was likely built as part of the game testing process, although it does not have any obvious manipulator - if it ever had one, it may have been removed to prevent teams from deciding to build a copy of it.

Gallery

• Additional photos on the FRC Archive
• 
  The 1995 example robot pops a wheelie on the ramp at kickoff in 1995. [6]

1996 Test Game

At the 1996 Kickoff event another "example" robot was shown alongside the playing field - it appears to be more feature-complete, with a ball-grabbing mechanism as well as the regulation control system and component usage, and it was shown playing portions of the game. Text at one end suggests it was built by an Andover Corp.

Gallery

• Additional photos on the FRC Archive
• 
  The robot shown at kickoff in 1996. [7]
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  The control system and Andover Corp message. [8]
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  The kickoff field incorporated a grey goal and included some alternate ball colors. [9]

1998 Test Game

After the 1997 season some teams were invited by FIRST to compete in a test game for 1998 in the fall of 1997. At least four teams participated, including team -67, who had competed in 1996 and 1997 and would reregister as team 319 in 1999 but played as test team D in the 1998 test game.