How to Play NXT Sumo

How to Play MINDSTORMS NXT Sumo

Competition rules and guidelines vary slightly from competition to competition, but here are some general guidelines on how to play:

MINDSTORMS NXT Sumo robots are placed on the SUMO ring about 12 inches apart and an equal distance from the center of the ring (6 inches from the center). The robots are set down parallel to each other and facing opposite directions so that the robots must actively search for the opponent and not "steamroller" straightforward.

The competition takes place in several rounds. Each round is limited to three minutes (or three bouts, whichever comes first). If there is no winner at the end of the three minutes, the round will be declared a draw. The winner of a round is simply the robot that has won the best of three bouts, with each bout lasting no more than one minute. The winner of a round receives two points, and the loser zero. A draw results in one point for each robot. If during a bout the robots are entangled and wear and tear is occurring, both contestants can agree to a restart of that bout. The robots may be restarted but the three minute overall time limit still applies (in other words, once three minutes are up the result of the round is determined by the results of the completed bouts, even if three bouts were not achieved during that time).

At the start of a bout players bow to each other... three, two, one, GO! Players activate their robots and clear out of the ring. The robots must wait three seconds before any motion is made (with the exception of shape changing; i.e. lowering or extending an arm or other feature), and the first motion should be directly away from the center. If there is no clear front of back to a robot, the direction of this first motion will define the “front” for purposes of the initial facing of the robots. A robot must start moving forward within ten seconds of the start of a bout.

The robots will proceed in combat until one unit is disabled or removed from the ring. A robot is considered to be “removed” from the ring when any part of it falls off the edge and touches the floor. A robot whose body hangs over the edge is not considered 'off' until it physically tips off the edge and touches the floor. Judgment of the ring officials is final. A robot that disables or removes the enemy gets a “Win” credited to it, and if a robot “suicides”, the other robot gets a “Win” credited to it.