Strategy and Tactics

A good robot wins matches, but a good plan wins more. This page covers how to plan a match, what to do in the first few seconds, how to use the arena, how matches are actually won under SPARC rules, and how to look after your robot during a fight. It builds on Driving Practice, which covers drills and basic strategy against common opponents, and on the weapon pages, which each have a matchup table.

Rules on this page are from the standard SPARC Match Rules (v1.6, 1 September 2026) and SPARC Judging Guidelines (v1.3, 21 September 2025). Events can change them, and they must publish any changes before the event, so read your event's rules.[1][2]

Planning a match

Know your opponent

Look them up. On RobotCombatEvents, each class at an event lists the robots and teams registered, and a robot's page shows its weapon type and competition history. The Rankings page lists the top robots in each class by season.
Watch video. Many events stream or post their matches online. Watch how your opponent drives, not just what its weapon is: does it charge straight in, wait in a corner, or run away? Does it self-right? Has it broken down in the same way more than once?
Ask. Most builders are happy to talk about their robot in the pits. You'll often learn whether it's invertible, how long its weapon takes to spin up, and what broke last time.
Watch their earlier matches at the same event. Damage they haven't fixed, a weapon that sounds rough, or a slow drive side are all things you can use.

Know the arena

Walk around the arena before your first match and note:

Where the pits, push-out zones and other hazards are, and whether they're active all match or only at certain times.
Whether there are screws (rotating hazards), spikes or other active hazards, and how they're triggered.
What the walls are like: low walls or rails you can be pushed over, gaps, bumpers, and corners where a robot could get trapped.
The floor: seams, steel plates, and rough spots can make a low wedge catch or a drum skip.
How big the arena is. In a small arena, a fast opponent can reach you before your weapon is up to speed.
Which un-stick rule the event uses. The standard is modified single un-stick: one un-stick per robot, but only if the opponent didn't cause it.[3]

Make a simple plan

Decide before the match: what you want to do in the first few seconds, where you want the fight to happen (often near a hazard you can push them into), what to do if you get flipped, and what to do if your weapon fails. Keep it simple enough to remember with the adrenaline going.

The opening seconds

Starting positions. Robots start in their starting squares after load-in. Once the door is closed, drivers get up to 20 seconds for a brief weapon and drive test, and then the referee asks both drivers if they're ready.[4] Use the test to check your controls work the right way round.
Spin-up time matters. A spinner is at its weakest before its weapon is up to speed. Team Run Amok's rule of thumb is that a weapon should reach at least 45 joules per kilogram of the weight class within the first two seconds, and that smaller arenas give you less time.[5] If you know your opponent spins up slowly, an early hit can win the match. If yours spins up slowly, be ready to dodge an early rush.
Who strikes first. Against a spinner, wedges and pushers often charge straight away to stop the weapon getting up to speed. The SPARC Judging Guidelines give "a wedge or ramming robot preventing a spinning weapon from ever reaching full speed" as an example of a 6–0 control score.[6] Between two spinners, Ask Aaron's view is that in weapon-to-weapon hits the vertical with the higher tip speed wins, and between horizontals the weapon with more stored energy usually wins.[7] Horizontal spinner builders can choose their spin direction against another horizontal: the same direction as the opponent if you're confident in your weapon, the opposite direction to "mesh" with theirs if you're not.[8]
Don't jump the start. "Blatant early movement" is listed as unsportsmanlike conduct in the SPARC Tournament Procedures.

Using the arena

Walls. A robot pinned against a wall can't escape or turn to face you. Under the standard un-stick rule, a robot you push into a stuck position on the wall doesn't get an un-stick.[9] Horizontal spinners can bounce off walls after a hit; see Horizontal Spinners.
Corners. Corners trap robots, including yours. Stay out of them unless you're the one doing the trapping. A spinner in a corner has less room to get out of the way and to spin back up.
Pits and push-outs. In a one-on-one match, the first robot to enter an elimination zone loses. If you push your opponent in and can't separate yourself, it counts as both robots entering at the same time, and both are put back in the arena. Some events use the pit as an immobilization zone instead, giving the robot a chance to escape before it's counted out.[10]
Hazards. Using arena hazards to damage your opponent counts as control under the Damage, Control and Aggression criteria.[11] Know where they are and steer the fight toward them.
Fight in the middle if you're the one at risk. When an opponent is better at pushing, keep the fight away from walls and pits.

How matches are won under SPARC

Knockouts, pits and tap-outs

Under the standard SPARC Match Rules:[12]

Knockout (count-out): when a robot stops moving under control, the referee starts a 10-second count. To stop it, the robot must show controlled translational movement, meaning net movement in a line, not just spinning on the spot. A robot with one side of its drive working is not counted out if it can still do this.
The count stops if you keep attacking. A "dead" robot that is still being hit won't be counted out, so the match runs on until time or a tap-out. If you want the knockout, back off and let the count run.
Simultaneous knockout: both robots are set upright and given a chance to move. If one can, it wins; if neither can, the match goes to the judges.
Exposed battery: as an event option, a robot whose battery becomes exposed loses by TKO.
Pits and push-outs: see above.
Pins: a stationary pin is limited to 5 seconds and an active pin (moving or, for example, sawing while pinning) to 10 seconds. You must then release the opponent completely, so both robots can move freely. Refusing when the referee asks you to release forfeits the match.
Tap-out: see below.
Match length: the standard is 3 minutes, with an option of 2 minutes for robots from 150 g to 6 lb. Rumbles last 5 minutes.

Judges' decisions

If neither robot is eliminated, the judges decide, and their decision is final. The guidelines give two scoring systems and each event picks one, so find out which your event uses.[13]

Criteria	Points per judge	What scores
Damage and Engagement	Damage 4, Engagement 5	Damage is graded on what is left at the end, from tier A (no or cosmetic damage) to tier E (significant impairment of both drive and weapon). Two tiers apart gives 3–1; three or more gives 4–0; otherwise 2–2. Engagement rewards taking charge of the fight: attacking, pinning, chasing, getting the opponent stuck or high-centered, and inverting it if that affects its ability to fight.
Damage, Control and Aggression	Aggression 5, Control 6, Damage 6 (17 total)	Aggression is time spent attacking, with translational movement toward the opponent. Control is using your robot or the arena against the opponent without the weapon doing the damage: pushing into hazards and walls, flipping, stalling its weapon, or (for a spinner) getting your weapon up to speed. Damage is graded on how much each robot's function is reduced.

What this means in practice:

Keep attacking. Sitting in one place waiting to be attacked, or running away, counts against you. Missed attacks are neutral in engagement, and under the aggression criteria attacks don't have to cause damage to count.
Short breaks are fine. Brief disengagements to reset or spin up your weapon, and self-righting attempts, are neutral in engagement.
Being slow isn't penalized. Judges are told to focus on what a robot is doing, not how fast.
Sparks don't score. Judges are told to ignore sparks and dramatic-looking scratches, and to look at damage that affects how a robot works, such as a bent arm, a wobbling wheel or a weapon that has lost speed.
Full-body spinners: a robot that attacks a full-body spinner by driving into its weapon's reach is automatically treated as the aggressor in a close aggression score.
Self-inflicted damage (from your robot's own systems, not caused directly or indirectly by the opponent or an active hazard) isn't counted against you. In the Damage and Engagement criteria, judges also note damage a robot arrived with and ignore it.
Post-match checks: judges may ask you to show your drive (by driving back to your start square) or weapon still works, so don't power down until told.

Managing damage and energy

Know when to back off. If your opponent is clearly winning the weapon-to-weapon exchanges, stop trading hits: keep your weapon speed up and aim for non-weapon targets such as its sides, wheels or forks. If a fast charge isn't working, try slowing your approach.[14]
Throttle the weapon to the situation. Team Run Amok suggests keeping some extra RPM in reserve for special cases, and being ready to turn your weapon down if it's just skittering off a hard opponent.[15] A spinner that's lost a tooth or is vibrating badly may survive the match at lower speed.
Protect what's broken. If one drive side is out, keep the working side away from the opponent and keep moving in a controlled line to avoid a count-out.
Battery. Size your battery for a full match at your driving style, with margin (see Batteries). Most of a spinner's energy goes into getting the weapon up to speed; the power needed to keep it there is small, so repeated spin-ups after hits are what drain the pack.[16] Charge and check your packs between matches, and retire any that are puffed or damaged (see LiPo Battery Safety).
Heat. Long pushing matches heat drive motors and ESCs. Ease off for a moment if your drive starts to feel sluggish.
Between matches you get at least 20 minutes for robots from 150 g to 6 lb, and at least 30 minutes for heavier ones.[17] See Repairs Between Matches and Pit Kit and Event Checklist.

Tactics against each type

The weapon pages have matchup tables, and Driving Practice has a short summary. In brief:

Vertical Spinners and Drum Spinners: they turn slowly with the weapon at speed because of gyroscopic forces, and they're only dangerous from the front. Attack from the side, and don't let them get under you.
Horizontal Spinners: low wedges and verts can get under the blade, and a tipped horizontal can become unstable. Watch out for wall bounces.
Flippers and Lifters: don't let them get under you, and have a plan for being flipped (see Self-Righting).
Hammers and Axes: keep moving so they can't line up a swing, and attack right after a miss while the arm resets.
Wedges and Control Robots: stay away from walls and pits, keep your weapon pointed at them, and avoid head-on pushing matches you can't win. Don't underestimate them: in Team Run Amok's 2016 study of a large beetleweight tournament, robots whose only weapon was a wedge won 65% of their matches on average, against 39% for spinners.[18]

Multibots

See Multibots, Walkers and Shufflers for the rules in full. Under SPARC:[19][20]

Knockout: the count starts when at least 51% of the multibot's mass can't move. A segment that's heavy enough to meet that threshold on its own must have a visual identifier.
Un-sticks: all the segments share a single un-stick.
Judging: in the Damage and Engagement criteria, damage is averaged over all the segments that fought (rounded down), and engagement looks at the entry as a whole.
Fighting one: go after the heavier segment, since that's the one that decides a knockout. Lighter segments are easier to push into a pit.
Driving one: it usually takes two drivers, or a lot of practice. Agree beforehand which segment does what.

Sportsmanship and tapping out

Tapping out. Under the SPARC Match Rules, a driver can tap out at any time, either by telling the referee or by using a tap-out button if the event has one. Combat stops and the opponent wins.[21] When you have no chance of winning, tapping out can save your robot for the next match; one builder's lessons, shared on Ask Aaron, start with exactly that advice.[22]
A knocked-out opponent. If your opponent is clearly done, look at their driver. If they wave you off or tap out, back away.[23]
Stop when told. At the end of the match, stop moving and let your weapon spin down. A driver who keeps fighting after the referee stops a match is disqualified.[24]
Unsportsmanlike conduct includes post-fight contact, sabotage, distracting the other driver and blatant early movement. A first unintentional incident gets a warning (which lasts 25 months, across events), a second forfeits the match, and clearly intentional conduct disqualifies the driver from the rest of the event.[25]
Be a good neighbor. Shake hands, congratulate the winner, and lend a part or a tool if someone needs it. You'll be in the pits together again next month.