FIRST Tech Challenge 2026-2027 · BIOBUZZ · simulated matches
Match Lab
Set up your alliance and see the scores that it is likely to post, and how often it beats an opponent. We measured every effect below in a physics simulator by changing one thing at a time. The estimate stacks those measurements, so read it as a guide, not as a promise.
Your alliance against an opponent
Your score
Opponent
Expected margin
You win
Scores are treated as normal distributions, and the two alliances as independent. Your spread is 7 points plus 7% of your mean, fitted to the match data. Gains shrink as they stack: the factor is fitted to one combined build, which scored 508 where the sum of its parts says 538. A launcher that is tighter than the reference isn't measured, so it counts as the reference.
What each choice is worth
Points per alliance against the baseline robot, with one standard error on each side. The shaded band is 25 points: inside it, 12 matches can't tell a change from luck.
Every match, one dot
Each dot is one match of the red alliance with that change, in bins of 20 points. The tick is the mean, and the line is the baseline mean. A wide row is a robot whose results you can't count on.
Where the points come from
A robot's 120 s of TELEOP
Driving is 73% of the match and launching is 5%. A shorter trip buys more than a faster shooter.
Better decisions, the same robot
Combined score of both alliances on 24 fixed seeds, after each change that was kept. The last step is the lighter, smaller robot.
When one robot defends
Points that the defender gives up against points that it takes from the opponent. A weak alliance still lost all 24 matches with a defender. The mixed alliance, a strong robot with a weak partner, went from 0 wins to 15 of 24. The only contact rule in the simulator is the PIN rule, G421, and the opponents here don't adapt to a defender.
Your score doesn't depend on theirs
Without defense, an alliance scores the same alone, against itself, and against a stronger opponent. That is why the lab models each alliance from its own robot.