Basics
10 articles in Basics.
Basics articles
10 articles
What is a combat robot?
The big picture: angry RC cars to intelligent murder machines.
Soldering 101
A beginner-friendly intro to clean solder joints, the core skill for every builder.
Weight classes
Antweight, beetleweight, and up. Pick the right starting weight.
How a match works
Pits, tech, queue, arena, judges. What to expect at an event.
The arena
Lexan walls, hazards, and how arenas differ by weight class.
The driver's station
Radio, failsafes, and what driving actually feels like.
Language of the sport
Tap-outs, KOs, JD, brick — the vocabulary you'll hear ringside.
Wedges
The most beginner-friendly weapon. Simple, effective, hard to break.
Spinners
Vertical and horizontal spinners — biggest hits, biggest risk.
Hammers, lifters, and flippers
Control weapons that win by repositioning, not by KO.