VEX IQ Rapid Relay Score Calculator
Your Alliance's Total Score
Mastering VEX IQ Rapid Relay: A Guide to Scoring
The VEX IQ Robotics Competition for 2024-2025, Rapid Relay, is an exciting game of speed, strategy, and precision. Teams work in alliances to score points by moving Pucks into Goal Zones and achieving special bonuses. Understanding the scoring system is crucial for developing a winning strategy. This calculator helps you quickly determine potential scores for your alliance based on different match scenarios.
How to Use the Score Calculator
Simply enter the values for each scoring category based on your alliance's performance in a match. The calculator will instantly compute your total score and provide a detailed breakdown, helping you see where your points are coming from.
- Pucks in Goal Zone (Not Your Alliance Color): Enter the total number of opponent-colored or neutral (green) pucks your alliance has scored in either Goal Zone.
- Pucks in Goal Zone (Your Alliance Color): Enter the total number of your own alliance-colored pucks (red or blue) scored in either Goal Zone. These are worth more!
- Dispensers Cleared: Enter the number of Dispensers (from 0 to 3) on your side of the field that your alliance has completely emptied of Pucks.
- Relay Bonus Achieved?: Check this box if your alliance has at least one Puck touching the floor in each of the three Relay Zones on your side of the field.
- Endgame Bonus Achieved?: Check this box if your alliance has a Robot touching the floor in your Endgame Zone at the end of the match.
Scoring Explained in Detail
Points in Rapid Relay are awarded for four distinct actions. Let's break them down:
1. Puck Scoring
This is the primary way to score points. The value of a Puck depends on its color relative to your alliance.
- Standard Puck Score: Each Puck (any color) scored in a Goal Zone is worth 1 point.
- Alliance Bonus Puck: Each Puck of your Alliance's color that is scored in a Goal Zone is worth an additional 1 point, for a total of 2 points.
2. Dispenser Bonus
Each side of the field has three Dispensers holding Pucks. If your alliance successfully removes all Pucks from one of these Dispensers, you receive a 10-point bonus. Clearing all three of your Dispensers can earn you a massive 30 points.
3. Relay Bonus
Strategy and field coverage are rewarded with the Relay Bonus. To achieve this, your alliance must have at least one Puck touching the floor inside each of the three designated Relay Zones on your side of the field. Successfully completing this awards a 10-point bonus.
4. Endgame Bonus
The final seconds of the match matter! If a Robot from your alliance is touching the floor within your designated Endgame Zone when the match timer hits zero, your alliance earns a final 10-point bonus.
Example Calculation
Let's imagine a successful match for the Red Alliance:
- They score 12 Green Pucks and 3 Blue Pucks in the Goal Zones. (15 Pucks not their color)
- They also score 7 of their own Red Pucks in the Goal Zones.
- They completely clear 2 of their 3 Dispensers.
- They achieve the Relay Bonus by placing pucks in all three Relay Zones.
- Their robot does not make it to the Endgame Zone in time.
Using the calculator, the score would be:
- Puck Score: (15 Pucks × 1 pt) + (7 Alliance Pucks × 2 pts) = 15 + 14 = 29 points
- Dispenser Bonus: 2 Dispensers × 10 pts = 20 points
- Relay Bonus: 10 points
- Endgame Bonus: 0 points
Total Score: 29 + 20 + 10 + 0 = 59 points
Strategic Implications
This scoring system creates interesting strategic choices. Should your robot focus on rapidly scoring any available puck, or take the extra time to seek out valuable alliance-colored pucks? Is it worth dedicating time to clearing a Dispenser for 10 points, or could that time be better spent scoring more than 5-10 individual pucks? Using this calculator can help your team weigh these options and build a robot and strategy that maximizes your scoring potential.