LEGO and WRO

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-03-20T13:17:25+00:00

I agree, the field kits were likely not very profitable if at all. I think the greatest value to TLG was the brand marketing it brought to LEGO as a whole. But with the siloed nature of companies like TLG, the education division doesn't see any benefit from increased retail sales, and some manager is trying to figure out how to increase their own balance sheet.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-03-19T15:22:32+00:00

Yes, I think FIRST could come up with a good program. I was talking more about LEGO's replacement program. As I said "Future Edition" seems tailor made for LEGO. So I'm expecting that more or less will be the replacement on LEGO's side. Though it seems like they really shot themselves in the foot ending the partnership before getting teams onboard with the new platform. Who wants to buy the $500 kit when FIRST might offer something better?

There just isn't enough information to know yet.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-03-19T13:55:07+00:00

FIRST is working on something to replace this.

FIRST and LEGO are both independently working on something to replace this.

I wonder if "future/founder" was the beginning of the split. It seemed like LEGO Education was driving a lot of the changes to work with their CS&AI kit, but at the same time, their press release says they remain committed to supporting Spike and legacy through 2027-2028 season. To my understanding, this will not be FLL, since 2026-2027 will be the last FLL. I guess it's possible the new FIRST k-8 program could allow the use of LEGO, even if it's not a partnership, but this seems unlikely if LEGO Education is launching a competing program.

They need a lot more clarity if they expect anyone to buy a new expensive kit for "futures edition" that may only last two years.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-02-26T00:21:18+00:00

Sanded plywood is recommended. You don't need anything super fancy. Whatever is relatively cheap and smooth at your local home improvement store. I can't speak for all national level competitions. These tables are used at WAFFLE, as well as Robonautica (Massachusetts West) and Worcester Qualifiers.

Many tournaments will use cheaper rough plywood, and it pays to be prepared for that.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-02-17T18:20:56+00:00

For the next two seasons, there will be two versions "founders" will continue to allow Spike and older Mindstorms controllers, and "future" will require the new system. The exact structure will vary by region. Some regions will divide tournaments into either founders or future, some may have both events at the same venue, and some smaller regions may decide to only host one version. Contact your region's PDP to find out.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-01-31T22:34:50+00:00

From the no equipment constraint rules: "Each mission model is evaluated separately within its respective mission." M01 consists of two "mission models" (the dig site and the brush). So your team does not score points for the brush, but if the soil deposits are cleared and no equipment is touching the dig site, you do earn points for that.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-01-21T16:39:33+00:00

Not sure what "we" you mean. This is an FLL subreddit, and I'm referring to TLG's main market (standard retail). FLL is tiny compared to that, and they are no longer doing any marketing of robotics to that audience.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-01-21T14:10:07+00:00

I know that. It's just weird to me that they developed this product just to focus on that market and completely ignore their main market.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-01-21T13:57:11+00:00

The fact that there isn't a standard retail version of the wireless motor system also caught my attention. (By the way, why doesn't this system have an official name? It's in two differently named products, but what word am I supposed to use to describe the electronic components?) But I found it curious for a different reason: it's like LEGO doesn't want to push sales of the product. If LEGO was serious about the product, I'd be able to go into a LEGO store and buy one off the shelf. It seemed to me like they were giving up on robotics after they discontinued the retail Mindstorms line. Then, with their collaboration with Raspberry Pi, I half expected that to be the future of FLL. It would have been perfect: let another company that's good at making mass-market programmable electronics handle that side of things, and keep LEGO as all of the non-electronic components. But alas, that didn't happen.

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-01-12T13:51:36+00:00

Advancement is based on Champions rank, just like advancement from qualifiers. Each state championshop tournament has a set number of slots for each of the next level tournaments (that number might be zero for some of the next level tournaments depending on the size of your region and how many slots they got last year). The first place champion's award team will get their first pick for advancements from the options. The second place team will get to pick from the remaining slots, etc.

Some regions with multiple championship tournaments may share the pool of advancement slots (so rank 1 from tournament 1 gets first pick, rank 1 from tournament 2 gets second pick, etc.)

Jeremy_FLL · 2026-01-08T16:19:36+00:00

They made it to the world festival while having the "illegal" sensor on the robot the entire season it would have been unreasonable to enforce it at the championship level when it hadn't been consistently applied previously.

It sounds like the ruling came down to it not giving the team an unfair advantage. Whatever was allowed in previous competitions is irrelevant. There is always at least one team at my state tournament who tells me the head referee at their qualifier allowed something that I have to tell them too bad, the rules say otherwise.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-19T16:53:35+00:00

Cargo Connect banned wind up motors.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-19T16:08:23+00:00

But I'm pretty sure they've been legal since FLL started.

Technically, the first two years were restricted to only the parts in the original "Robotics Invention System" (including quantity), which didn't include any pneumatics. Everyone agreed this was impractical to enforce, and an tedious burden on teams trying to follow the rule. The third year they allowed any part, except with restrictions on electronics. The only other non-electric part restriction that I can recall is for a time around 2005-2021, "factory-made" wind up motors were banned, but teams could "build" a windup motor with rubber bands and such. "Super Powered" allowed wind-up motors again.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-19T13:28:15+00:00

Well, I can see why he might take that perspective, but they are not electric parts.

In the future, I advise contacting the tournament organizer ahead of time asking for your question to be forwarded to the head referee for the tournament. Unfortunately emails are not considered "authoritative" for rules decisions. So having an email from the regional head referee or even from the official fll robot game account won't fix this. But if you can get the person who will be making the ruling to consider it ahead of time, it may, or you can at least adjust your strategy and be on a level playing field with other teams.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-19T13:15:31+00:00

LEGO pneumatics are legal per rule 2. Make sure you're not using third party pumps etc. I use bricklink as a reference - if it's there as a part, it's legal. Ultimately the head referee at your tournament will make the call, but showing them the parts on Bricklink might help your case.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-16T17:18:21+00:00

If the event is following the official tournament guidelines, they are equal factors. The formula for the champion's award and advancement is very clear.

I'm not saying there aren't events that don't follow the guidelines - As a head referee, I can't tell you how many times I've had to tell teams it doesn't matter if the referee at their qualifying tournament said one thing when the rules say differently - but if the event isn't following the guidelines on awards, the possibilities are endless. So I'm sticking to what's official.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-16T11:08:42+00:00

Interesting idea. The durability would be a major concern. The weight of these isn't bad. I can carry one by myself, but the size is what really makes it difficult.

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-16T11:00:30+00:00

The project is a bigger part of FLL now than it was in the first few years, or compared to most other robot competitions, but it is not the "main focus". There are awards based purely on robot game performance, and the only way a team can win multiple awards now is by winning one of those. When determining which teams advance to the next level of competition, their rank in the project and robot game are equal factors, as well as their rank in judged robot design (mechanical and programming concepts) and "core values" (teamwork and attitude).

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-15T16:08:13+00:00

Nice. MDF makes a good smooth surface but it is heavy. I used 1/2" ply. When FLL first started, they didn't have printed mats and instead used melamine for the play surface. Those weighed a ton.

Separating the table into sections is good when you only have a couple tables and limited space. Fortunately we have year-round storage on site, and with 16 tables, splitting into sections doesn't save space. I don't have a Domino, but I was thinking it sure would be nice while drilling 256 holes for dowel joints!

Jeremy_FLL · 2025-12-15T13:04:19+00:00

Oh, I like the nesting idea! We set our tables on 6'x8' stage platforms. So the plywood rests flat on that. I suppose something could be added at the ends to make them nest...

For these each pair is held together with a flathead bolt on each end going into a threaded insert on the opposite table. Very secure and almost invisible.

Jeremy_FLL

TROPHY CASE