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In the Critter Course, you must overcome a series of challenges for your mission to succeed.
These timed events will be:
1. Hill Climbing:
Claw your way up three slopes, each with twelve inches of incline, plane, and decline. The slopes
will be: 23, 34, and 45 degrees - with a plywood surface.
2. Obstacle Course:
Steer around a series of 1x12 inch (max size) fixed obstructions across a 4x4 foot plywood platform.
3. Field of Skree:
Bring your tire chains! See if you can handle 4 inches of Mars shifting muck (circus peanuts) in a
mad dash across a 4 foot container. Or will this be your undoing???!!
4. Sort it Out!:
Move 2 inch squares (surface samples?) to staging areas for transport back to earth.
5. Critter Crunch:
Sorry :) it's tradition! At the end of the competition, there will be a 10-minute free for all!
All robots will take on each other at the same time! Gang ups allowed! Payback is a b*tch! Last bot
standing wins.
If you don't have your own robot, no problem! You may bid on the "driving rights" of other robots
eager for action! (In the end, you may drive only one.) The deeper your wallet, the more pain you
may inflict on your opponents !
See you on Mars ...
These are the revised rules as of 02/15/2003.
These rules will be in effect at CapriCon!
No original text was deleted.
2005 Critter Course Rules
Based upon
2003 Revised Critter Crunch Rules
This version supersedes all previous versions.
with Permission from J.D. Morse
Modifications by Joe Greene
0. SPIRIT RULES:
A. No Cheating! You know, like intentionally subverting the rules.
B. Frankenstein Rule: In honor of the most famous Mad Scientist,
and to Mad Scientists everywhere; the audience may verbally behave
like an offended and outraged populous towards any and all critters/operators
that they deem offensive and outrageous.
I. CRITTERS:
A. Critter size at the start of combat will be a cube 12"x12"x12".
The critter must be able to stand alone on the combat surface within
these dimensions until combat begins. After the start of combat,
the 12" cube restriction no longer applies and the critter
may transform to fighting mode in any way not otherwise restricted.
B. Critter weight limit is; 20 pounds in class 1, and 2 pounds
in class 2. A 2.5 percent error factor will be allowed to account
for variations in scales.
C. Critters may be powered by any source socially acceptable (OSHA
approved) for indoor use. Critter power source must be 100% contained
in the critter & packaged appropriately for the expected abuse.
D. Control pendants, cables, or other external control devices
do not count against the critter weight or size. Critter control
may be by any means not prohibited by rules I(C) or II(E). However,
radio controlled critters must be able to operate on at least two
frequencies (or perhaps, an R/C tether combination) to avoid radio
frequency conflicts.
E. All critters must be capable of movement at a rate of not less
than two linear inches per minute.
F. No critter may, under any circumstances, present a hazard to
the judge(s), spectators, or the opposing operator(s). No critter
may in it's operation cause damage to anything other than the opposing
critter or the combat surface. Any questions regarding the acceptability
of any weapons should be addressed as far as possible before the
event.
G. All critters must conform to the general rules of the hotel
and the convention.
H. All critters will be subject to a technical inspection prior
to combat. Failure to disclose any operating principle shall be
grounds for disqualification. The judge(s) may restrict any function
deemed excessively hazardous.
I. Weapons directed specifically toward attacking critter controls
systems (cable cutters, R/C jamming, etc.) are not allowed.
J. Critters (including multipart critters) are allowed to have
only one designated operator.
II. COMBAT:
A. The current "combat surface" is defined as the surface
of an unfinished wood platform eight feet long by eight feet wide
and four inches high.
B. The combat volume is defined as the combat surface and the airspace
above it to the height of whatever ceiling is present, not including
the ceiling or anything attached to it.
C. Leaving the combat volume entirely is considered a loss. Up
to fifty percent of the critter may leave the combat volume provided
that the remaining portion is capable of movement per rule I.E..
In the case of two part critters, the heaviest and/or main part
of the critter must be designated and clearly marked as the main
or 51% part. The other part is considered as expendable. Loss of
the main part is a loss for both.
D. No part of any operators' body may intentionally impinge on
the combat volume during combat.
E. Projectiles:
A projectile is defined as an object thrown with the expectation
that its kinetic energy will affect its target.
Projectiles, if employed, must be tethered. Tethers must be no
longer four feet.
F. Non projectile, loose items may be deployed from your critter
but must be picked or cleaned up, to the best of your ability, after
combat.
III. COURSE:
A. The current "course surface" is defined as the surface
of an unfinished wood platform with four sections. each Section
consisting of four feet long by four feet wide and four inches high
and containing 1 approved obstacle.
B. Approved obstacles are any of the following:
3 slopes with a 12 inch starting location, 12 inches of rise, 12
inch landing and 12 inches off decline. The decline must end at
the same height as the rise. The 3 slopes will be 16 inches in width
and have inclines of 1 inch rise per horizontal inch (12:12), 3
inch rise per horizontal 4 inches (9:12) and 1 inch rise per horizontal
2 inches (6:12). Each slope will have a point value associated with
it for successful navigation of the slope.
A variety of minor fixed obstructions no more than 1 inch in height
and 12 inches in length or width spread across the 4 foot long by
4 foot wide section.
An arrangement of 6 inch high walls arranged in a small maze with
a minimum width of 17 inches within 9 inches of any turn.
A 4 foot wide by 4 foot long section of rubble/debris/scree filled
pit with a depth of no more than 4 inches, If used as the first
section of the course it should be only 3 foot long and have a starting
pad of 12 inches if used as the first section. There must be slopes
of 1 inch rise per 2 horizontal inches at the beginning and end
of the pit. The rubble, debris or scree pieces should not exceed
2 inches in any dimension and not exceed 1 inch in more than 1 dimension
(i.e. 1 inch high by 1 inch wide by 1 inch long)
A 4 foot wide by 4 foot long section with 2 clearly marked 12 inch
by 12 inch squares or 12 inch diameter circles and up to 12 unattached,
non-spherical objects divided evenly into two clearly visible groups
placed in a mixed fashion in a predetermined pattern. The object
being to sort the two groups, one group into each of the of the
marked areas. The objects must be no less than 2 inches in any dimension
and shall not be spheres unless the marked areas are fashioned to
hold the objects once they have been maneuvered into the areas.
A moving (vibrating, undulating or otherwise) platform surface
with no linear motion exceeding 3 inches of in any direction from
the starting (considered at rest) position and nor rotational motion
exceeding 15 RPM
A 4 foot long by minimum 18 inch wide lever with a maximum slope
of 45 degrees and an imbalance of no more than 6 ounces (0.5 pounds).
C. The combat volume is defined as the combat surface and the airspace
above it to the height of whatever ceiling is present, not including
the ceiling or anything attached to it.
D. Leaving the combat volume entirely is considered a loss. Up
to fifty percent of the critter may leave the combat volume provided
that the remaining portion is capable of movement per rule I.E..
In the case of two part critters, the heaviest and/or main part
of the critter must be designated and clearly marked as the main
or 51% part. The other part is considered as expendable. Loss of
the main part is a loss for both.
E. No part of any operators' body may intentionally impinge on
the combat volume during combat.
F. Projectiles:
A projectile is defined as an object thrown with the expectation
that its kinetic energy will affect its target.
Projectiles, if employed, must be tethered. Tethers must be no
longer four feet.
G. Non projectile, loose items may be deployed from your critter
but must be picked or cleaned up, to the best of your ability, after
combat.
H. Deliberate destruction of obstacles (i.e. battering down walls,
detachment of fixed obstacles) will result in immediate disqualification.
IV. JUDGES:
A. Judges shall be impartial non-participants.
B. Judges may declare a contest completed at any time.
C. Judges' decisions are final.
V. COMPETITION:
A. The manner of elimination (single elimination, double, etc.)
will be at the discretion of the competition organizers, and will
be announced prior to the competition.
B. The competition will consist of 4 obstacle sections which will
be timed and scored on a points system determined by the competition
organizers. The 2 highest scoring competitors will, time permitting
meet in combat per the combat rules above.
B. Finalist Critters will start on opposite sides of the combat
surface with the aft end of the critter even with the edge of the
combat surface.
C. The critters must be ready when the combat begins. Combat will
not be restarted due to mistakes, radio conflicts, or other setup
problems. A brief pretest may be allowed by the judge(s).
D. Victory:
To claim victory your critter must show mobility and be at least
fifty percent within the combat volume. You will be declared defeated
if your critter has been rendered immobile, or if fifty one percent
or more of the critter is outside the combat volume.
If both critters are immobile, the critter controlling mobility
will be declared the winner.
If both critters leave the combat volume, last one out wins.
Absent a clear victory, combat will proceed for 3 minutes after
which the judge(s) may declare a winner, a draw, or grant more time.
E. No critter shall be required to compete within 10 minutes of
its previous combat to permit recharging of batteries, replenishment
of expendables, damage repair, etc. Machines requiring excessive
time to prepare for their next combat, may be declared defeated
by forfeit, at the judge(s) discretion.
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Clarifications
The following are some clarifications and examples to aid builders
in the Critter Crunch. These are based on the questions we get asked
most often.
Contents
Power Sources
Combat Surface
Deployables
Spirit of the Rules
Projectiles
Expected Abuse
Autonomous Critters
Crawl Entries
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Power Sources:
The most obvious is batteries, but don't let yourself be limited.
Any source designated by OSHA as suitable for indoor use is okay.
This includes, for example, a four-stroke internal combustion engine
powered by propane. Please include a tilt switch to shut it off
if it is turned over, where appropriate.
Combat Surface:
Check with the organizers before spreading oil slicks or deploying
chainsaws. Clean up will be accomplished by the critter operator(s).
Deployables:
In the interests of keeping the construction simple, self-retraction
of deployed appendages is not required. That is, you may hand-prep
your critter to fit the twelve-inch cube, although it must fit the
cube un-assisted. Deployments must be an automatic function.
Spirit of the Rules:
It is not the wish of the organizers to disqualify entries on niggling
technicalities. Rather, the rules should be interpreted as broadly
as possible to permit the widest variety of endeavor.
Projectiles:
A stream of liquid is not a projectile. Something that is tossed,
so as to disperse or place it across the table, is not a projectile.
Use common sense and don't quibble.
Expected Abuse
(From paragraph 1C) Note that your critter may, during the course
of competition, be severely damaged or even destroyed. Past competitions
have seen critters equipped with pneumatic cylinders, spear-throwing
CO2 cannons, and flame throwers. Please consider this when packaging
your power source if it involves such potential hazards as acid
(batteries), flammable liquids (engines), or plutonium (reactors).
Developing an emotional attachment to your critter is recommended,
as it contributes to creative vengeance!
Autonomous Critters:
At present there is no separate division for autonomous critters.
Autonomous control is allowed and encouraged but, for now, these
will compete with person controlled critters. This can put such
critters at a disadvantage.
Crawl Entries:
This division is for those who don't want their craft possibly destroyed.
Nearly any craft showing mobility can be entered; size or weight
are not limited; hazardous critters are DISCOURAGED. Use common
sense, be creative!
Please inform the organizers of the event that you wish to submit
a Crawl entry, so they can schedule you in.
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Copyright © 1997, MileHiCon, Inc., Denver, CO.
For more information contact:
John Morse
2557 S. Dover #58
Lakewood, CO 80227-3157
e-mail: jdmorse@chisp.net
phone: 987-0950
These rules may be used freely and openly by anyone wanting to
have a critter crunch. This copyright notice must be posted and
printed with all copies of the Critter Crunch rules released to
participants or the public. The utilization of any version of these
rules with no allowed changes will constitute an official Critter
Crunch. The Grand National Critter Crunch Tournament will be held
at the MileHiCon convention in or around Denver, CO each year. The
top three winners of each official Critter Crunch will automatically
be listed as entries in the national tournament. The Denver Area
Mad Scientists Club acts as the official governing body over adjustments
and changes to the rules. If you have any suggestions or comments
about the rules or the tournaments or if you wish to request the
latest version of the rules please write to MileHiCon, Inc., P.O.
Box 101322, Denver, CO 80250 or contact the MileHiCon web site at
http://www.milehicon.org
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