THE ROBOT GAMES
ROBOTICON Tampa Bay Games
ROBOTICON is a celebratory showcase of competitive youth STEM programs, mostly terrestrial robots but also some aerial drones. It features FIRST and REC Foundation robotics scrimmages and qualifying competitions, demonstration events, lightweight combat robotics, and more, and ROBOTICON is the only place where you can see all these different youth competition opportunities in one place!
Read on to see the different competitive programs teams and guests enjoyed at ROBOTICON 2025.
Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation
The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation series of events include VEX competitions for K-12, as well as the Aerial Drone Competition, and VEX U for collegiate level game play. REC supports more than 20,000 teams from 50 countries playing in over 1,700 tournaments worldwide. Here’s the 2024-25 games that will be played at ROBOTICON – most of which are full scale qualifying events for the new season.
For more information about any of the programs below, visit the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation website.
2025-26 Season Qualifying Tournament October 18, 2025 at Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School
VEX V5 & VEX U Skills Challenge
Push Back
VEX V5 Robotics Competition Push Back is played on a 12’ x 12’ square field configured as seen above. Two (2) Alliances – one (1) “red” and one (1) “blue” – composed of two (2) Teams each, compete in matches consisting of a fifteen (15) second Autonomous Period, followed by a one minute and forty-five second (1:45) Driver Controlled Period. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing Alliance by Scoring Blocks in Goals, Controlling zones within Goals, and Parking in defined zones at the end of the Match. Check out the game video below and visit the REC Foundation to learn more about the VEX V5 program.
October 19 – Brooks DeBartolo HS
REC Aerial Drone Competition
The Aerial Drone Competition offers an exciting educational drone sporting event that focuses on hands-on, student-centered learning.
Teams learn about drones, flight principles, programming, documentation and communication skills while expanding their understanding and building interest for Drone-related workforce and career opportunities.
Teams at ROBOTICON will explore the new season game.
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through several inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be
facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. These include FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge which are showcased at ROBOTICON each year.
Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.
Each year, FIRST programs center on a unifying theme, and for the 2025-26 season, the theme is History! Visit FIRSTInspires.org to learn more about FIRST and find contacts in your area, and check out the videos below to see the different games teams at ROBOTICON will be playing.
Decode Practice & Build Day – October 11 at AMRoC Fab Lab
FIRST Tech Challenge – Decode
FIRST Tech Challenge, for youth in 7th to 12th grade, challenges teams to design, build, program, and operate robust small scale robots in an alliance format. 
FIRST Tech Challenge robots use an Android operating system in an accessible, real-world engineering experience that’s guided by adult Coaches and Mentors. Students also keep an engineering portfolio to document their build processes.
The 2025-26 game is called Decode. The new game will be revealed on September 6, after which we’ll post the game video here. The ROBOTICON FIRST Tech Challenge event will be a scrimmage, because it’s early in the program’s season.
Visit the FIRST Tech Challenge website to learn more and find the right contact in your area.
Skills Day – More info soon!
FIRST Robotic Competition Skills Day
This year, FIRST Robotics Competition teams will enjoy a no holds barred Skills Day at ROBOTICON! Teams will put their previous season robot to new tasks, including Robot Soccer , Autonomous and Drivers Skills challenges and more! Look for more info soon!
