In the competition, two alliances, each consisting of two teams, competed to score plastic rings on a set of pegs aligned in a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe board.

[3] In the centre of the field there is a vertically constructed set of pegs, which are arranged in a three-by-three grid (as a tic-tac-toe board).

Infrared beacons were placed randomly on a peg in the tic-tac-toe board prior to the start of the match, but after autonomous programs have been selected.

During the two-minute Driver-Controlled Period, teams could use standard gamepad controllers, each with two joysticks, to operate their robots.

The criteria for the Inspire Award are "...match performance, observations made during interviews and in the pit area, and the team’s Engineering Notebook as equal factors...".

[6] Criteria for the other awards also include robot design, creativity, innovation, team performance, outreach and enthusiasm.

challenge, a new format for qualifying competitions was introduced in the United States regions for Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, and St. Louis.