[patrickrd]

As many engineers and teachers say to students about robot designs during team meetings, FIRST needs to keep things simple.

Why not:
N = number of bins in scoring zone
S = largest number of bins in stack (# bins, any orientation, height of stack doesn't matter...)

This keeps scoring as simple as possible without drastically changing the way the game works.

However, I think the whole issue is not very relevant because I don't expect to see stacks with multiple bins with long sides facing vertically... Simple reasoning: it's very difficult for a human to accomplish this given the round shapes of the bins. If a human can't do it easily I certainly don't expect a robot to be able to do it, perhaps at all.

[Edit] Hmmm I'm re-reading Dr Joe's post and am realizing I need to reread the rules on this game... I'm not seeing something.[/Edit]
- Patrick