First of all, I believe that traction has become way too important of a feature. It started mildly in 2001, with teams really getting the hang of it, and then progressed into 2002 with some absolutely insane traction devices. I say, make people learn and take away their learned traction skills - put linoleum down on the FIRST floor.
You could get those really really long, wide pieces of linoleum usually used in cheap bathrooms to coat the floor, and place it across the field. That way, teams would have to rethink their options traction-wise.
Here's my idea for a game:
The game is 2 on 2. The playing field is divided into two zones, each covered with 10 to 20 PVC struts that have a base to them (think traffic cone FIRSTified). There are also two goals on each end of the field, with a large platform on top of them that you can balance struts on (7 or more feet in the air). The idea is that for every strut standing in your side of the field by the end of the match, you get 2 points. For every strut supported by your robot (not in contact with the ground), you get 1 point. For every strut knocked over, you get -1 point. Managing to balance a struct on the goal on the opposite end of the field nets you 5 points each for your alliance.
The idea is to space the struts on the field so that robots must be very maneuverable to get around them. Maybe you could cover each strut with retroreflectors at their top so you could have "Autoavoid" as you maneuver your way through the struts.
That was my random ranting for tonight.. man i must be tired
