[sanddrag]

I like Triple Play in the sense that is forced teams to build a manipulator that worked well and most did. There were not too many boxbots. I didn't like the idea of pretty much only one game option (stacking tetras) but it was good in the sense that everyone HAD to do it well, and they did.

The kit of parts was nice in the sense that now everybody had a good reliable drivetrain so they could immediately start work on an arm, but I think WAY too many teams used the kit provided gearbox. The drive system was the passive subsystem of this game and with 3 vs 3 I think it should have been an active subsystem in playing this game. The kit gearbox is good for getting rookies into this more fairly and it is good for teams with not many resources but I'm disappointed when I see 5th year teams using that gearbox. I want to see a game that makes us strive for a better drive system than they provide in the kit.

But at least the provided drive system did allow everyone to make a really good arm.

Finally, let the robots touch each other. I know safety is key but 6 robots on a small field all trying to avoid each other isn't much fun to watch from the stands. I want to see the pushing and shoving.