[Dan Petrovic]

Four team members (maximum for each team) go to the live Kickoff, usually 3 students and one mentor.

The rest gather at a nearby high school and watch the webcast.

We all meet at our school, go over the rules and eat. Then we start human simulations to get a better understanding of how the game works and what the rules are.

Strategy comes from the feeling of what the team would like to do. This year, they all felt that making a ramp bot and playing defense would be boring, so we went with scoring.

All-hands brainstorming will happen the day after kickoff where anyone can submit their ideas. There are no debates or anything, the design team (about six students and two mentors) just absorbs what everyone says and gets to work the following day.