[Al Skierkiewicz]

Brainstorming cannot be accomplished in one day or even in two. It takes us most of the first week to analyze the game, play the game in our heads and on a mock field to see what is the best strategy. You have to analyze the scoring and what you need to do to win against other robots and what their strategies might be. You have to consider offense and defense and weigh ideas that might come at a price in terms of risky operation. You have to decide what your robot can accomplish it it finds itself as the only alliance partner (due to missing or malfunctioning robots).
Above all, you must get a handle on time. Two minutes can be the blink of an eye when you are trying to maneuver to score the bonus or it can be an eternity when your opponent is scoring like mad and you can't do anything to stop them.