A Trend in the FRC Games?

[JaneYoung]

Just for fun - I'm thinking of a little bit of mental exercise.

Here's a few of questions:
a. why is the game piece important?
b. what does changing it up from year to year do?
c. how does the game piece affect the overall game?
d. how does the game piece affect the strategy or strategies of the game?
e. what are the limitations to a game piece when making a decision as to what to use?

I see lots of discussions trying to predict game pieces and suggest game pieces but I never fully understand why that is important. Help me out.

[GaryVoshol]

Jane,

If gamepieces are too similar from year to year, existing teams have another edge over rookies in that they already know how to build a manipulator that would work with the gamepiece. Or, conversely, know what wouldn't work.

Having an oddball piece (like tetras and ringers) puts teams back on similar levels; no one has had experience with that piece.

Since we had a ball year this season (even though it was a huge ball!) we're "due", by some people's figgerin, to have another oddball piece next year. Having fun trying to guess what that piece will be is like trying to guess what a certain curmudgeon's hints mean. Maybe it's time for bananas or fish!

[commodoredl]

To be fair inner tubes were also used in Toroid Terror as a game piece. I don't recall which year that was.

I hope we see a game which has one or two crazy ways to play that very few teams will want to attempt. They may or may not turn out to be legal. Things that jump to mind are teams 190 and 1519 from this year.