The game Whiffle Wars, part of the Innovation & Invention course at Lower Merion, is played 1v1. Bots start on opposite corners of the fields at their opponents goals. Small and large whiffle balls are picked up from the field and can be scored in low or high goals for 1 or 3 points respectively. Platform at the end of the 2-minute match is an extra 15 points. As quickly became apparent, although quality, engineering, and design were central to the game, strategy was the most important aspect of gameplay: even the best robots lost to good strategy.
Shown here are Group 3 and Group 6. Group 3’s robot is able to pick up balls and shoot them into the high goal, and has a 5:3 drive gear ratio for better pushing power as well as a mechanism for pushing the opponent’s wheels off the platform (the platform is often fought over at the end of the match). Group 6 is another fast-driving herding bot.