Hey Everyone,
I was looking through the rules and I couldn’t seem to find a rule behind holding a hatch against the rocket or cargo ship.
I know what your thinking: “Why would you want to pin a hatch against the rocket?”
My thought is that, theoretically if you were to go and attempt to place a hatch, but misaligned and you think that if you back away, it would fall. As is stands, the hatch would hold a ball, but wouldn’t stay stuck if you back away. If your alliance member were to put a cargo in that hole, in some circumstances I could see why it would be in your best interest to just stay their and keep the hatch pinned. For example if it was the last cargo you needed to complete the rocket, and the match is almost over. Or, the match is almost over and you don’t think you can make it back to the HAB.
Sure, it would be an unlikely event to happen, but theoretically, would you still get the points for the hatch and the cargo? Am I missing something in the rules?
Take a look at the Scoring section of the rules. To score a Hatch Panel, it needs to be “fully supported by that ROCKET or CARGO SHIP and via the hook/loop tape”. If a robot was holding it up, it wouldn’t qualify. Cargo needs to be “in a BAY with a Null HATCH PANEL or scored HATCH PANEL and not in contact with a ROBOT”.
So there are no rules stopping you from holding a panel up against a Hatch, but it won’t score you any points.
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Thanks! I must have missed it somehow…
I have noted that given a sufficiently literal reading of the rules, a robot could go to an opponent’s cargo ship, hold up a hatch panel, and it thereby wouldn’t be considered scored. And, if it isn’t “removing” the game piece (it’s still in place, the robot is just holding it too), it may not violate G5. It’d be a lot harder to do to your opponent’s rocket, due to there being no bumper-inset there, not to mention G16.
Obviously, the referees at your event may not agree with that interpretation (and I may not agree with that interpretation), and it isn’t a good strategy by any means. Though I’m hoping it gets clarified/fixed before competition.
I guess that would depend on the referee’s definition of “fully supported”. If your robot were taken away would it still be “attached to a ROCKET or CARGO SHIP such that it is fully supported by that ROCKET or CARGO SHIP and via the hook/loop tape?” If so that may meet the definition of a scored panel.
If you were to remove your robot and the panel falls to the ground then it is not “fully supported by the ROCKET or CARGO SHIP” so it would not count as scored, but then I would argue that is certainly a G5 violation.
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