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Chapter 2: Scoring Teamwork Matches

Lesson 1: Scoring Level Up

Learning Objectives

  • Identify the Goals and scoring objects used in Level Up.
  • Identify the point values used in scoring Level Up.
  • Explain when and how scoring statuses are evaluated.
  • Apply scoring rules to worked field scenarios.
  • Identify who may raise scoring questions, and how they may do so.

Scoring is one of the most important responsibilities for both Scorekeeper and Head Referees. Level Up keeps the scoring objects simple — every point comes from a Bean Bag scored in a Goal — but the same Bean Bag can be worth anywhere from 1 to 16 points depending on which Goal it ends up in. This lesson focuses on the decision a referee makes over and over again: is a given Bean Bag scored, and if so, where? The goal is not to memorize every rule, but to build a reliable, repeatable way of working through that decision, using the Game Manual as your source.

Read the Game Manual

Read the Scoring section of the current VEX IQ Robotics Competition Level Up Game Manual, paying particular attention to the three rules that define when a Bean Bag is scored:

  • <SC3> — scoring in a Floor Goal
  • <SC4> — scoring in an L1, L2, or L3 Goal (the three Goals on each Pyramid Goal)
  • <SC5> — scoring on an L4 Goal

Rules <SC1> and <SC2> describe when and how scoring is evaluated. To get oriented to the Goals, scoring objects, and game-specific terms used below, use the Field Overview section together with the Glossary of Terms in Appendix C.

You do not need to memorize every criterion from this lesson alone. Keep the Scoring section open as you work, and feel empowered to reference the manual at the field whenever a scoring question comes up. Using the manual to find and confirm an answer is exactly what a referee should do during a match.

Determining Whether a Bean Bag is Scored

Across all four kinds of Goals, the same three questions decide whether a Bean Bag is scored. If the answer to all three is yes, it scores. If the answer to any one is no, it does not. Use these as your scaffold, and use the Scoring section of the Game Manual for the exact criteria behind each one.

  1. Is it clear of robots? A Bean Bag touching a robot is never scored, in any Goal. This is the easiest one to miss: a Bean Bag still resting against a robot when everything comes to rest does not count.
  2. Is it in the right place? What counts as "in place" is defined per Goal in <SC3>, <SC4>, and <SC5>, and Figures SC3-1, SC4-1, and SC5-1 show scored and not-scored cases for each. Work from the rules and figures rather than from memory.
  3. Is it the right color? Yellow Bean Bags can score in any Goal. Red and Blue Bean Bags score only in a matching-color Floor or Pyramid Goal, and only Yellow Bean Bags can score in an L4 Goal.

A red pyramid goal with one blue bean bag on the level one goal of the pyramid, three red bean bags on the level two goal, and one yellow bean bag resting halfway on the level three goal and halfway on top of the three red bean bags.

One rule is worth calling out, because it is easy to double-count: when a Bean Bag satisfies the criteria for more than one Goal on a Pyramid Goal at the same time, it is scored once, at the higher Goal — the "higher tier" rule in <SC4>. Figure SC4-1 shows an example, where a Bean Bag touching the L3 Goal also qualifies for the L2 Goal and is therefore scored as an L3 Goal.

Scoring Pro Tips

Scoring Level Up will get more comfortable with practice. Use these tips to help you as you get started scoring your first Level Up Matches.

  • Move around the field! Determining the placement of a Bean Bag is substantially easier if you view it from multiple angles or vantage points. Scorekeeping is an active role, and you should expect to be moving around or on the field at the end of a match.
  • Work in a consistent order. Go Goal by Goal, and within a Pyramid Goal work from the L1 Goal upward, settling each Bean Bag's lowest qualifying Goal before moving on.

Top down view of a pyramid goal. Vertically three pairs of bean bags can be seen. All pairs show a blue bean bag to the left and the yellow to the right. A red line comes down the image along the edge of the goal that divides L 2 and L 3. The bean bags are placed as described in the text.

Look at the vertical planes of the Pyramid Goal. These can help you determine which level a Bean Bag should be scored at. In the example shown here, the red line shows an estimate of the vertical plane between L1 and L2. All three Yellow Bean Bags are scored for L2, the Blue Bean Bags are in question.

  • In the top pair, the rightmost edge of the Blue Bean Bag breaks the plane – it scores for L2.
  • In the center pair, no portion of the Blue Bean Bag breaks the plane – it scores for L1.
  • In the bottom pair, the edge of the Blue Bean Bag closest to the line is blocked by the Yellow Bean Bag. Either the Yellow Bean Bag needs to be scored and removed (following <SC1> procedures), or you need to move to look from a different angle.

Scoring Example

In this example, you are evaluating the Blue Pyramid Goal at the end of a match.

Scenario

  • Two Blue Bean Bags rest on the L1 Goal.
  • One Blue Bean Bag rests on the L2 Goal. One Yellow Bean Bag sits on top of that Blue Bean Bag.
  • One Red Bean Bag rests on the L3 Goal.
  • One Blue Bean Bag is still resting against a robot touching the L2 Goal.

A screenshot of the Blue Goal side of the Match Scoring screen in the TM Mobile app showing a count of 2 for Blue L1 and Blue L2 and zeros for the other options. The total score is 18.

Other Scoring Procedures

A few habits keep scoring accurate and consistent, especially once a Pyramid Goal gets crowded:

  • Wait for everything to come to rest. Scoring statuses are evaluated after the match ends, once all scoring objects and robots have stopped moving (<SC1>), and they are judged visually by a referee, with no video or photo review.
  • Be cautious when moving a Bean Bag to evaluate another. On a tall stack you may not be able to tell whether a buried Bean Bag touches the horizontal surface of a Goal without moving something. If you must move an object to evaluate another, its status has to be agreed on by all teams and the Head Referee, and recorded, before it is moved (<SC1>).
  • Talk to the Drive Team Members. If there is a question about the score, only the Drive Team Members from that match — not an adult — may raise it with the Head Referee.

A note before you begin the Check Your Understanding Questions: Keep the Scoring section of the Game Manual available as you read and answer questions. You can, and should, feel empowered to reference the manual when you are at the field as well if you have questions. Use this as a way to familiarize yourself with finding the correct answer in the manual.