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A diagram of a rectangular course divided into three sections. The left section contains a robot positioned next to a ball in the Robot start zone, the center section is the Collision zone, and the right section is the Ball only zone, which contains 10 circles arranged in a triangle like bowling pins.
Layout of the Strike Challenge field

Strike Challenge

In this challenge, you will program your robot to transfer energy to a ball as you compete in bowling!

Challenge rules:

  • The robot must begin in the Robot Start Zone.
  • The ball must begin anywhere on the Ball Placement Line.
  • The robot can only be touching the ball when the ball is:
    • On the ball placement line
    • In the collision zone
  • Each game consists of 10 frames and follows standard bowling rules (Google / .docx / .pdf).
  • The person or team with the most points at the end of the 10 frames wins!
  • Have fun!

Teacher Tips icon Teacher Tips

Be creative and increase engagement by crafting a backstory or purpose for this activity! Bowling is currently being considered for addition as an Olympic sport. Are the students preparing to be part of an Olympic team, practicing for a national bowling competition, or are they hoping to apply for a collegiate bowling scholarship?

Click here (Google / .pdf) for an optional Strike Challenge Score Sheet.

Teacher Toolbox icon Teacher Toolbox - Solution

Solutions will vary depending on the velocity set. Students will have to find the balance of choosing a higher velocity to push the ball harder but also not lose control.
View the sample solutions below:

VEXcode V5 C++ solution to the Strike Challenge activity, with a int main() function beginning with a vexcodeInit(); call. Next, set the drive velocity to 50 percent using Drivetrain.setDriveVelocity(50,percent). Lastly, drive forward for 500 millimeters using Drivetrain.driveFor(500,mm).

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