Bot-Builders Install the loop. Survive the glitch. Reveal the bot.

1. Quick start — read this, start playing

   • Deal 4 cards each. Everyone has an empty bench in front of them — that's the robot you're building.
   • On your turn, draw 1 card — from the draw pile or the top of the discard.
   • Then do exactly one thing: install a part or Mission on your bench, play a Glitch on one opponent, or discard. Then it's the next player's turn.
   • Fill all four slots plus a Mission and you may shout BOT! Everyone else takes one last turn, then all benches are revealed and scored.
   • That is the whole game. Everything below is here for when a question comes up.

2. Setup

   • Shuffle the 48-card deck and deal 4 cards to each player. Hands stay secret.
   • Put the rest face-down as the draw pile. Flip the top card to start a discard pile.
   • Each player has an empty bench in front of them — the robot they are building. Benches are face-up.

3. Your turn

   • Draw one card: the top of the draw pile, or the top of the discard pile.
   • Then do exactly one: install a part or Mission on your bench, play a Glitch on one opponent, or discard one card.
   • That is the whole turn. You hold 5 cards after drawing and 4 after playing — your hand never grows past 5.

4. Install rules

   • One slot per category. You may have at most one Sense, one Think, one Act, one Power, and one Mission.
   • Playing a second card into a filled slot replaces the old one. The old card goes to the discard.
   • You cannot install a Glitch on your own bench.

5. Glitches

   • Read the card aloud. The target does what it says, then the Glitch is discarded.
   • If the named slot is empty, the Glitch fizzles — no extra effect.
   • You may not Glitch yourself.
   • After someone shouts BOT!, last turns may not play Glitches.

6. Ending the round

   • A bench is a Full Bot when it has Sense + Think + Act + Power + a Mission.
   • When you complete a Full Bot, you may shout BOT! Everyone else gets one last turn, then stop. Those last turns may install or discard only — no Glitches.
   • The round also ends when a player would draw and the draw pile is empty — even if the discard pile still has cards. Finish that player's turn, then stop.
   • Everyone reveals their bench at the same time and adds up the score.

7. How to score

   • +1 for each installed part (Sense, Think, Act, Power).
   • +4 four-loop bonus if you have all four categories.
   • +2 if you installed a Mission.
   • +3 mission match: both of the Mission's preferred categories are installed.
   • +3 Full Bot bonus (four-loop + Mission). Perfect score is 16.
   • Ties: Full Bot beats incomplete, then four-loop, then the younger player.
   • Example: Camera + If/Then board + Drive wheels + Battery pack + Rescue rover (prefers Sense + Act) = 16.

8. Not the same game as Loop Slap

   • Loop Slap is the other Hi, Bot deck. It is a slapping game: no hands, no turns, no Glitches, and no Mission card at all.
   • A Loop Slap bot is three cards (Sense + Think + Act) and POWER is an optional bonus. Bot-Builders needs all four parts plus a Mission — five cards — and scores mission matches.
   • Don't mix the two decks' scoring at one table.

9. Variants

   • 2 players — same rules. Glitches always hit the other person.
   • Solo — after each of your turns, flip the top card onto a dummy bench. Dummy installs it if the slot is empty; otherwise discards it. Dummy never Glitches. You win if you score 10 or more.
   • Classroom — teams of 2 share a bench. After scoring, each team says one sentence: “My bot senses with __, thinks with __, acts with __, powered by __, because __.”

Downloads

• Instruction sheet

  Plain paper · 1 page · 8.5 × 11

  One 8.5 × 11 page for the table — setup, turns, last-lap rule, and scoring.

  Open Download

• Bot-Builders rules

  Plain paper · duplex · 2 pages

  Same game, longer type. Variants and the teach-back sentence. Duplex if you want a spare.

  Open Download

• Parts deck (Avery 5388)

  Avery 5388 · 12 sheets

  32 Sense / Think / Act / Power cards — one slot per category.

  Open Download

• Missions + Glitches (Avery 5388)

  Avery 5388 · 6 sheets

  8 missions (why the bot exists) + 8 glitches (setbacks).

  Open Download

• Playtest feedback card

  Plain paper · 1 page · 8.5 × 11

  One letter page after the reveal — round length, scoring, teach-back, MPC print notes, QR to send online.

  Open Download

• Card → Bot Build Book

  Plain paper · ~30 pages · print duplex

  12 ESP32 Super Starter builds that live the Sense→Think→Act→Power loop from the cards — adaptations called out, same print format as the ESP32 Project Book.

  Open Download