Debug the Bot Run the test. Rule it out. Name the broken part.

1. Quick start — read this, start playing

   • Put the Fault Chart in the middle and the 9 Test cards face-up beside it. The Bot shuffles the 12 Fault cards and secretly takes one.
   • On your turn, run one Test: read it aloud. The Bot reads YES or NO off their Fault card. Move the Test card into the YES row or the NO row.
   • Check the chart: cross off (with a finger, not a pen) every fault that doesn't match the rows. Then you may name the fault.
   • Right? Score 9 minus the tests run (at least 1). Wrong? You're out until the next round. Pass the Bot role left.
   • That is the whole game. Everything below is here for when a question comes up.

2. Setup

   • Lay the Fault Chart face-up where everyone can read it. It is public — it's the repair manual.
   • Lay the 9 Test cards face-up in a row. Leave room above for a YES row and a NO row.
   • Pick the Bot (the oldest player goes first). The Bot shuffles the 12 Fault cards, takes one without showing anyone, and sets the rest aside face-down.
   • The bot in the story starts switched on and plugged into USB.

3. Your turn

   • Players go left from the Bot. The Bot never takes a turn in their own round.
   • RUN — pick any Test card that hasn't been run. Read it aloud. The Bot answers YES or NO exactly as their Fault card says, then moves the Test into the YES row or the NO row.
   • Then you MAY DIAGNOSE — name one fault from the chart. The Bot says RIGHT or NOPE, and nothing else.
   • If every Test has been run, skip RUN and just diagnose.

4. Ending the round

   • RIGHT — you score 9 minus the number of Tests in the YES and NO rows (at least 1). The Bot shows the Fault card. Round over.
   • NOPE — you're out for the rest of this round. That fault is ruled out for everyone.
   • If every player is out, the Bot scores 3 and shows the Fault card.
   • Next round: return the Tests to one row, pass the Bot role left, shuffle all 12 Faults back together.
   • The game ends when everyone has been the Bot once (twice each with 2 players). Most points wins. Ties share the win.

5. How to score

   • Correct diagnosis: 9 minus Tests run, minimum 1. Diagnose after 3 Tests = 6 points.
   • Bot: +3 if every other player guesses wrong.
   • A guess with two suspects left is a coin flip. A guess with one suspect left is a sure thing. Choose.
   • Check it: when the Fault card is shown, every Test in the YES and NO rows must match what the card prints. If one doesn't, the Bot misread — replay the round.

6. Debugging tips

   • Test A (Light) only catches one fault. Test H (Repeat) catches five. Big splits first.
   • A Power fault breaks many behaviors at once. A Sense fault breaks the one behavior that needs that sense.
   • When two suspects are left, look for one Test where their answers differ.

7. What the cards teach

   • Test — debugging starts with something you can observe, not a guess.
   • Rule out — each answer shrinks the list of suspects.
   • Sense / Think / Act / Power — a fault shows up in every behavior that runs through that part.
   • Split the suspects — the best test cuts the list in half. That's how engineers (and search algorithms) work fast.

8. Variants

   • 2 players — same rules, four rounds: each player is the Bot twice.
   • Teacher is the Bot — the grown-up holds the Fault; the class splits into teams that take turns running Tests.
   • Solo puzzle — using only the Fault Chart, find 6 Tests whose answers tell all 12 faults apart. There are exactly 2 ways. (Fewer than 6 can't be done.)
   • Build it for real — the Card -> Bot Build Book projects have the same Sense / Think / Act / Power parts to debug.

Downloads

• Instruction sheet

  Plain paper · 1 page · 8.5 × 11

  One 8.5 × 11 page for the table — quick start, setup, turns, and scoring.

  Open Download

• Full rules

  Plain paper · duplex · 2 pages

  Same game, longer type — plus what the cards teach and the variants.

  Open Download

• Fault Chart

  Plain paper · 1 page · landscape

  Every fault against every test — the public repair manual. 12 faults × 9 tests.

  Open Download

• Faults + Tests (Avery 5388)

  Avery 5388 · 7 sheets

  12 secret Fault cards and 9 Test cards.

  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