VEX AIR Drone Competition Pick & Drop - Game Manual
Version 1.0 - Copyright 2026, Innovation First, Inc./ VEX Robotics, Inc.
Section 1 - Introduction What a VEX AIR Drone Competition Looks Like Section titled “What a VEX AIR Drone Competition Looks Like” At a VEX AIR Drone Competition event, called a Tournament, Teams of Students fly Drones to score points. An Event Partner runs the event, and a Head Referee enforces the rules. Most events follow this order: Check-in and inspection. Teams check in and get their Drone inspected (Section 5). The Head Referee usually holds a short meeting to go over the rules. Practice Matches. Optional Matches that don’t count, so Teams can get used to the Field. Qualification Matches. Teams are randomly paired into Alliances of two. Both Drones fly together for three minutes (3:00) and share one score. Matches are played in Rounds, and each Round uses one Scoring System that is revealed when the Round starts. Teams are ranked by their average score. Drone Skills Matches. Between Qualification Matches, a Team can fly alone for ninety seconds (1:30), either with a Pilot (Piloting Skills) or with code (Autonomous Skills). Skills Matches always use Scoring System A. Alliance Selection. The top-ranked Teams pick partners for the Finals. Half of the Teams at an event compete in Finals. Finals Matches. Each Alliance flies one Finals Match. The highest score wins! Awards. The event ends with awards for Match play, Skills, and judged achievements. Figure I-1: An angled view of the Pick & Drop Field set up for the start of a Match. A Drone sits on each Field Platform outside the two corners on the Flight Station side, and the blue and red lines mark the Flight Stations. A Teamwork Match, start to finish Section titled “A Teamwork Match, start to finish” Both Drones start on their Field Platforms. Up to three Flight Team Members per Team stand in the Flight Station. The Field Control System starts the Match. Drones take off, may pick up Scoring Objects, drop them into Goals, fly through the Ring Tunnel, and land on a Field Platform before time runs out to earn points. The first time all Drones are in Prop Lock, the Match stops for a Timeout of up to sixty seconds. Teams can recover their Drones and change Batteries, Landing Feet, or Modules. After the Timeout, Drones can still be retrieved whenever all Drones are in Prop Lock, but the clock keeps running. At 0:00, any Drone that is still flying and hasn’t started landing holds in a hover. After the Head Referee checks which Drones are Landed, Pilots fly the hovering Drones back and land them. The referees score the Field. About the Game Manual Section titled “About the Game Manual” This manual is the official rulebook for the VEX AIR Drone Competition and this season’s game, Pick & Drop. Everyone at an event follows it: Teams, coaches, referees, Event Partners, and volunteers. It is not a strategy guide, a flying tutorial, or a replacement for referee or Event Partner training. How to Read the Game Manual Section titled “How to Read the Game Manual” The rules work together, so read the whole manual, not just one section. Each rule has a code that tells you its group: S (Safety Rules) keep everyone safe, at all times. G (General Rules) cover conduct, eligibility, and fair play. GG (General Game Rules) explain how every VEX AIR Match works. SC (Scoring Rules) explain how points are earned. SG (Specific Game Rules) apply to this season’s game only. D (Drone Rules) explain what makes a Drone legal and how inspection works. DSC (Drone Skills Rules) list the changes for Drone Skills Matches. T (Tournament Rules) explain how events run and how Teams are ranked. L (League Rules) list the tournament rule changes specific to leagues. Capitalized words like Drone, Match, and Prop Lock have special meanings, listed in the Glossary (Appendix B). If a word isn’t in the Glossary, use its normal dictionary meaning. Some rules have Violation Notes that explain how the rule is enforced, such as when a Violation becomes Major. In the online manual, Violation Notes appear as a dropdown below each rule; select it to open the notes. If a rule has no Violation Notes, the standard penalties apply (see Violation, Disablement, and Disqualification in the Glossary, Appendix B). Some places in the manual also have orange-bordered boxes. They explain a rule or definition in a different way, where the Game Design Committee thought that would help. These boxes support the rules and definitions; they don’t replace them. If two sources of rules seem to disagree, see Hierarchy of Information in the Prefix at the front of this manual. Game Manual Updates and The Q&A System are there too. Game Design Philosophy - A Letter from the GDC Section titled “Game Design Philosophy - A Letter from the GDC” This is the first season of VEX AIR Drone Competition events, and we’re excited. We’ll be paying close attention all year, and what we learn from Teams, Event Partners, and referees will shape the seasons that follow. Pick & Drop was partly released last year. The early Teams told us the flying was fun, but they wanted more strategy and more variety from one Match to the next. So this season, Pick & Drop uses six Scoring Systems, with a different one for each Round. The Field, the Scoring Objects, and what counts as Scored stay the same; only the point values change. A Goal worth chasing in one Round might be worth skipping in the next. Teams that read the Scoring System and adjust will find chances that Teams flying the same plan every Match will miss. VEX AIR is also our first competition played entirely in three dimensions. We can’t wait to watch Students grow in airmanship, adaptability, spatial awareness, and the discipline to fly a plan under pressure. Good luck, and have a safe flight! The VEX AIR Drone Competition Game Design Committee Previous Prefix Next Section 2 - The Game

Section 1 - Introduction

What a VEX AIR Drone Competition Looks Like

At a VEX AIR Drone Competition event, called a Tournament, Teams of Students fly Drones to score points. An Event Partner runs the event, and a Head Referee enforces the rules. Most events follow this order:

Check-in and inspection. Teams check in and get their Drone inspected (Section 5). The Head Referee usually holds a short meeting to go over the rules.
Practice Matches. Optional Matches that don’t count, so Teams can get used to the Field.
Qualification Matches. Teams are randomly paired into Alliances of two. Both Drones fly together for three minutes (3:00) and share one score. Matches are played in Rounds, and each Round uses one Scoring System that is revealed when the Round starts. Teams are ranked by their average score.
Drone Skills Matches. Between Qualification Matches, a Team can fly alone for ninety seconds (1:30), either with a Pilot (Piloting Skills) or with code (Autonomous Skills). Skills Matches always use Scoring System A.
Alliance Selection. The top-ranked Teams pick partners for the Finals. Half of the Teams at an event compete in Finals.
Finals Matches. Each Alliance flies one Finals Match. The highest score wins!
Awards. The event ends with awards for Match play, Skills, and judged achievements.

The Field seen from above one corner. The two Field Platforms are white towers at the right, each with a Drone on top. The Ring Tunnel’s four rings stand at the left edge, the Long Rack crosses the middle with a Short Rack to either side, and the blue Goals are toward the back and the red Goals toward the front.

Figure I-1: An angled view of the Pick & Drop Field set up for the start of a Match. A Drone sits on each Field Platform outside the two corners on the Flight Station side, and the blue and red lines mark the Flight Stations.

A Teamwork Match, start to finish

Both Drones start on their Field Platforms. Up to three Flight Team Members per Team stand in the Flight Station.
The Field Control System starts the Match. Drones take off, may pick up Scoring Objects, drop them into Goals, fly through the Ring Tunnel, and land on a Field Platform before time runs out to earn points.
The first time all Drones are in Prop Lock, the Match stops for a Timeout of up to sixty seconds. Teams can recover their Drones and change Batteries, Landing Feet, or Modules.
After the Timeout, Drones can still be retrieved whenever all Drones are in Prop Lock, but the clock keeps running.
At 0:00, any Drone that is still flying and hasn’t started landing holds in a hover. After the Head Referee checks which Drones are Landed, Pilots fly the hovering Drones back and land them.
The referees score the Field.

About the Game Manual

This manual is the official rulebook for the VEX AIR Drone Competition and this season’s game, Pick & Drop. Everyone at an event follows it: Teams, coaches, referees, Event Partners, and volunteers.

It is not a strategy guide, a flying tutorial, or a replacement for referee or Event Partner training.

How to Read the Game Manual

The rules work together, so read the whole manual, not just one section. Each rule has a code that tells you its group:

S (Safety Rules) keep everyone safe, at all times.
G (General Rules) cover conduct, eligibility, and fair play.
GG (General Game Rules) explain how every VEX AIR Match works.
SC (Scoring Rules) explain how points are earned.
SG (Specific Game Rules) apply to this season’s game only.
D (Drone Rules) explain what makes a Drone legal and how inspection works.
DSC (Drone Skills Rules) list the changes for Drone Skills Matches.
T (Tournament Rules) explain how events run and how Teams are ranked.
L (League Rules) list the tournament rule changes specific to leagues.

Capitalized words like Drone, Match, and Prop Lock have special meanings, listed in the Glossary (Appendix B). If a word isn’t in the Glossary, use its normal dictionary meaning.

Some rules have Violation Notes that explain how the rule is enforced, such as when a Violation becomes Major. In the online manual, Violation Notes appear as a dropdown below each rule; select it to open the notes. If a rule has no Violation Notes, the standard penalties apply (see Violation, Disablement, and Disqualification in the Glossary, Appendix B).

Some places in the manual also have orange-bordered boxes. They explain a rule or definition in a different way, where the Game Design Committee thought that would help. These boxes support the rules and definitions; they don’t replace them.

If two sources of rules seem to disagree, see Hierarchy of Information in the Prefix at the front of this manual. Game Manual Updates and The Q&A System are there too.

Game Design Philosophy - A Letter from the GDC

This is the first season of VEX AIR Drone Competition events, and we’re excited. We’ll be paying close attention all year, and what we learn from Teams, Event Partners, and referees will shape the seasons that follow.

Pick & Drop was partly released last year. The early Teams told us the flying was fun, but they wanted more strategy and more variety from one Match to the next.

So this season, Pick & Drop uses six Scoring Systems, with a different one for each Round. The Field, the Scoring Objects, and what counts as Scored stay the same; only the point values change. A Goal worth chasing in one Round might be worth skipping in the next. Teams that read the Scoring System and adjust will find chances that Teams flying the same plan every Match will miss.

VEX AIR is also our first competition played entirely in three dimensions. We can’t wait to watch Students grow in airmanship, adaptability, spatial awareness, and the discipline to fly a plan under pressure.

Good luck, and have a safe flight!

The VEX AIR Drone Competition Game Design Committee