Nuzzle N' Tickle in the pits at Kilobots 41
Nuzzle N' Tickle was a US Antweight class robot built by Team Jester that competed at Kilobots 41. Inspired by RoboGames heavyweight Crash N' Burn, Nuzzle N' Tickle was a multibot, with the larger of the two robots ("Nuzzle") being a light blue triangular wedge made of mild steel to deflect spinners. The smaller of the two robots ("Tickle") is a two wheel drive wedge made of aluminium, that was much faster than its larger partner to chase and catch its opponents. As Team Jester was at the time only a one-man team, another builder or member of the audience would need to be on hand to operate one of the two robots in any given fight. Nuzzle N' Tickle was somewhat successful at its inaugural event, taking second place after winning and losing an equal number of fights.
Robot History[]
Kilobots XLI[]
For this event, the Antweight Rookie tournament was a round robin event, seeding a knockout tournament.
Nuzzle N' Tickle's first fight was against viper kit Thunderbird. However, Nuzzle had a receiver problem prior to the fight and had to be withdrawn, leaving Tickle to fight alone. As the fight began, Tickle exhibited control problems, spinning around as Thunderbird closed. However, Tickle's wedge proved to be lower, and Thunderbird backed off. Tickle regained control briefly, and got under Thunderbird again. Thunderbird then circled around the back of Tickle and shoved it into the blue hazard, which tossed the tiny Tickle into the corner. After this, Tickle seemed to have serious problems driving, and Thunderbird waited for Tickle to be counted out. After a brief show of controlled movement, Tickle became stranded again and was counted out.
Nuzzle N' Tickle then fought rookie wedge Scrap v1.0, with both bots being driven by other rookie antweight drivers. Neither bot was really able to push one another, but Nuzzle N' Tickle showed more control as Scrap v1.0 seemed to be having some drive problems, and occasionally Nuzzle and Tickle were able to push it when they worked together. This was enough to earn Nuzzle N' Tickle the win by judge's decision.
Nuzzle N' Tickle's next opponent was viper kit Hawk. As the fight began, Hawk bolted across the arena and onto Tickle's wedge, but backed off before Nuzzle could capitalize. Nuzzle pursued and tried to attack Hawk, but soon made a crucial driving error and drove itself into the open pushout. Hawk then targeted Tickle, slamming it into the corner. Tickle got free, but ran into the red hazard which flung it into the blue pushout, knocking it out in under thirty seconds.
Nuzzle N' Tickle fought viper kit Globemaster next. As the fight began, Globemaster rushed across the arena as Nuzzle and Tickle split up. Globemaster quickly caught and pinned Nuzzle to the wall as Tickle began to bump Globemaster in an attempt to free its partner. Globemaster backed away towards the arena center, with Nuzzle and Tickle in pursuit. Both circled Globemaster, trying to get underneath it, and Globemaster after a few seconds became stuck magnetically to the top of Nuzzle's steel wedge. With Globemaster effectively trapped, Nuzzle wheeled around and made a kamikaze rush for the pit, going in with Globemaster. As Tickle was still active in the arena, this counted as a knockout for Nuzzle N' Tickle.
Nuzzle N' Tickle's next opponent was six-wheeled pusher Roquefort, but Roquefort had technical issues and was forced to forfeit.
In the final round robin, Nuzzle N' Tickle faced viper kit Byte-Sized Dragon. As the fight began Byte-Sized Dragon rushed at Nuzzle and Tickle, but was quickly caught and shoved into the wall by Tickle as Nuzzle meandered. After getting away from Tickle, Byte-Sized Dragon ran head-on into Nuzzle, getting magnetically stuck to Nuzzle's steel wedge. Nuzzle used this opportunity to try and take Byte-Sized Dragon into the pushout, but Byte-Sized Dragon was able to swerve at the last second and went into the corner with Nuzzle, who slammed it into the wall before dragging it back out and trying to pit it. As Byte-Sized Dragon struggled to direct Nuzzle away from the pit, Tickle came in and began nudging the two stuck robots towards the pushout, with Nuzzle and Byte-Sized Dragon teetering on the edge, but still technically in the arena. The fight was paused, as Nuzzle and Byte-Sized Dragon had been stuck together for too long. As the fight resumed, Byte-Sized Dragon became stuck to Nuzzle once again, but was able to shift Nuzzle away from the edge of the pushout, and twisted itself off of Nuzzle. However, this seemed to completely knock out Nuzzle, who went motionless afterwards. Now fighting alone, Tickle was quickly shoved into the red corner by Byte-Sized Dragon. Tickle tried to find an angle to attack, but Byte-Sized Dragon caught it again and slammed it into the red hazard. Tickle moved away, and was pinned again in the red corner before being taken into the blue hazard. Byte-Sized Dragon slammed Tickle into the hazards three more times as Tickle could not find a good angle to attack Byte-Sized Dragon. Tickle briefly took hold of Byte-Sized Dragon after it ran into the blue hazard, and Tickle moved away, evading Byte-Sized Dragon's attacks and almost taking it into the blue hazard. Byte-Sized Dragon and Tickle continued to exchange attacks, Tickle being taken into the blue hazard again. In the end, the judges ruled in favor of Byte-Sized Dragon.
In the end, Nuzzle N' Tickle won three of six of its round robin fights (one by forfeit), but due to a seeding error it was only listed as having two wins, and entered the knockout rounds as the #5 seed (with two wins, it was tied Byte-Sized Dragon in wins, but lost to it in the round robin).
In the quarterfinals, Nuzzle N' Tickle faced the #4 seeded Byte-Sized Dragon again. As the fight began Byte-Sized Dragon charged and caught Tickle near the open pushout, but Nuzzle was able to push the two of them away. Nuzzle meandered as Tickle and Byte-Sized Dragon battled near the blue hazard, with Tickle proving to have the better wedge. Nuzzle drove into the blue pushout on its own, leaving Tickle to fight Byte-Sized Dragon alone once again. Byte-Sized Dragon attacked, going over Tickle's wedge, but still able to push it, it slammed Tickle into the wall near the pushout, but flipped itself over in the process. Tickle continued to attack, but even upside down and without the wedge advantage, Byte-Sized Dragon proved more powerful than Tickle as it managed to slam Tickle into the wall twice more. After releasing Tickle from the pin, Tickle pushed Byte-Sized Dragon into the red hazard, which knocked its front armor off, exposing its internals. Now with no effective wedge, Byte-Sized Dragon continued to attack and righted itself after slamming Tickle into the opposite wall. Using its dangling armor as an arm, Byte-Sized Dragon tried to corral Tickle but wound up hitting the blue hazard as Tickle took Byte-Sized Dragon into the wall. Byte-Sized Dragon continued to attack, first clipping the red hazard before using its open electronics bay to get under Tickle and slam it into the wall, pinning it. Tickle backed away but Byte-Sized Dragon slammed it again into the wall, before pushing it away towards the pushout. Tickle freed itself and backed away, as Byte-Sized Dragon spun and caught Tickle with its dangling wedge, which caused it to throw itself into the open pushout, wherupon it was dangling precariously. Seeing an opportunity, Tickle moved in, trying to push Byte-Sized Dragon over the edge. It was unable to, but in its efforts to free itself from a countout, Byte-Sized Dragon dropped fully in, leading to a surprising KO for Nuzzle N' Tickle.
In the semi-finals, Nuzzle N' Tickle faced the #7 seeded Roquefort. As the fight began Roquefort charged as Nuzzle and Tickle split apart. The three bots began to circle around one another in the center arena, with Tickle getting under Roquefort but losing it before it could pit it. Roquefort backed away and went after Nuzzle, missing and lining up again. Tickle got under Roquefort and tried to take it into the wall, but Roquefort slipped away. Tickle pinned Roquefort, but Roquefort again slipped away as the fight drifted towards the red hazard. After taking a big hit from the red hazard, Nuzzle caught Roquefort, who tried to escape but was caught by Tickle, who took it into the red hazard. Roquefort moved in to attack again as Tickle was thrown by the red hazard, but it was caught by Tickle who pinned it in the corner. Nuzzle moved around, waiting to make a move. Tickle released and Roquefort backed away, spinning it behind Tickle, whereupon Roquefort promptly pinned Tickle in the same corner. However, while spinning its wheels, Roquefort's rear right wheel fell off completely. Nuzzle then attacked from behind, getting under Roquefort and dragging both it and Tickle out in a pile. Roquefort then fell off the back of Nuzzle, who promptly pinned it to the wall. As it struggled to escape, Roquefort got off of Nuzzle but with one wheel missing, it swerved into the open pushout, getting two wheels over the edge. Before it could react, Tickle bumped it over the edge for a KO, with both Nuzzle and Tickle doing a victory spin.
Now in the finals, Nuzzle N' Tickle faced the #1 seed Hawk. Nuzzle N' Tickle lost this fight, placing second.
Following this event, Nuzzle was sold to a buyer in the United Kingdom, while Tickle was scrapped for parts.
Results[]
| Series | Event | Opponent(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kilobots 41 | Antweight Rookies | Thunderbird | Lost |
| Scrap v1.0 | Won | ||
| Hawk | Lost | ||
| Globemaster | Won | ||
| Roquefort | Won (Forfeit) | ||
| Byte-Sized Dragon | Lost | ||
| Byte-Sized Dragon | Won | ||
| Roquefort | Won | ||
| Hawk | Lost |
Wins/Losses[]
- Wins: 5
- Losses: 4