Game Preview 2027: StarterBots, Skill Builders, Field Elements and More!

2026-2027 Game Preview: 

As announced in a previous blog, we are excited to share a preview of the upcoming 2026-2027 FIRST^® Tech Challenge Game, BIOBUZZ™ presented by RTX. BIOBUZZ is part of the FIRST^® Canopy season. 

Specifically, we are providing information to help teams explore some foundational aspects of the new game and get a head start helping each other prepare for the new season.

Scoring Element:

The scoring element used in the 2026-2027 game will be Pollen! Pollen are plastic balls approximately 3 in. in diameter, that have similar characteristics to the Artifacts used in the 2025-2026 FIRST Tech Challenge game: DECODE™ presented by RTX. Pollen is now available for purchase from AndyMark for anyone who wants to begin experimenting with them.  

Robot Tasks: 

While the full gameplay details and robot regulations for BIOBUZZ will not be unveiled until Kickoff on September 12, 2026, there are a few challenges teams can explore starting today.

Intake Pollen - Robots will need to acquire pollen off the foam field surface.

Intake Multiple Pollen - Teams should consider how their robots might intake/acquire multiple pollen at the same time. Teams can experiment acquiring pollen in a line, and piles of pollen. 

Intake off Field Walls & out of Field Corners - Pollen will naturally roll against the field border, and into the field corners. Teams should consider how their robots could still acquire pollen from these locations.

Navigate and Intake Pollen Autonomously - 

Teams should consider how their robot can autonomously navigate between known locations and intake pollen, without any human intervention.

StarterBot Base

Once again, our friends at AndyMark, goBILDA, REV Robotics, and Studica have created StarterBots which can be built from their Robot Starter kits. These StarterBots are intended to give teams a foundation to build on during their design process as well as help teams get their first experience playing BIOBUZZ as quickly as possible. The full StarterBot designs will not be released until Kickoff, alongside the rest of the game information.

To support teams who are using this Game Preview to guide their pre-season learning, each of our robot ecosystem partners has also published a “StarterBot Base” design. For BIOBUZZ, each StarterBot Base consists of a drivetrain and intake which will be used as part of the full StarterBot builds.

- AndyMark
- goBILDA
- REV Robotics
- Studica (May 4th, 2026 Release)

FIRST Tech Challenge Skill Builders

To further support teams as they explore these foundational aspects of BIOBUZZ, FIRST Education has launched a series of activities hosted on FIRST Training, including FIRST Tech Challenge Skill Builders. This content is designed to guide teams as they experiment with the new pollen scoring element and learn about the robot challenges unveiled in this Game Preview. These Skill Builders include learning content, challenges, and fun robot mini-games that are directly applicable to BIOBUZZ and the upcoming season. Teams can build driving skills, refine intake systems, and tackle autonomous challenges to level up their learning!

AndyMark Pre-Orders Open

AndyMark Game Set Pre-Orders - Global

On Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. ET, AndyMark game sets will be available for purchase through the AndyMark website. Game sets will not ship until September 14, 2026.

Grant dollars on team accounts cannot be used through the AndyMark website. Teams who plan to use grant dollars on their FIRST account to purchase Game Sets should wait and purchase their Game Set through the FIRST Storefront in September 2026. Team game set orders will start shipping on Monday, September 14^th, 2026.

New this season, teams can also purchase POLLEN, the scoring element that will be used in the 2026-2027 season’s game! POLLEN will be available for purchase and immediate shipment from AndyMark.

Orders and Payment with AndyMark

Pre-orders for all game sets and scoring elements must be placed on the AndyMark website.