Your Guide to Starting the New Season Off Right.
There’s something special about the first days of a new VEX IQ season. Fresh field, fresh ideas, and the collective buzz of thousands of teams across the world figuring out how to out-build, out-code, and out-strategize each other.
Every season, thousands of teams step into a new game, each a battlefield of creativity and engineering. And like the opening whistle of a championship game, the release of the 2025-2026 VEX IQ Challenge has sent a shockwave through the community.
The Game at a Glance
The name says it all: Mix & Match is about building, connecting, and collaborating.
The 6’ x 8’ playground of engineering potential holds Pins and Beams, ready to be combined into stacked masterpieces. The goal? Assemble structures that score big, while matching colors to targets for bonus points.
In 60 seconds, two robots must work together as an alliance to score the most points possible. Alongside the team matches, there’s also the solo Robot Skills Challenge, where your robot proves itself in driving and coding runs.
Let’s dive into what makes this game tick, why people are hyped, and how you can start turning wild ideas into a winning season.
How the Scoring Works
The scoring system is simple on paper… until you start playing. That’s when the strategy really kicks in.
| Action | Points |
| Each connected Pin | +1 point |
| Each Beam in a connection | +10 points |
| Bonus for multi-color stacks | +5 (2 colors) / +15 (3 colors) |
| Matching a Stack to its Goal | +10 points |
| Special end-game bonuses | Various small boosts |
The more you mix (different colors) and match (stack-to-goal coordination), the more your score snowballs. A perfectly executed bonus stack can completely flip the outcome.
Feel the Action
Words don’t quite capture the energy of this game.
Mix & Match Worlds Reveal
Official Game Overview Video
These videos show how matches unfold and give you a feel for the field layout, object handling, and the frantic teamwork that defines this season.
Brainstorming Your Early Design
This is the part of the season where everyone’s sketching wild ideas on napkins, building half-functional prototypes, and occasionally questioning their life choices when a robot tips over for the 14th time.
There’s no single “right way” to approach Mix & Match, but here are a few thought-starters floating around the community:
- “Looks familiar … No vertical expansion limit …”
VEX Forum thread “2025 – 2026 VEX IQ Robotics Competition Game: Mix & Match!”: people discussing the field rules & design constraints. Some are excited (or intrigued) by how they resemble past games / other robotics programs. VEX Forum - “This game seems like it will be difficult to make a robot for, but fun to play.”
Also from the Mix & Match! thread: a user (VEX_IQ_R12) commenting that the challenge is nontrivial but also that it holds promise for fun matches. VEX Forum
- “Teams with only two members … have to decide between only driving half of the match or forgoing the match loads.”
VEX Forum thread “Mix and Match Issues With Teams of 2” user VexRoboDad talking about how this year’s rules affect small teams. This touches on equity and team constraints. VEX Forum
This stage of the season is pure creativity. No idea is too crazy. Build, break, rebuild, and see where the game takes you.
Essential Resources
Want to start exploring? Here are some key links:
- Reveal Video: Watch now
- Game Manual: Download here
- Buy Game Elements: Full Field Kit | Scoring Kit
- VEX Forum: Join the conversation
Final Thoughts
The early season is a special time. It’s when the field is wide open, no one has a clear meta, and every team is just experimenting, failing, and occasionally pulling off something incredible.
Mix & Match feels like a game designed to reward creativity and boldness. Whether you end up with a towering champion or a quirky underdog, this is your moment to try new ideas and have fun doing it.
Let the stacking begin.