Bot-Builders: Screen-Free Robotics Card Game (Print & Play)

Description

Build a robot on the table. Survive the glitches. Reveal your bench.

Bot-Builders is a screen-free set-collection card game from Hi, Bot. Players install one Sense, Think, Act, and Power part plus a Mission — the same loop real robots (and AI systems) run. Glitch cards hit the other benches. When someone completes a full bot and shouts BOT!, everyone gets one last turn, then all benches are revealed at once. Highest score wins.

The game is checkable like Uno: every card names what it does in one sentence, scoring is on the table, and the teach-back line is built in — “My bot senses with __, thinks with __, acts with __, powered by __, because __.”

What you get (4 print-ready PDFs, 21 pages total)

• Instruction sheet (1 page) — setup, turns, scoring, and variants on one table reference
• Full rules (2 pages) — complete rules, solo mode, classroom/team variant, teach-back sentence
• Parts deck (12 pages) — 32 cards: Sense, Think, Act, and Power parts (Camera, Microcontroller, Drive wheels, Battery pack, and more)
• Missions + Glitches deck (6 pages) — 8 mission cards + 8 glitch cards (Power outage, Sensor fog, Brain freeze, Swap shop, and more)

At a glance

• Ages: ~8–12 (flexes with a parent at the table)
• Players: 2–4 (solo and classroom variants included)
• Time: ~20 minutes per round
• Cards: 48
• Materials: Printer, Avery 5388 perforated cardstock (recommended), scissors optional
• Screen-free: Yes — paper cards only

What kids learn (without feeling like school)

• The Sense → Think → Act → Power loop that every robot and agent runs
• How sensors, processors, actuators, and power fit together
• Mission-driven design — why you build a bot, not just what parts you have
• Failure and recovery — glitches model real-world setbacks (sensor fog, power outage, stuck joints)
• Systems thinking — one slot per category; replacing a part is a design tradeoff

How to print

1. Print the instruction sheet and rules on plain paper (Actual Size / 100%, never “Fit to page”).
2. Print the Parts and Missions + Glitches PDFs on Avery 5388 (or compatible 3-up business card stock) at Actual Size / 100%.
3. Tear cards on the perforation. Shuffle the 48-card deck and play.

First time? Start with the 1-page instruction sheet at the table; the 2-page rules PDF has variants for solo play and classroom teams.

About Hi, Bot

Hi, Bot is a library-meets-clubhouse where kids ages 8–16 learn AI by building — screen-free printables, kitchen-table games, and hands-on projects. This game is part of the free Hi, Bot Games library at hibot.space/games.

License

Personal and single-household use. Print as many copies as you need for your own family. Classroom/co-op teachers may print one class set. Please do not redistribute the PDF files — point others to this listing or to hibot.space/games.