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It's more than just a game.

Play the infinite game to win.

Reducing the cost of robotics leagues so everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Why?

How?

What?

Why?

Reducing costs associated with robots and custom or proprietary fields in our STEAMPoSS league has several advantages:

What is STEAMPoSS?

1. Accessibility.

More participants can afford to participate in our STEAMPoSS league. This promotes inclusivity and diversity, ensuring that talented individuals from all socioeconomic backgrounds have equal opportunities to engage and showcase their skills.

2. Equity

Level the playing field, ensuring that success in our STEAMPoSS league is not solely determined by financial resources. It allows participants to focus on their knowledge, creativity, and problem-solving abilities rather than being restricted by financial constraints.

3. Innovation

Participants have flexibility to experiment, explore new ideas, and push boundaries. This encourages participants to think creatively and develop novel solutions, rather than being limited to existing technologies or methods due to cost restrictions.

4. Collaboration & knowledge sharing.

Enabling participants to pool resources, share equipment, and collaborate on projects. This promotes a culture of teamwork, cooperation, and knowledge exchange, fostering a more vibrant and supportive STEAMPoSS community.

5. Skill development.

Participants gain hands-on experience with robotics and custom fields. They can explore various technologies, experiment with different components, and develop practical STEAMPoSS skills. More participants can engage in experiential learning and develop a deeper understanding of STEAMPoSS concepts.

6. Long-term impact.

By reducing costs associated with robots and custom or proprietary fields, we encourage sustained interest and engagement in STEAMPoSS. More participants are likely to continue their pursuits beyond league participation, potentially pursuing careers in STEAMPoSS fields, driving innovation, and contributing to scientific advancements.

Access to affordable resources gives everyone the chance to reach their potential.

Reducing costs in STEAMPoSS leagues related to robots and custom or proprietary fields promotes accessibility, equity, innovation, collaboration, skill development, and long-term impact. It opens doors for a wider range of participants, encourages creativity and inclusivity, and helps build a stronger and more diverse STEAMPoSS community.

How?

We reduce cost as a barrier to entry by:

1

Providing an open-source, open-hardware reference design robot, MIRA, as a base and springboard to more advanced designs. Design and software elements are provided by engineers from Intelligent Artifacts. All plans, bill of materials (BoM), documentation, and downloads are provided on our IA Science Studio space. MIRA can be built for under the cost of a high-end laptop computer.

2

Removing the need for custom or proprietary playing fields. Wargames League uses standard size basketball courts that can be found in playgrounds and schools across the US. Objects such as ramps, walls, barriers, and other gameplay components can be built using locally sourced materials and skills.

3

Availability of online resources, including MIRA's design documentation via IA Science Studio. Players have access to much of the knowledge needed to successfully build and advance their robots, eliminating expensive coaching costs. Wargames League provides a Slack channel providing players with guidance from professional volunteers across the country.

4

Reducing the need for travel expenses by having most games as non-conflict games that can be run and scored locally. Since each clan can have multiple robots, local games by teams within the same clan can accelerate learning.

What?

Play the Infinite Game.

Often in competitive STEM games, the goal is domination. Competitors develop combative skills to beat others and rise to the “top”. Once the goal is achieved, gameplay ends and a victor is awarded a prize. There are winners and losers.

Break away from the limitations of robotics competitions.

These are called “finite games” and are often zero-sum, meaning the total gains and losses of the players balance out to zero. In other words, the total utility, wealth, or resources within the game remain constant, and any gain made by one player is offset by an equivalent loss incurred by another player.

But, domination in the real world is not the goal of an advanced society. Human civilization should be focused on fostering harmonious coexistence and mutual respect among individuals and societies. Promoting peace, justice, equality, and human rights are fundamental aspirations. Collaboration, empathy, and understanding can help bridge differences and build a more inclusive and compassionate world.

Additionally, sustainability and the responsible stewardship of the planet are crucial goals for human civilization. Balancing economic development, environmental protection, and social equity is essential for ensuring the long-term viability of our species and the ecosystems we depend on.

The goal is to continue playing without an endgame. That can only happen when the players have identified and optimized a balance of the fixed utility, wealth, and resources across all players. This is an “infinite game”.

Those who play the infinite game will always beat those playing the finite game. This is what we should teach our children.
In Wargames League, players develop their STEAMPoSS skills in a safe artificial environment, to succeed at the infinite game when they apply these skills to the real world.

Play infinitely.

Strategic Coopetition.

Coopetition refers to the strategic interplay between players or factions, where both cooperation and competition are essential for success. It embodies the fusion of collaborative and competitive elements within the game's dynamics.

Teamwork.

Players recognize that certain areas necessitate cooperation and coordination to achieve shared goals and optimize resource management. This cooperation might involve sharing technological advancements, pooling resources, or collectively defending against common threats. By engaging in coopetition, players can unlock synergies, enhance their capabilities, and gain an edge over opponents.

Coopetition.

Coopetition acknowledges that competition is an integral part of the game. Players still strive to outmaneuver their rivals, seize territories, and secure scarce resources for their own advancement. Coopetition allows players to engage in intense competition where their individual interests are at stake, such as battling for control over key strategic locations or outwitting opponents through tactical maneuvers.

Strategy.

Players' fates are interconnected, and alliances can be formed and broken, demanding careful decision-making, negotiation, and balancing of cooperative and competitive actions. Successful coopetition requires trust, diplomacy, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. When executed effectively, a good coopetition strategy can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes, enriching the experience for all participating players.

Game Elements

This is a game of innovation, design, strategy and tactics between tribes that work to optimize resource use from their parcels of land and reduce conflicts between tribes through trade and diplomacy. Tribes consist of clans. Each clan focuses on a specific industry that helps sustain the tribe. The resources and production of a clan are shared among its tribe.

How it works:

Join a tribe.

Establish your tribe - a regional group, cooperative teams, or recruit your school or club.

Build your clan.

Each tribe is made up of clans that can focus on different industries - agriculture, energy production, mining, environmental protection, defense, and more.

Play the infinite game.

Collect resources, grow your clan, support your tribe and work together to win challenges against other participants.

Here's where you get started.

Participate in Wargames League.

Design, build and participate in the Wargames League.
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Volunteer or find ways to give.

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