Robot route program: rules and printable materials

Write a complete movement program before executing it on a blocked grid.

Players

1–6 (cooperative)

Plan for

15–20 minutes

Bring

5×5 board, robot marker, command strips and pencil

Set the robot and obstacles

Columns A–E run left to right, rows 1–5 bottom to top. Start at A1 facing north, toward row 2. Reach E5 on a grid with blocked cells B2, C2, D2, B4, C4 and D4. The outside of the grid is also blocked. Place a separate arrow beside the marker to track its facing. A marker on the page does not have a direction unless the arrow is recorded.

Use three commands

F moves forward one cell in the current facing. L turns ninety degrees left without moving, and R turns ninety degrees right without moving. Turning is a command too. No backward step, diagonal step, repeat notation or jump is allowed in this starter. Write at most twenty individual letters in the command strip before execution; players may inspect the map while planning.

Lock then execute literally

Once the programmer says locked, another person reads the entire strip one letter at a time and moves the marker exactly. Do not edit a command or steer mid-run. If an F would enter a blocked cell or leave the grid, stop that attempt at the first invalid command. Turning while standing on a free cell is always legal. Finishing the strip somewhere other than E5 is also an unsuccessful attempt.

Worked successful route

From A1 north, F F F F reaches A5. Then R faces east and F F F F reaches E5, for nine commands total. The route works without crossing any blocked cell. Another valid program can travel along row 1 and column E. Reaching E5 early is allowed, but remaining commands still execute; the robot must end at E5 after the full strip.

Improve and rotate roles

Record the failure point before revising on a fresh strip. There is no score for guessing faster or taking more risk. A cooperative target is one valid program everyone can explain; after success, swap programmer and executor with a clean copy. A helper may write dictated commands, but cannot silently correct them during execution. This printed activity teaches literal planning; it is not a live robot simulator or an automatic maze solver.

Printable materials

Preview at 100% scale, with browser headers and footers off. Cut with suitable help. Keep host keys separate. This is a manual tabletop kit, not an online opponent, automatic judge or solver.