Minibots

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Minibots

Not to be confused with the toy line of the same name produced during Comedy Central BattleBots.

Minibots, also known as Nuisance Bots or Distraction Bots, are robots considerably smaller than 250lb heavyweight entries which compete alongside a larger robot. These can come in the form of wheeled or tracked robots. Since 2019, minibots have not been allowed to weigh any more than 20lbs in total.

They have often been used as a similar tactical approach to Multibot designs, whereby multiple robots could swarm an opponent and provide numerous targets for it to attack. Although often successful in providing a distraction for other robots during fights, they are considerably more vulnerable to attacks from heavyweight opposition due to the weight discrepancy.

On occasion, they have also been known to be functionally beneficial for disabling heavyweight opposition by high-centering robots, allowing for the larger robots to come in and attack with their own damaging weaponry. Due to their durability at beetleweight level, 3lb BotKits' D2 combat robot kits have been commonly seen as minibots, variations of which have accompanied robots such as WAR Hawk, Gigabyte and Complete Control since the show's revival in 2015.

Rule Changes

Over time, the rules surrounding minibots have adapted as the sport has evolved. As there was no maximum weight limit for the first few seasons of the reboot era, and there was only an active weapon requirement on one of the entered robots, there was no clear distinction between minibots and multibots.

From World Championship I, there were no documented limitations for minibots in the Design Rules. However, robots accompanied by smaller minibots was encouraged, and these did not need to feature any active weaponry as long as at least one robot which made up the 250lb total weight limit did. This was also the case in 2016 and 2018 season Design Rules documents.

"A BattleBot can actually be a group of two or more bots. Each bot must meet the requirements described in this document, but only one of the bots must have a weapon."

— 2015 BattleBots Design Rules

From World Championship V onward, a new rule was enforced which limited minibots to a maximum of 20lbs in weight. These robots were not allowed to sport an kinetic weapon, only passive weapons such as wedges, lifters and flamethrowers. Teams were restricted to only using one minibot per fight, though a team could substitute minibots between fights if desired.

As of World Championship VII, minibots were no longer allowed to make use of lithium polymer batteries due to the heightened risk of LiPo fires within the BattleBox.

List of Minibots

Robot	Minibots	Image	Debut	Notes
Chiabot	Chia's Little Helper		?	Each minibot weighed 10lbs.
	Various minibots		?
The Aggressive Polygon	Various minibots		Season 1.0	Two 1lb antweight minibots.
Plan X	Various minibots		World Championship I	Two four-wheeled minibots which adorned the Plan X logo.
Witch Doctor	Shaman		World Championship I	Retired after World Championship II despite plans for it to return in 2018.
Bad Kitty	Little Kitty		World Championship II	Two-wheel drive, wedge-shaped minibot themed like a cat.
Complete Control	D2 Kitbot with a plant pot		World Championship II	Used against Bombshell during the 2016 season.
	Various D2 Kitbots		World Championship II	Used against Warhead during the 2016 season.
Escape Velocity	White shell spinner		World Championship II	Weighed over 20lbs and would therefore no longer be classified as a minibot under current Design Rules.
Poison Arrow	Green and black minibot		World Championship II	This minibot attached to the back of Poison Arrow with magnets, forming its tail seen periodically throughout the season.
Stinger: The Killer Bee	Flicker		World Championship II	Also known as Flicker the Fire Ant.
Son of Whyachi	Meddler		World Championship II	High-centered Ghost Raptor during the 2016 season.
Warrior Clan
Battle Royale With Cheese	Shorter Pounder		World Championship III	Burger-shaped minibot built by Brice Farrell, who has since competed with Mammoth and Doomba.
Ribbot	Tadpole		World Championship IV	Small nuisance bot with a smaller version of Ribbots foam frog. Used for its grudge match with Valkyrie.
	Surrenderbot!		World Championship III	A renamed version of Surrenderbot!, painted lime green for its fight against Sharkoprion.
HUGE				Used to trick Chomp's autonomous weapon-firing system.
Overhaul				Used in an exhibition match with Valkyrie, The flag was changed to light blue to match the team's theme.
Sharkoprion				Used in an exhibition match with Bloodsport, equipped with decorative shark fins to match the team's theme
Big Dill				Built by Tommy Wong, who later joined Team Food Fight. Was accidentally scrapped by Wong.
	Spicy Meatball		World Championship V	Four-wheeled, box-shaped robot boasting over 100lbs of downforce. Effectively retired in 2021.
	Killi Pepper		World Championship VII	Built by Ellis Ware, Killi Pepper was built for World Championship VII. It has since won the UK 30lb event FightFest.
	Nacho Supreme		World Championship VII	Two-wheel drive, arrow-shaped wedge with a thick vertical spinner. Debuted versus MadCatter.
WAR Hawk	WAR Stop		World Championship III	Driven by Kevin Milczewski, WAR Stop survived a direct hit from End Game during the 2018 season.
	WAR Chick		World Championship IV
Bloodsport	Thumb War		World Championship IV	A rechristened Phantom II that accompanied Bloodsport against The Four Horsemen and Sharkoprion in World Championship IV.
	Bloodsquirt		BattleBots Proving Ground	A two-wheel drive, box-shaped robot with static forks fitted to its sides. Used against JackPot during the September 9-10 2023 BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon live shows.
Breaker Box	Hacker		World Championship IV	Hacker also accompanied Jim Smentowski's heavyweight entry to This is Fighting Robots.
Nightmare
Chronos	Timeline		World Championship IV	Timeline measured 9ft in width. Also known as Hands of Time.
Valkyrie				Loaned by Team VALKYRIE for select matches.
Horizon	Sunrise			With Kyle Loyola moving to Team Horizon in 2022, Timeline was adopted by the rookie team and renamed Sunrise.
Falcon	Weasel		World Championship IV	Two-wheeled wedge which featured heavily in their fight against Marvin.
MadCatter	Crazy Cat		World Championship IV	Four-wheel drive minibot armed with a flamethrower.
	Gassy Cat		World Championship V	Renamed version of Crazy Cat - changed to purple for World Championship VII.
	Lil Bubbles		World Championship VII	Pink, two-wheel drive robot armed with a flamethrower.
	Toe Biter		World Championship VII	Two-wheel drive horizontal spinner. Debuted during World Championship VII against Big Dill.
	Unnamed cat toy		World Championship VII	Wide, two-wheeled robot with multiple front forks and fluffy toys either side.
P1	Burnout		World Championship IV	Retired after P1's debut season.
Railgun MAX	Platypus		World Championship IV	Wedge-shaped robot painted red and gold.
Uppercut	Helping Hands		World Championship IV	Small, wedge-shaped minibot with decorative hands.
	BattleBox Arena		World Championship V	Utilized a HEXBUG BattleBox toy as its main chassis, with Tombstone and Witch Doctor inside.
Claw Viper	Hatchling		World Championship VI	Four-wheel drive wedgebot similar to WAR Stop.
Copperhead	Various snake minibots		World Championship V	Numerous four-wheeled robots with long bodies and articulating tails.
Kraken	Walter the Narwhal			Narwhal-themed minibot which accompanies Kraken.
	Wally the Narwhal
Tracer	Clean Cut			A roomba refitted with an RC system and spinning sawblade. Only used once against Ribbot.
	Needle			Could lift in excess of 250lbs.
JackPot	Ace			A renamed version of Needle.
	Supreme Ruler		BattleBots Proving Ground	Inspired by Ace, a white 3lb robot which accompanied JackPot and Ace itself against Bloodsport in the September 2023 Proving Ground shows. Supreme Ruler also won the September 2023 NHRL 3lb division.
Slap Box	Immolate		World Championship V	Four-wheeled minibot with wedge-shaped spikes driven by Onika Yankauskas.
Gigabyte	Various D2 kitbots		World Championship VI	Driven by various members of Robotic Death Company during the 2021 season.
Pardon My French	ZUT!		World Championship VI	Wedge-shaped minibot with a lifter built by Sean Lamothe.
Tantrum	Nugget		World Championship VI	Built by James Doherty and William Stanley. Nugget has high-centered Lucky in it's debut fight
Tazbot (ShowBot)	Unnamed weaponless Minibot (looks like a wedge or a plow)		BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon	The only case so far of minibots splitting from part of the main body. Tazbot is also the only ShowBot to make use of a minibot.
Lock-Jaw	Screw Job		World Championship VII	First used against Blip in World Championship VI, this marks the first time that Mutant Robots has ever used a minibot.
Doomba	Various roomba minibots			Seen exclusively in Doomba's exhibition win against Overhaul.
Taco Tuesday	Hawt Sauce		BattleBots Proving Ground	Two-wheel drive wedgebot built by BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon crewbot Kaz Church.
Disarray	Heatwave			Two-wheel drive, box-shaped robot which accompanied Disarray for its second pair of Proving Ground fights in September 2023. Armed with a flamethrower.
	Shark Bait			A repurposed RC monster truck toy.
Calypso	Meat-Tornado		BattleBots FaceOffs	Two-wheel drive wedgebot with a link to the Team Horizon store on its front.
Roundhouse	Unnamed minibot			Two-wheel drive wedgebot with a wide wheelbase and two triangular wedges on the front.
Rescue Force	Unnamed minibots		BattleBots Proving Ground	Omniwheeled robot used against OverKill.
				Four-wheeled robot with car steering and a wedge. Used against JackPot.

Trivia

• The most commonly-shared minibot is Surrenderbot! , which has been involved with HUGE, Overhaul, Ribbot, Sharkoprion and Big Dill.
  • The next is Timeline, which has been involved with Valkyrie, Chronos and Horizon.
    • The minibot was known as Hands of Time and Sunrise with Chronos and Horizon respectively.