The Game Manual is the official rulebook for the VEX AIR Drone Competition game, Pick & Drop. It defines the game rules, scoring, Field specifications, Drone and inspection requirements, Drone Skills Matches, and tournament and league rules for the current season. Teams, coaches, Event Partners, referees, and judges all reference the Game Manual to compete in and run events correctly.
The Game Manual is updated throughout the season, so reviewing the latest version and change summary before each event ensures everyone is working from the same rules.
Game Manual Updates
Scheduled updates add relevant Q&A answers to the rules, make rules clearer, and include any major changes. The Game Design Committee releases them when it decides they are needed, on a Thursday by 5:00 PM CST (11:00 PM GMT), and announces them on the VEX Forum and through VEX Robotics social media. Small fixes for typos and grammar may be released at any time, outside this schedule.
Each update takes effect seven days after it is released, so an event that starts before then uses the previous version. Urgent safety or fairness fixes may take effect right away. Older versions stay available for reference all season, and leagues use the version in effect at the start of each session.
Every version and its changes are listed in the Changelog at the front of the Game Manual. The version you are reading is shown at the top-right of each page of the online manual.
Q&A System
The Game Manual is the official source for rules, scoring, Drone requirements, tournament procedures, definitions, and event expectations. The official Q&A is its companion. When a team, Event Partner, or Head Referee has closely reviewed the relevant rules and still cannot find a clear answer, they can ask the Game Design Committee for an official interpretation in the VEX AIR Drone Competition Q&A System. Only registered teams, certified Event Partners, and certified VEX AIR Head Referees can post, and a team's question is posted by its Adult representative.
A Q&A response is not an opinion or a suggestion. Every response is an official ruling from the Game Design Committee and represents the correct and official interpretation of the rules — functionally an extension of the Game Manual itself. Q&A answers take effect as soon as they are posted.
Rules and Q&A answers from earlier seasons, including the 2025-26 Pick & Drop Game Manual (v0.1.1), do not apply this season.