Push Back vs Mix and Match

VEX Robotics Competition Discussion
1

I saw that there are 2 new games for Vex IQ in 25/26. Will both games be played at competitions? Is one for elementary and the other for middle school? How do I find out what game my kids will be playing?

2

Hello! Mix and Match is the game that Vex IQ students will be playing, which is for Elementary and Middle School. Push Back is the name of the game that VEX V5RC, a separate program from IQ, which is for high school students. Since your kids are doing Vex IQ, they will be playing Mix and Match.

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3

Welcome!

Push back is the V5RC game, for older students. Mix and match is the IQ game. It seems like your kids are in the VEX IQ program, meaning they will be competing in mix and match.

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4

They are not both both IQ games, Push Back is a V5 game

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5

Push Back is for VEX V5, not VEX IQ

6

Push back is VRC
Mix and match is IQ

7

Push Back is for V5RC and Mix and Match is for IQ. Mix and Match has not been revealed yet.

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8

Sorry, this was my first year doing robotics. What is the difference between VRC and IQ?

9

VIQRC is competed by elementary and middle schoolers (aged 15 and below). The game this year for IQ is ‘Mix and Match.’ V5RC is competed by middle and high schoolers (aged 19 and below). The game this year for V5 is ‘Push Back.’ Something also useful to keep in mind is that VRC is not a game, rather a term meaning ‘Vex Robotics Competition’.

VIQRC has a smaller field and robots are built with plastic. V5RC is faster-paced, more competitive, and more challenging, at least from what I have experienced, and it allows students to have more freedom. In V5RC, robots are built with metal. At my old middle school, sixth graders competed in the IQ challenge before progressing to the V5 challenge in seventh and eighth grade, while a nearby school allowed students to choose which one they wanted to compete in. If you want to know about all the key differences, you can check out this article from RECF.

For you, elementary schoolers would compete in Mix and Match, while you (assuming your a coach) have the choice to place your middle-schoolers in Mix and Match or in Push Back.

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