Official Q&A: VRC 2019-2020: Tower Takeover
305: Clarification on Intent of Rule G12 d
Is the intent of G12d to (1) avoid entanglement that includes cubes in possession of a robot and/or (2) rule illegal the removable of cubes from a robot's possession? To expand on (2): if a robot has cubes in its possession and an opposing robot removes one or more cubes without becoming entangled (grasping, hooking, attaching), is that legal? As an extension, is it OK to grasp, hook or attach to a cube in possession of a robot if it is for the sole purpose of removing the cube from the robot's possession?
G12d states the following:
d. Game elements in possession of a Robot are an extension of that Robot. Therefore, Entanglement (e.g., grasping, hooking, attaching) with Cubes that are in the possession of an opposing Robot is a violation of this rule.
(in the future, please remember to quote the applicable rule in your question)
if a robot has cubes in its possession and an opposing robot removes one or more cubes without becoming entangled (grasping, hooking, attaching), is that legal?
It is always difficult to issue a blanket ruling based on a snapshot description of a hypothetical scenario and/or robot design. With that said, G12d only explicitly prohibits grasping, hooking, or attaching to Cubes that are possessed by an opposing Robot. Therefore, there is nothing prohibiting indirect removal of Cubes from an opponent Robot (such as by bumping into them).
As a note, "grasping", "hooking", "attaching", and "possession" are not defined terms in the VRC Tower Takeover Game Manual, so standard English definitions/interpretations would apply. Therefore, in this hypothetical scenario, it will be at the Head Referee's discretion to determine whether the opposing robot has Entangled with the Cube or not.
As an extension, is it OK to grasp, hook or attach to a cube in possession of a robot if it is for the sole purpose of removing the cube from the robot's possession?
No. G12d prohibits Entangling (i.e. grasping, hooking, or attaching to) Cubes that are in possession of an opposing Robot.