The Havoc Rundown

The June 7th NHRL event is almost here, and the Havoc Rundown crew is breaking it all down! We’re joined by fantasy league front-runner Dan Dischino for a stat-packed episode featuring Ryan’s chaotic new game “Over and Under,” where the house is out for blood. We preview the June event by weight class, spotlighting returning legends like Dutch Oven, Megatron, Red Storm, and fan-favorites like Big...

This one’s for the family bots and fantasy league fanatics! In this jam-packed episode, we dive into the unforgettable May NHRL Event , spotlighting Sad Octopus’s phenomenal semifinal run and the Garen family behind the bot. Cameron, Patrick, and Nora join us to share their journey—from foam wheels to custom casting, from test matches at home to taking down Cold Snap. 🦑 We also break down other m...

In this no-guest chaos episode of Havoc Rundown , the full crew returns for a jam-packed May NHRL preview. Things kick off with Ryan’s Game Corner and its debut segment, The Price is Fight —a Price is Right-style game guessing bot build costs, spare parts, and some hilariously overpriced eBay listings. From there, it’s on to Mayhem in May , with fantasy draft predictions and bots to watch includin...

This week on The Havoc Rundown , we’re joined by none other than Tim Hebert —robotics educator, NHRL fan favorite, and the brilliant (and slightly chaotic) mind behind Chubby Unicode . That’s right, not Unicorn — Unicode . Tim talks with us about driving his bot with everything from a dance pad to a drum kit , and how experimental control systems can actually hold their own in the cage. We break d...

In this special episode of Havoc Rundown , the crew welcomes an all-star lineup from the MIT Combat Robotics Club ahead of the April NHRL event. From bold design philosophies to open-source accessibility, this conversation dives into what it takes to build competitive bots under pressure—while juggling coursework, team dynamics, and the love of the sport. Each builder brings their own unique flavo...

The March NHRL tournament was absolute chaos, and we’re breaking down every explosive moment! 🏆🔥 From shocking upsets to dominating performances, we dive deep into the fights that shook the combat robotics world. 🚀 Special guest Gwen McGuire joins us for an exclusive interview, fresh off Jackalope’s incredible run at NHRL, including an intense victory over Turbo Fiend! Hear about her journey as...

We're back with another action-packed episode of Havoc Rundown ! This time, we’re breaking down all the chaos from the February 1st NHRL event —which bots dominated, which fell short, and how it all shook up the Havoc Rundown Fantasy League . But that’s not all—we have a special guest joining us! Aidan Reichenberg , the first-ever fantasy league event winner, stops by to discuss his draft stra...

In this episode, we kick off 2025 with a bang as we welcome Glenn Boxell, an incredible builder and the creative force behind the competitive bots Caldera and Caldera 12. We delve into Glenn’s journey through combat robotics, discussing his early inspirations, the challenges he’s faced as a builder, and his approach to designing bots that stand out in the arena. Glenn shares fascinating insights i...

In this special year-end episode of Havoc Rundown , we gather to celebrate an incredible 2024 season of robot combat and gear up for an action-packed 2025. Together, we reflect on standout moments, from epic battles like Synthesis' victory over Emulsifier to the unforgettable father-son showdown between Caldera and Eruption. We also shine a spotlight on breakout stars, game-changing innovations, a...

In this exciting episode of The Havoc Rundown , Justin and the team dive headfirst into the world of combat robotics! Special guest Brian Boxell, creator and driver of the formidable robot Eruption , shares his journey from WPI student to competitive builder and event host. Alongside co-hosts Ryan, Ashley, and Thomas, Brian reflects on his evolution as a builder, the lessons learned from countless...

In this episode of the Havoc Rundown, we dive into the latest developments in competitive robotics. We’re joined by special guest Ricky Willems, Safety Director at the National Havoc Robot League (NHRL) and the builder of the legendary BattleBot, Mammoth. Ricky helps us unpack the newly updated 2025 robot design rules, offering detailed insights into what these changes mean for builders, competito...

In this special episode of The Havoc Rundown, we take a more relaxed approach and are joined by Luke Stangle from Behind the Bots for an easy-going conversation packed with laughs and stories. We recount the October 26th event, sharing behind-the-scenes anecdotes like why Luke appeared on camera dressed as a forgotten pineapple and the unexpected chaos that followed. We introduce a spontaneous new...

Our October 26th preview episode is finally here! In this episode, we sit down with the incredible Team Honeycracked to explore their journey from fierce competitors to influential mentors and educators in the combat robotics community. We dive into their experiences in the arena, how they balance building bots with mentoring young builders, and the evolution of their successful program. We also p...

In this exciting episode of The Havoc Rundown, We welcome Brandon Young, a renowned combat robotics builder and Golden Dumpster winner. Our pit control crew then dive into Brandon’s journey from early designs to becoming a top competitor in the world of combat robotics. Brandon shares his insights on building innovative 12 and 30-pound robots, his design philosophies, and how he sees the future of...

In this exciting episode, we are joined by international superstar Tony Clifton for a lively discussion blending music and the world of robot combat. We dive into Tony's musical journey, including his chart-topping hit "I Hate Frank," inspired by a rival robot, and explore recent events in at NHRL. We ask Tony some important fan questions, we have fun segments like "Name That Bo...

In this episode, we're thrilled to welcome special guest J Lee from The Kinekitsu Combat Group, a talented bot builder and fellow content creator. J and Thomas face off in an exciting new game devised by our gamemaster Ryan called "Name That Bot!" where they test their knowledge of combat robots by guessing a bots name using clues Ryan gives them. We also break down the action-packed...

In this exciting episode, we sit down with Kevin Biagini and Ariel Smith, the brilliant minds behind Team Pandamonium, one of the most formidable combat robotics teams competing at the NHRL. Join us as Kevin and Ariel share the origin story of Team Pandamonium, revealing the inspiration behind their unique name and how their passion for robotics brought them together. We dive into their thrilling...

We’re back with a highly anticipated episode featuring a special guest: Kelly Biderman, the CEO of NHRL! Join us for an exclusive interview where we dive into Kelly's journey before NHRL, explore the current state of the league, and get an exciting glimpse into the future of the sport. In this episode, we ask Kelly some burning questions: What is it like being the CEO of NHRL? What are the fut...

We are back and this time we are talking to mad cat themed robot building genius himself Tom Farkas!! We get to know this fan favorite builder a little better and find out some of his favorite moments from the June NHRL event.  Every wanted to know what got Tom into combat robotics? What about why the robot Death Muffin is called that or what it was like building gigapaws. More importantly what is...

We are back again with a follow up of our special teams event that happened on June 1st. This was an invite only event where teams of three bots, a 3lb a 12lb and a 30lb, all competed together. In order to get an idea of what it's like in these intense fights we brought on two of our amazing Referees Gwen McGuire and Libby Albanese! We sit down with them to see what it is like being an NHRL re...

We find ourselves in between events so the only reasonable thing to do is site down and get to know one of our favorite people at NHRL...Rob Sarakin!! If you have ever been to NHRL or participated in an event Rob is one of the head safety officers and is the one responsible for giving the safety speech in the morning as well as retrieving smoldering robots from cages. We start off playing our own...

Hey everyone we are here with your NHRL April 20th Pre event show! This is going to be an action packed event so in order to get us ready we brought on a very good friend of the show, mastermind behind Maximizer, Jake Hoffmann!! Ryan debuts a new game we are calling "Spot the bot" were he challenges Jake and Thomas to spot the fake robot name. We also talk to Jake about being a part of l...

Hey Everyone we are back with a new episode this time with our first returning guest Jimmy Gibson!! Jimmy is with us to help us break down the RIT event and answering a bunch of behind the scenes questions on how the event is going to work as well as what to look forward to.  We also pry some info out of him about the June 1st event, the new way all of the cages are going to be arranged and more!...

This episode we delve into the March 2nd event with fan turned builder Michael Cross, builder of Stag Beetle Bot. We pick Michael's brain a bit finding out what got him into robotics, who his biggest inspiration and mentors are as well as his build philosophy for Stag. We also go over some of our favorite things from March including the trial run of King of the Hill and Kazia's curse break...

This episode we highlight some of the bots we are excited to see at our March 2nd NHRL event. We wanted to bring in someone huge to help us talk about our first event of the year that will feature some heavy hitter veterans. Who else but the Master if the stats himself...Gil Hova!!!! Thats right everyone, we have the wizard himself in the house to talk about what bots he is looking forward to. We...