VEX IQ Programming Help: Coding Tutorial for 2026-27

In short

VEX IQ programming means writing the code a VEX IQ robot runs on its own. In the 2026 to 2027 RECF Engage game, Tier Takeover, a solo coding match lasts 60 seconds with no controller, and teams may split code into segments launched after a reset. Modern Age Coders teaches the coding behind it live online, in a batch or 1-on-1.

Learn with a teacher

Courses for young robot programmers

Block coding first, then Python, then the logic and planning a coded run depends on.

VIP / 01

Coding for kids: blocks

Ages about 8 to 12. Sequences, events, loops and conditions.

Open the syllabus →

VIP / 02

Python for kids

Text code once blocks feel slow, with real projects.

Open the syllabus →

VIP / 03

Problem solving

Breaking a task into steps, the core of a coded run.

Open the syllabus →

Two programs

Which VEX IQ competition is my team in for 2026 to 2027?

For this season VEX IQ robots appear in two separate programs: the VEX Robotics competitions, and the RECF Engage Robotics Competition run by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation. They have different games, events and championships.

The two programs that use VEX IQ hardware in 2026 to 2027, as each source describes it (read 31 October 2026)
Point	RECF Engage Robotics Competition	VEX Robotics competitions
Run by	The Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit	VEX Robotics, Inc.
2026 to 2027 game	Tier Takeover	Not printed here: the VEX site refused our request
Hardware	Specific VEX IQ, Hexbug and LEGO electronics and components	Not printed here
Teams	Two or more students; 12U elementary and 15U middle school	Not printed here
Championship	The 2027 RECF World Championship in St. Louis	The 2026 to 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship
Relationship	The manual says Engage is not sponsored by, affiliated with or endorsed by VEX Robotics, Inc. or Innovation First, Inc.	RobotEvents states RECF events with VEX products will not qualify teams for the VEX Robotics World Championship

Ask your coach one question

Ask: "Which program are we registered in, and where is our game manual?" RECF Engage teams register on RECFevents.org and read their manual on games.recf.org. Teams in VEX’s own competition follow VEX’s manual.

The coding ideas on this page work in both, because they are about how to program a robot that runs alone. The rules quoted are from the RECF Engage manual only.

Why the VEX side is thin here

When we tried to read vexrobotics.com, its knowledge base and its coding sites on 31 October 2026, every one returned an access-denied error. We do not work around blocks like that.

So this page prints no VEX game name, VEX rule or VEXcode command. Check those directly on VEX’s site, and use what follows for the programming method.

Sources: RECF Robotics Competitions, the RECF Engage Tier Takeover game manual and the RobotEvents notice, read 31 October 2026. VEX, VEX IQ and VEXcode are trademarks of Innovation First, Inc. We are not connected with RECF, VEX Robotics or Innovation First.

Solo coding

How does a Tier Takeover solo coding match work?

In a solo coding match a team has 60 seconds to score using only pre-written code, with up to three members at the field and no controller. Solo matches are not scheduled; each team gets up to five solo attempts per event, split between driving and coding as it likes.

Tier Takeover facts a programmer needs (RECF Engage 2026-2027 game manual, version 2.0, read 31 October 2026)
Rule	What the manual says
Field	A 6 by 8 foot field; robots collect bean bags and place them in and on matching goals
Match length	60 seconds for solo driving, solo coding and alliance matches
Solo attempts	Up to five per competition, shared between solo driving and solo coding
Resets	In solo coding, a robot reset can be used as a strategy, with code in small segments each launched from the starting position
Drive team	In solo coding, team members do not have to stay in the driver box
Starting size	No larger than 11 inches wide, 20 inches long and 15 inches tall
Motors	Up to 6 motors per robot
Points	Floor goal 1, L1 5, L2 10, L3 25 per matching or yellow bean bag; L4 50 per yellow bean bag; a parked robot 25

Why solo coding deserves practice

The manual advises teams to complete at least one solo coding match at each event, because some awards consider a team’s solo coding score. A team that only practices driving gives that away.

Coding also changes how students think about the robot. A driver corrects mistakes by instinct; a programmer has to predict them, and that is where the real learning sits.

The code must be the students’

Rule 2.3.1 is clear: "Adults may teach coding concepts, but may not tell students what should or should not be included in their code." Our lessons follow that rule exactly: we teach ideas with our own practice robots and tasks, and students write their team’s code.

Coding libraries are allowed as a starting point, but the manual expects teams to change them, explain how their code works and credit outside sources in the engineering notebook.

Source: RECF Engage 2026-2027 game manual (version 2.0, September 29, 2026). The manual lists a major version 3.0 release for November 10, 2026, so check for later changes.

Segments

How do you code a VEX IQ autonomous run in segments?

Break the 60 seconds into short segments, each started from the starting position after a reset, as rule 4.1.2 allows. A short segment is easier to test, and when one fails the rest of the run is not lost.

A three-segment solo coding run (our pseudocode)Pseudocode

# Our pseudocode for one solo coding run, in three segments.
# Command names are ours; your VEXcode or LEGO tool will spell them differently.

segment_A():            # launched from the start position
    drive_forward(400 mm)
    turn_right(90 degrees)
    drive_until(distance_sensor < 80 mm)   # stop on a reading, not a guess
    lift_to(L2)
    release()

# robot reset to the start position by a team member (rule 4.1.2)

segment_B():
    drive_forward(250 mm)
    turn_left(45 degrees)
    if optical_sensor sees RED:
        lift_to(L2)
    else:
        lift_to(FLOOR)
    release()

segment_C():            # the last 6 seconds
    drive_backward_until(bumper_pressed)
    stop()               # parked in the load zone

Our own illustration, not a working program for any particular tool. The structure is the lesson: each segment is short, ends in a known state, and makes at least one decision from a sensor.

List the scoring actions. Write every action the robot could do in a run, with the points it earns from the manual’s table.
Time each one. Drive each action by hand five times and write down the slowest time, not the fastest.
Group into segments. Two or three actions that start from the same place belong in one segment.
End every segment in a known state. Lift down, claw open, motors stopped, so the reset is quick.
Test one segment ten times. Count how many of the ten score. Fix the worst segment first.
Practice the resets. Time spent moving the robot back to the start is part of the 60 seconds, so team members rehearse it.

Why segments beat one long program

A single 60-second program has one failure mode that ruins everything: an early miss leaves the robot in the wrong place for every later step. Segments contain the damage to one part of the run.

Segments also make testing honest. A student can run segment B twenty times in ten minutes, which would take an hour if the whole program had to run first.

Naming and comments

We ask students to name segments by what they do, such as score_red_L2, and to write one comment line per decision. Judges may ask how the code works, and a readable program is easier to explain.

The same habits carry straight into school computer science later, which is part of why we teach them.

Sensors

Which sensors can a VEX IQ robot use, and how should code use them?

The Engage manual lists the legal VEX IQ sensors: Color, Optical, Distance, Touch, Gyro, AI Vision and Vision. The programming idea that matters is to stop or decide on a reading, not on a fixed distance or time alone.

Legal VEX IQ sensors in RECF Engage (game manual, rule 2.2.4) and one coding use for each (uses are ours)
Sensor	One use in a coded run (our suggestion)
Distance Sensor	Drive until the goal is a set distance away, then stop
Optical Sensor	Check a bean bag’s color before choosing a goal
Color Sensor	Detect a colored line or tile edge on the field
Touch Sensor (bumper)	Back up until the wall is touched, a reliable reset point
Gyro Sensor	Turn to a heading instead of a guessed motor rotation
AI Vision and Vision Sensors	Find a bean bag by color in front of the robot; added as legal parts in version 2.0

Worked example, a sensor checkpoint (ours). Suppose a robot must stop 80 mm from a goal. Coded as "drive 600 mm", it stops wherever the wheels say 600 mm, which shifts if the start was a little off or a wheel slipped on a bean bag. Coded as "drive until the distance sensor reads under 80 mm", it stops in the same place relative to the goal every time, whatever happened before. The second version takes one more line and turns a near miss into a score.

Teaching the idea without a robot

Students without a robot at home can still learn sensor logic. In our classes a student writes the same "repeat until" logic in a block coding game, where a sprite moves until it touches a colored edge.

When they return to the team robot, the structure is already familiar, and only the sensor block changes.

Checks before trusting a sensor

Print the sensor value on the brain’s screen while moving the robot by hand. If the reading jumps around, the threshold in the code needs a margin.

Test under the event’s lighting where possible: optical and vision readings can change between a classroom and a gym.

Planning

How do you plan a 60-second solo coding run for points?

Divide each action’s points by its time to find points per second, then fit the best actions into 60 seconds with time to spare. The timings below are invented for teaching; the point values are from the manual.

A points-per-second table for a made-up robot (point values from the Tier Takeover manual; timings and arithmetic ours)
Action	Points	Our assumed time	Points per second
Place a matching bean bag on L1	5	8 seconds	0.63
Place a matching bean bag on L2	10	14 seconds	0.71
Park in the load zone	25	6 seconds	4.17

Three plans that all score 60

With these timings we searched every combination in Python. Three plans reach 60 points: five L1 bags, one L2 bag and a park (60 seconds exactly); three L1, two L2 and a park (58 seconds); one L1, three L2 and a park (56 seconds).

They score the same on paper, but they are not equal. The last one leaves 4 seconds spare, and a plan with no spare time fails on the first slow reset.

What the table teaches

Parking is worth far more per second than any placement for this robot, so it goes in every plan, and the code for it should be the most reliable segment.

For a real team the timings come from their own robot, measured as in the segment steps above. The method stays the same; the numbers are the team’s.

Measure

Slowest of five timed attempts per action.

Rank

Points per second, highest first.

Fit

Fill 60 seconds, keep a few spare.

A season plan

An eight-week coding plan for a VEX IQ club member

Our plan for a student who meets their team weekly and adds one live coding lesson a week with us. It assumes the team has a working robot.

Eight weeks of coding practice (our plan)
Week	Lesson with us	Practice with the team
1	Sequences and units: distance, degrees, time	Drive a square and measure the error
2	Loops and repeat-until	Drive until a bumper press, ten times
3	Conditions: if and else	Choose a goal from an optical reading
4	Functions: one segment, one name	Split the run into segments
5	Sensor thresholds and margins	Print readings; set safe thresholds
6	Points per second	Time each action, build the table
7	Debugging: one change at a time	Ten-run reliability counts per segment
8	Explaining code to a judge	Notebook pages on how the code works

Blocks or text?

Younger students in the 12U group often start with blocks, which let them think about order and logic without typing errors. Many move to text code in the 15U years.

Our courses follow the same path: block coding first, then Python. The ideas, not the syntax, are what transfer to the robot.

The engineering notebook

RECF Engage judges look at a notebook documenting the engineering design process. Coding belongs in it: the plan, the test counts and the changes made.

We help students learn how to record that well. The notebook and the code remain the team’s own work.

Readiness

Four steps from driving the robot to coding it

Many young robotics students can drive well long before they can code a run that scores. These are the steps between.

From driver to programmer (our steps)
Step	How it shows
1. Sequencer	Writes a list of moves that runs start to finish
2. Sensor user	Stops and decides on readings, not on fixed distances alone
3. Segmenter	Splits a run into short named parts, each tested alone
4. Planner	Chooses actions by points per second and keeps spare time

For parents and coaches

Ask your student to explain one segment out loud. If they can say what it does and why, they understand it; if not, the next lesson should start there.

Under rule 2.3.1, adults teach concepts but do not decide what goes into the team’s code. That is how we teach too.

For students

Count successes out of ten for every segment. A segment that scores seven times in ten is worth fixing before adding a new one.

Keep the last working version of your code before every change. Going back is faster than guessing what broke.

The catalogue

Nine coding courses for robotics students

Live online classes with one regular teacher, as a group or one to one.

I

First code

Ages about 8 to 12

VIP / KID / 01

Coding for kids

Blocks, games and logic.

Open the syllabus

VIP / KID / 02

Scratch coding

Loops and events, deeply.

Open the syllabus

VIP / KID / 03

Problem solving

Steps and decomposition.

Open the syllabus

II

Text code

Ages about 10 to 15

VIP / TXT / 01

Python for kids

From blocks to Python.

Open the syllabus

VIP / TXT / 02

C++ for kids

For future V5-level code.

Open the syllabus

VIP / TXT / 03

Math through coding

Angles and distances in code.

Open the syllabus

III

Build and invent

Beyond the robot

VIP / MAK / 01

Game development

Logic with instant feedback.

Open the syllabus

VIP / MAK / 02

Hackathon prep

Project planning for kids.

Open the syllabus

VIP / MAK / 03

AI literacy for kids

How vision and AI work.

Open the syllabus

How lessons run

Live coding lessons between team practices

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Weekdays

After school, before or after team meetings.

Weekends

A calm slot before Saturday events.

1-on-1

Paced to one student’s robot and role.

Concepts only

We teach ideas; the team writes its code.

Practice robots

Our own tasks, never the team’s run.

Ten-run counts

Reliability measured, not hoped for.

Blocks to Python

One path, at each child’s pace.

Any state

Live online, coast to coast.

Group size

Fifteen to twenty per batch, or one student.

Student work

Projects from our students

Games, apps and AI projects built by our learners. More in the student labs.

AI and ML

NutriLife

An AI nutrition coach that reads what you eat and works you toward a target.

by Bhavya · Open it

AI and ML

Misti

A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

by Harshit · Open it

AI and ML

GuardianX

An assistant that helps a young person recognise unsafe situations online.

by Vivaan · Open it

Web app

SkyCast

A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

by Krish

Fees

Team registration and event fees go to the competition program; our fee is for coding lessons only. We bill monthly, so a student can take lessons through the season and pause after the last event.

Free first class

USD 0

no card required

A free first lesson
A short logic and sequencing check
No card details

Book it

Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

Fifteen to twenty students
One regular teacher
Choose your batch
Monthly

Start here

One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

A private coding teacher
Lessons around your season
Concepts matched to your robot type

Enquire

What families say

Rated 4.9 across 547 Google reviews

Parents’ reviews from Google, as they wrote them.

★★★★★

"The one step solution for my son. Modern Age Coders make learning coding so simple that kids love it. The teachers explain complex concepts clearly with practical exercises and interactive content."

Ria Mukherjee

Parent

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders has been a game-changer for me. I struggled to grasp IT concepts and coding before joining, but their classes transformed everything. I can now confidently write complex programs with ease."

Samriddha Mondal

Student

★★★★★

"One of the most wonderful education centres out there. Education is not limited to school syllabus but focuses on skill development."

Vansh Agarwal

Student

★★★★★

"My child Dhairya is really enjoying the Modern Age Coders classes. This is his first online class and he eagerly looks forward to it. I can already see his improvement, and the teachers are very cooperative."

Sonam Oswal

Parent of Dhairya

★★★★★

"Modern Age Coders have wonderful teachers who teach in a clear, easy and practical way. The teacher boosts students' confidence and inspires them to learn without hesitation."

Sonu Goyal

Parent

★★★★★

"I highly recommend this computer coding class! The teachers are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about coding."

Ritu Kedia

Parent

Questions from families and coaches

VEX IQ coding: what families ask

What is the 2026-27 VEX IQ game?

It depends on the program. The RECF Engage Robotics Competition, which uses VEX IQ hardware, plays Tier Takeover in 2026 to 2027. VEX Robotics runs its own competitions with their own game; its site refused our request, so check vexrobotics.com directly.

How long is a VEX IQ solo coding match in Tier Takeover?

The RECF Engage manual gives 60 seconds, the same as solo driving and alliance matches. The robot runs on pre-written code with no controller.

Can you reset the robot during a solo coding match?

Yes, in RECF Engage. Rule 4.1.2 says a reset can be used as a strategy, so code can be split into small segments, each launched from the starting position after a reset.

How many solo coding attempts does a team get?

Up to five solo match attempts per competition, shared between solo driving and solo coding however the team likes. The manual advises doing at least one solo coding match, because some awards use that score.

Can a parent or tutor write the robot's code?

No. The RECF Engage manual says adults may teach coding concepts but may not tell students what should or should not be in their code. We teach concepts on our own practice tasks; students write their team's code.

Which sensors are legal on a VEX IQ robot in RECF Engage?

The manual lists the VEX IQ Color, Optical, Distance, Touch and Gyro sensors, plus the AI Vision and Vision sensors added in version 2.0. Some LEGO sensors are legal on LEGO-based robots.

What ages can compete in RECF Engage?

Students in the 12U elementary category must be 12 or younger on May 6, 2027, and in the 15U middle school category 15 or younger on May 6, 2027. Each team has two or more students.

Do RECF events qualify teams for the VEX Robotics World Championship?

No. RobotEvents states that RECF competitions involving VEX products are not sanctioned by VEX Robotics and will not qualify teams for the 2026 to 2027 VEX Robotics World Championship. RECF Engage leads to the RECF World Championship instead.

Should my child learn blocks or Python for VEX IQ?

Younger students often start with blocks and move to text code later. We teach block coding first, then Python, because the logic transfers to whichever tool the team uses.

When are your coding lessons?

Weekdays or weekends, flexible: choose your batch, or for a very personalised plan choose 1-on-1 at your convenience, weekend mornings or weekdays.

Are you connected with VEX or RECF?

No. Modern Age Coders is independent and has no tie to VEX Robotics, Innovation First or the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation. VEX and VEX IQ are their owners' trademarks.

Elsewhere on this site

More for young coders and builders

Competitions, coding classes and next steps.

US competitions calendar

Coding, math and AI contest dates for 2026 to 2027.

Coding for elementary students

First steps in code, grades K to 5.

Coding for middle schoolers

Where 15U robotics students go next.

C++ for kids

A first look at a compiled language.

ACSL preparation

A computer science contest with no robot.

Congressional App Challenge

Build an app instead of a robot.

Related pages in this guide

Part of the guide: US math and coding competitions guide

Coding and robotics

Math contests

Projects and next steps

More guides: US state math tests by state · US gifted and selective school tests · US math placement and college readiness tests · Homeschool and school math curricula guide

Start here

Book a free first lesson

Tell us your child’s age, their robot’s brain type and whether they code in blocks or text. The teacher runs a short logic and sequencing task and suggests where to begin.

To see our teaching style, read how we teach, or explore the full list of courses.

WhatsApp us · +91 91233 66161 · connect@modernagecoders.com

Lessons are live video with teachers in India, booked at US after-school and weekend times. WhatsApp is usually the quickest way for families to reach us.

Want a class sooner? Book a priority demo

A priority demo is a full class of about 45 to 60 minutes. After the class the mentor sends a written skill report and a personal learning roadmap on WhatsApp. If you enrol, the demo fee is adjusted against your first month's fee. Share your demo Order ID with us on WhatsApp and we take it off.

Book a priority demo