The Event that Birthed Battle Bots

Read the story of the 1989 Critter Crunch robot competition ... in zine form!

Jan 25, 2026

I’m trying out a different format for this edition of the newsletter. Here is the story of the world’s first robot combat competition, the 1989 Critter Crunch, presented as a zine.

A tight crop of a grainy old photo of members of the Denver Mad Scientist Club engaging in remote-controlled robot combat at the 1989 MileHiCon. Participants wear lab coats, and two robots battle it out on a sheet of wood on the floor.

I initially wrote a version of this piece for Wired magazine, and that’s included in the anthology Mad Science: Einstein’s Fridge, Dewar’s Flask, Mach’s Speed, and 362 Other Inventions and Discoveries that Made Our World. You can read the story as an 8-page zine below or scroll down further to read it in standard article format. And if you’d like to own a physical copy of my crude Photoshop hackwork, or of some other recent Pop Cultural Precursors articles that have been zine-ified, you can get them here.

Let me know which version you prefer in the comments, and please be sure to like, share, follow, subscribe—all that jazz.

Page 1 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. We see a grainy old photo of members of the Denver Mad Scientist Club engaging in remote-controlled robot combat at the 1989 MileHiCon. Participants wear lab coats, and two robots battle it out on a sheet of wood on the floor. | The type on the page reads: “The Event that Birthed Battle Bots: The 1989 MileHiCon Critter Crunch introduced the concept of competitive robot combat to the world.”

Page 2 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. There’s a photo of the box of the 1964 Toy Rock Em Sock Em Robots, and a postcard and a matchbook from the Executive Tower Inn, where the event was held. | Text on the page reads: “For yea, the idea of automatons fighting to the death, which had been foretold by the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in 1964, actually came to pass in Colorado in late October of 1989. The 21st Annual MileHiCon, a sci-fi and fantasy gathering in Denver, played host to a truly epochal moment in the history of geekdom: the birth of robot battles as a spectator sport.”

Page 3 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | Text explains that the event was organized by the Denver Mad Scientists Club. There’s a photo of the club’s official insignia, which says “don’t try this at home” in Latin. There’s also a photo of Mad Scientist Club members wearing their standard uniform, a white lab coat. | Text reads: “The year before, MileHiCon had hosted the Critter Crawl, a sort of beauty pageant for windup toys and remote-control gizmos, But no official winner was declared, and there were no prizes.‘This year, all of that will change radically and violently,’ wrote event organizer Bill Llewellin in a pre-convention mailing. ‘The winner will be the last critter standing (rolling, crawling) on the field of combat.’ What he proposed was an event dubbed the Critter Crunch, in which competitors would face off on a folding table provided by the Executive Tower Inn. ‘Some potential entrants are discussing critters capable of significant mayhem,’ warned the even mailer. “So don’t get too attached to your entry.’ (Imagine a time when contestants actually needed to be warned that their robots might be damaged in combat!)”

Page 4 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | Photo of a vintage hardback version of I, Robot: Stories of Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov. | Text reads: “Llewellin devised the parameters of the game, with input from fellow members of the Denver Mad Scientists Club. They codified 11 rules, a sort of Magna Carta of mechanical warfare. (No, scratch that, it was bigger than the Magna Carta: It was like a real-life version of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.) The laws Asimov devised: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.”

Page 5 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | A crude Xerox copy of The Rules of the Critter Crunch as of as of 7/11/97. An excerpt: “SPIRIT RULES: A. No Cheating! You know, like intentionally subverting the rules. B. Frankenstein Rule: In honor of the most famous Mad Scientist, and to Mad Scientists everywhere; the audience may verbally behave like an offended and outraged populous towards any and all critters/ operators that they deem offensive and outrageous.1. CRITTERS: A. Critter size at the start of combat will be a cube 12"x12"x12". The critter must be able to stand alone on the combat surface within these dimensions until combat begins. After the start of combat, the 12" cube restriction no longer applies and the critter may transform to fighting mode in any way not otherwise restricted.B. Critter weight limit is; 20 pounds in class 1, and 2 pounds in class 2. A 2.5 percent error factor will be allowed to account for variations in scales.C. Critters may be powered by any source socially acceptable (OSHA approved) for indoor use. Critter power source must be 100% contained in the critter & packaged appropriately for the expected abuse.” It goes on like this for hundreds more words. The rules are extensive!

Page 6 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | We see grainy vintage photos of robotic combat from the Critter Crunch. TEXT: “”The Crunch attracted “five or 10” competitors, according to Llewellin. He himself fielded a fearsome forklift creature named Fluffy Bunny that upended numerous opponents before being outmaneuvered by a tiny Radio Shack radio-controlled car. (The lack of weight classes made for some chaotic David-and-Goliath matches.)”

Page 7 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | We see a grainy 1989 photo of two Mad Scientists performing repairs on a robot. PHOTO CAPTION: “Pat Thompson and Bob Pfeiffer try to untangle Thing One's control cables after a match.” | We see a grainy close up photo of a robot with battle damage. PHOTO CAPTION: “A hole is left in Thing One by an air-powered harpoon from the machine Big Punch. The harpoon stuck in the aluminium, but failed to do any damage.” | TEXT READS: “The ultimate winner was Mad Scientist member Pat Thompson’s Thing One, a 19-pound behemoth armed with a can of Silly String that it sprayed at foes — and the audience.”

Page 8 of Pop Cultural Precursors zine Issue #2. It tells the story of the world’s first robot competition, the Critter Crunch. | We see several screen grabs of the crowds and fighting robots and the sports commentators from a Battle Bots competition. There are also movie posters for the films Real Steel and Pacific Rim. TEXT READS: “The Critter Crunch gave birth to an array of robot fighting leagues worldwide, as well as a series of TV shows and videogames. The event showed that you didn't need a lab, a DARPA grant, or a Hollywood FX shop to stage robot battles — just curiosity, a toolbox, and maybe a can of Silly String. The ethos found its way into BattleBots, Robot Wars, high school robotics leagues, FIRST Robotics, VE competitions, university engineering programs, and the modern maker movement. The Crunch also added real world texture to mecha-inspired visions of sci fi robot combat in movies like Real Steel and Pacific Rim. And it reminded us that bots aren't simply toys or industrial helpmates. They are dangerous and terrifying creatures that will someday conquer and enslave mankind.”

TEXT VERSION OF THE ARTICLE

The 21st Annual MileHiCon, a sci-fi and fantasy gathering in Denver, played host to a truly epochal moment in the history of geekdom: the birth of robot battles as a spectator sport.

For yea, the idea of automatons fighting to the death, which had been foretold by the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in 1964, actually came to pass in Colorado in late October of 1989.

The year before, MileHiCon had hosted the Critter Crawl, a sort of beauty pageant for windup toys and remote-control gizmos, But no official winner was declared, and there were no prizes.

“This year, all of that will change radically and violently,” wrote event organizer Bill Llewellin in a pre-convention mailing. “The winner will be the last critter standing (rolling, crawling) on the field of combat.”

What he proposed was an event dubbed the Critter Crunch, in which competitors would face off on a folding table provided by the Executive Tower Inn. “Some potential entrants are discussing critters capable of significant mayhem,” warned the mailer. “So don’t get too attached to your entry.”

(Imagine a time when contestants actually needed to be warned that their robots might be damaged in combat!)

There had been public displays of robotic mayhem before: Survival Research Laboratories’ performance art pieces had featured automatons that spit fire and blew up. But this was an actual invitational sporting event

Llewellin devised the parameters of the game, with input from fellow members of the Denver Mad Scientists Club. (Their standard uniform was a white lab coat and a hard hat.)

They codified 11 rules, a sort of Magna Carta of mechanical warfare. (No, scratch that, it was bigger than the Magna Carta: It was like a real-life version of Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics.) The rules were revised and expanded over the years.

It was decreed that combatants must be neither heavier than 20 pounds nor bigger than 12 x 12 x 12 inches, though they “may deploy appendages beyond these dimensions.

We see a grainy close up photo of a robot with battle damage. — A hole is left in Thing One by an air-powered harpoon from the machine Big Punch. The harpoon stuck in the aluminium, but failed to do any damage.

“The Crunch attracted “five or 10” competitors, according to Llewellin. He himself fielded a fearsome forklift creature named Fluffy Bunny that upended numerous opponents before being outmaneuvered by a tiny Radio Shack radio-controlled car. (The lack of weight classes made for some chaotic David-and-Goliath matches.)

Grainy vintage photo of robotic combat from the Critter Crunch.

The ultimate winner was Mad Scientist member Pat Thompson’s Thing One, a 19-pound behemoth armed with a can of Silly String that it sprayed at foes — and the audience.

The Critter Crunch gave birth to an array of robot fighting leagues worldwide, as well as a series of TV shows and videogames. The event showed that you didn't need a lab, a DARPA grant, or a Hollywood FX shop to stage robot battles — just curiosity, a toolbox, and maybe a can of Silly String. The ethos found its way into BattleBots, Robot Wars, high school robotics leagues, FIRST Robotics, VEX competitions, university engineering programs, Ultimate Fighting Bots, and the modern maker movement.

The Crunch also added real world texture to mecha-inspired visions of sci fi robot combat in movies like Real Steel and Pacific Rim. And it reminded us that bots aren't simply toys or industrial helpmates. They are dangerous and terrifying creatures that will someday conquer and enslave mankind.

A vintage 1991 photo of Mad Scientist Club members wearing their standard uniform, a white lab coat. — Winners of the 1991 Critter Crunch. Left to right: Claude Warren, Todd Hill, and Jon Wood.

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