Robot combat in France: Makerfight in Mulhouse, its rules and how to watch or take part

Makerfight is a French robot combat tournament run by Technistub, a volunteer fablab and makerspace in Mulhouse, which publishes its rulebook and its fight videos online. This guide covers what happened at the 2026 edition, the rules builders work to, and how to watch or enter. Other dates around the world are on our events calendar, and our where to watch guide covers the big leagues.

Makerfight, a maker tournament born in 2014

Makerfight grew out of discussions among Technistub members in 2014, and the first edition took place in Mulhouse in the winter of that year. The idea is to combine robot fighting with fablab values: participants design and build their own machines, learning mechanics, electronics, wireless control and, if they wish, programming along the way. Entry is open to everyone; being a member of a club or fablab is not required.

The 2026 edition: a Dutch final

The ninth edition was held on 13 and 14 June 2026 at the Parc Expo in Mulhouse, as part of the Geek Unchained convention, for the second year running. Caliope 2 won it, beating Perun3 & the other Twin in a final between two Dutch robots. Not a Flipper, built by a Technistub member, took third place in the play-off against Reaper.

The organisers made three main changes this year: safety work on the arena, including an improved door and a roof reinforced with 8 mm thick HDPE; a Swiss-system format for the qualifying rounds; and an overhauled production booth so that videos of all the fights could go online quickly. The fight videos, finals included, are on the Makerfight YouTube playlist linked from the tournament site.

The rules: FRA standard, one round of three minutes

Makerfight now builds its rules on those of the UK's Fighting Robots Association (FRA), with the FRA's agreement, so that foreign teams can enter more easily and French builders can compete abroad. Makerfight is open to featherweights only, a class capped at 13.6 kg under FRA rules. Makerfight adds a 50 % weight bonus for robots that do not roll, and allows multibots of up to three parts.

Spinning weapons are capped at 2 kJ of kinetic energy, a limit set on 7 May 2026; teams had to send their calculation no later than one week before the event. Each fight is now a single round of three minutes, replacing the former best of two rounds of 90 seconds. In qualifying, every robot that is still working gets a set number of fights, depending on how many robots are entered, with pairings inspired by the Swiss system; the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are straight knockouts.

How to watch or take part

Makerfight has not announced a 2027 date yet, and registration for 2027 is not open. For the 2026 edition, the organisers invited the public to watch the fights at the convention and to meet the builders and Technistub volunteers. Anyone who wants to build a first robot can start from the rulebook on the Makerfight site, and the organisers encourage newcomers to work in a local fablab, makerspace or hackerspace.