“Cheesy,” the riled-up crowd of 150 chanted as the players methodically lined up and placed their homemade lego robots on the table. The “mind-sport” competitors, decked out in matching black t-shirts and ninja-style headbands, pumped their fists in the air as fans’ sporadic claps increased in frequency. Onlookers could just barely hear as the announcer called the team name, Ninja Cheese, to signal the players to take their mark.

Ninja Cheese was one of 18 teams of children ages nine to 14 from New Hampshire and Vermont who competed in the fourth annual Lego League Robotics Tournament hosted by the Dartmouth Lego League and organized by Thayer School of Engineering students on Saturday.