diff --git a/codeclash/arenas/robocode/robocode.py b/codeclash/arenas/robocode/robocode.py
index 1c59527..262b791 100644
--- a/codeclash/arenas/robocode/robocode.py
+++ b/codeclash/arenas/robocode/robocode.py
@@ -18,8 +18,12 @@
 
 class RoboCodeArena(CodeArena):
     name: str = "RoboCode"
-    description: str = f"""Robocode (Tank Royale) is a programming game where your code is the tank: each turn your bot sends intents—speed plus body/gun/radar turn rates and firepower—based on the game state it perceives via radar.
-Your program decides how to move, aim, and fire in a deterministic, turn-based arena to outlast other bots.
+    description: str = f"""Robocode is a programming game where your code IS the tank. This is classic
+Robocode (the `robocode.*` API compiled against robocode.jar) — NOT Robocode Tank Royale.
+Your bot is a Java class that `extends robocode.Robot` (or `robocode.AdvancedRobot` for non-blocking
+control): its `run()` method drives the tank in a loop (e.g. `ahead(100)`, `turnGunRight(90)`,
+`fire(3)`), and it reacts to events like `onScannedRobot(ScannedRobotEvent)`, `onHitByBullet(...)`,
+and `onHitWall(...)`. Move, aim the gun, sweep the radar, and fire to outlast other bots.
 Your bot logic must be written in Java and located in the `robots/custom/` directory.
 Keep the main bot class named `{str(RC_FILE)}`, but you can include additional Java files if you'd like."""
     default_args: dict = {
diff --git a/codeclash/tournaments/ladder.py b/codeclash/tournaments/ladder.py
index 6083e5a..95ad7c3 100644
--- a/codeclash/tournaments/ladder.py
+++ b/codeclash/tournaments/ladder.py
@@ -27,6 +27,15 @@
 logger = get_logger("ladder")
 
 
+def _player_slug(branch_init: str) -> str:
+    """
+    Turn a ``human/<author>/<bot>`` init branch into a bare, filesystem-safe player name:
+    strip the ``human/`` prefix and join the rest with ``__`` (e.g. ``human/aleksiy325/snek-two``
+    -> ``aleksiy325__snek-two``).
+    """
+    return branch_init.replace("human/", "").replace("/", "__")
+
+
 def resolve_ladder_rules(ladder_rules: dict, rounds: int) -> tuple[int, int]:
     """Validate the required ``ladder_rules`` block and return ``(min_round_wins, win_last_k)``.
 
@@ -88,9 +97,9 @@ def build_ladder(config: dict, workers: int = 1) -> None:
     for i in range(num_players):
         for j in range(i + 1, num_players):
             player1 = copy.deepcopy(players[i])
-            player1["name"] = player1["branch_init"]
+            player1["name"] = _player_slug(player1["branch_init"])
             player2 = copy.deepcopy(players[j])
-            player2["name"] = player2["branch_init"]
+            player2["name"] = _player_slug(player2["branch_init"])
             pvp_config = {**copy.deepcopy(config), "players": [player1, player2]}
             vs = f"PvpTournament.{player1['name']}_vs_{player2['name']}".replace("/", "_")
             output_dir = LOCAL_LOG_DIR / "ladder" / config["game"]["name"] / vs
@@ -199,7 +208,7 @@ def run(self) -> dict:
         opponent_rank = 0
         for idx, opponent in enumerate(self.ladder):
             opponent_rank = len(self.ladder) - idx
-            opponent["name"] = opponent["branch_init"].replace("human/", "").replace("/", "_")
+            opponent["name"] = _player_slug(opponent["branch_init"])
             if "branch_init" in self.player and idx > 0:
                 # After first opponent, remove branch_init so the player continues from the
                 # previous tournament's codebase.
diff --git a/configs/ladder/README.md b/configs/ladder/README.md
index 86348f2..49955f8 100644
--- a/configs/ladder/README.md
+++ b/configs/ladder/README.md
@@ -21,6 +21,20 @@ open-source Gomoku/Gobang AIs ported into the arena's single-file `get_move(boar
 lihongxun945, blackstone, blupig) reimplemented in stdlib Python — alongside a strategic starter.
 AlphaZero/CNN bots were skipped (need trained weights).
 
+### RoboCode (newly added)
+
+The [CC:RoboCode](https://github.com/CodeClash-ai/RoboCode) repo hosts 116 human bots on `human/robocode/*`
+branches (bot code lives only on the branches, not in this repo). This arena is **classic Robocode**
+(`robocode.*` API compiled against `robocode.jar`), so importing open-source bots is mostly a
+mechanical copy-in + rename rather than a strategy rewrite: each bot's Java class(es) are placed in
+`robots/custom/`, the main class renamed to `MyTank`, `package custom;`. The set spans the shipped
+sample bots (SittingDuck/Walls/Corners/…) through famous RoboWiki/PEZ micro-mini bots (Aristocles,
+Pugilist, HawkOnFire) up to a single-file **DrussGT** (a world-class bot) as the top rung; a few use
+Robocode's sanctioned `getDataFile` persistence (degrades gracefully without cross-battle saves).
+Diamond/BeepBoop remain as future top rungs (nested-package multi-file → need flattening). Each import
+was verified to **compile and play a real battle**; every bot's source repo/author/license is recorded
+as a header comment in its branch files.
+
 ## Config layout
 
 Each arena has a few kinds of config in this folder:
diff --git a/configs/ladder/make_robocode.yaml b/configs/ladder/make_robocode.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c44fdef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/configs/ladder/make_robocode.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,258 @@
+# Round-robin over the human classic-Robocode bots (imported from ~30 open-source repos; each bot's
+# origin URL/author/license is recorded as a header comment in its human/* branch files), used to
+# RANK them via Elo/Bradley-Terry -> see robocode.yaml. rounds:0 = dummy players play baseline
+# battles (no code edits). N bots -> N*(N-1)/2 pairs; each pair plays sims_per_round rounds (batched
+# 10 at a time, sim_concurrency parallel). Bots live on CodeClash-ai/RoboCode human/* branches; Docker required.
+# COST (measured on an 8-core box: a pair is ~11.8s fixed overhead + ~9.7s per 100 sims, so at
+# sims_per_round=300 a single pair is ~41s solo and ~25s/pair of throughput under --workers 6).
+# 116 bots -> 6670 pairs -> ~46 core-hours -> ~2 days on an 8-core box (-w 6). Resumable: skips
+# already-logged pairs, so a killed run can be re-launched. Scale --workers with cores (~cores-2).
+# Run: uv run codeclash ladder make configs/ladder/make_robocode.yaml --workers 6
+tournament:
+  rounds: 0
+game:
+  name: RoboCode
+  sims_per_round: 300
+  sim_concurrency: 5
+  # Ranking only needs per-battle scores (results_*.txt), not replays. Recording every sim writes
+  # ~8.7MB of compressed replay XML per pair (~59GB over 6670 pairs) and pins a gzip core on every
+  # log copy, so disable it here.
+  record_ratio: 0
+  args:
+    nodisplay: true
+    nosound: true
+players:
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/kinnla/antiwalls
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/aristocles
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/vftheodoro/barbiescript
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/johan_adriaans/berendbotje
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/blackwidow
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/blackwidow_mini
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/winstliu/bobthebuilder
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/lucasgch/bt7274
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/namnguyenthanhwork/cham
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/looklazy/chilibot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/chironex_micro
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/chironex_mini
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/corners
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/txeverson/crawler
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/crazy
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/philipmjohnson/dacruzer
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/trex22/deepthought
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pseminatore/dodgebot_jnk
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/logancsc/dodgebot2
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/vikdov/dominatorx
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/droidpoet
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/admiralrasmussen/drussgt
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/andrekorol/exterminador
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/fire
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/frankie
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/linuxuser0/genetic
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/gf1
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/josephjeon/gntest
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/gouldingi
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/kylebennett/gruffalo
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/haikupoet
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/haikuwalls
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/admiralrasmussen/hawkonfire
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/zhiwei121/hero_pm
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/kylebennett/hugbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mcd8604/hunter
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/hypoleach
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/alpian/ianstank
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/icarus
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/wouterjoosse/infinitylock
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_bomax
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_claptrap
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_cliffbot2
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_ctbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_florian2
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_m9
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_simple
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/it_economics/ite_terminator
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/joaomcarvalho/jeujdapeu
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/dankraemer/juggernaut
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/u_0x65_e/kokomo
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/leach
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/leachpmc
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/littlebrother
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/littleevilbrother
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/mako
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/tibola/markiv
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/zcjerry229/markrobo
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/marshmallow
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/maximbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/gjgomez/mb2
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/denssle/megaborsten
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/team488/meow
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/andrekorol/myfirstkiller
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/myfirstrobot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/luke_f_w/nagisphere
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/andr3eee1/npcomplete
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/iagomonteiro13579/npcsniper
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/andrekorol/oppswantmedead
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/paolo
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/kcanida/pikachu
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/poet
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pmontp19/propiavancat
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/pugilist
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/gabriel_lw/quadwall
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/ramfire
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/regullarmonk
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/g_otn/reimu
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/sacdalance/robrrrat
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/miradoconsulting/roleksii
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/avsthiago/sadbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/alexbay218/shreker
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/sittingduck
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/smallpoet
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/spinbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/jonharder/starterbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/supercorners
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/supercrazy
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/supermercutio
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/superramfire
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/superspinbot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/supertracker
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/mgalushka/superwalls
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/swiffer
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/tannerrogalsky/tannerbot1
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/alpian/tarektank
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/technischeinformatica/tearsofsteel
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pranav_prakash/thecarver
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/barriosnahuel/tirolio
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/tityus
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/tracker
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/trackfire
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/muzardo/trianglehunter
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/rafaeljdesa/ultron
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/ur4n0_235/ur4no
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/velocirobot
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/john_paul_r/vergere
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/vertileach
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/vertimicro
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/robo_code/walls
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/wallspoet
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/wallspoetas
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/pez/wallspoethaiku
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/admiralrasmussen/wavesurfing
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/alexjamesmacpherson/wilde
+- agent: dummy
+  branch_init: human/joaocarpim/wrecker
+prompts:
+  game_description: RoboCode ladder