Re: Baseball Rules Draft

[jdroscha@...]

Jim,

   I took the opportunity to try out the Baseball rules with a friend 
of mine yesterday.

   We played the v0.2 rules with neither of the optional rules (took 
the aces out).  The game sheets were very helpful.

   In the v0.2 rules, under the Setup section, it says that each 
player takes 2 full sets of tiles.  Perhaps this would be more 
clearly stated as 2 full suits of tiles.  Also, under this same 
section, it says what to do with all the tiles but one 5 tile per 
player.  I believe this is a holdover from the v0.1 rules, wherein I 
recall the instruction to set the extra 5 tile next to the pitching 
stack as a reminder of the pitchers' less-than-stellar batting 
abilities.

   Other than that, the rules seemed complicated until we got the 
hang of it.  Once we had it figured it out, the game went pretty 
smooth and was a good deal of fun.  The final score (after 5 
innings) was 4 to 5 (on a double with 2 outs).  The total time was 
45 minutes, but on subsequent playes, I expect the time would 
be shorter.

   We wanted to test the rules as-is, but afterward, we felt the 
game would not be overly long at a full 9 innings.  Each of us 
was only about "half-way" through our second pitcher, so running 
out of arm would probably not be a problem (especially if the 
extra 5 were included in the pitching stack for a total of 4 
pitchers).

   We suggest the following additions to the game sheets:
1) move the positions outside the boxes so they can be read 
when the tiles are placed in the boxes
2) inning track
3) scoring track

   We both wondered if it might be better to use "forced" running 
instead of moving each runner moving the same number of 
bases as the batter.

   We both also disliked the rule for the leading runner stealing 
the next base.  It seemed too easy, provided the runner met the 
criteria (value equal to or higher than the catcher).  Joe (the friend 
I was playing with) suggested that the rule should not test the 
runner, but instead the fielders, since the runners could run all 
round the bases as they please if the fielders sucked sufficiently.  
It might be a bit much, but his suggestion was to make a fielding 
roll (for the throw) by the fielder the batter hit the ball to, then 
another fielding roll (for the catch) by the fielder the lead runner is 
trying to steal the base of.

   All in all, good show.

--James