Hardball Wars

HardBall Wars is the “brother” to our football game, GridIron Wars. While I was designing GridIron Wars, an idea popped into my head regarding a similar method to resolve a baseball game. After putting the idea to paper and mailing it to a couple of trusted friends, HardBall Wars was born. HardBall Wars is simple enough for a child to learn, but robust enough to satisfy even the most veteran of baseball gamer. Many may wonder, why a baseball game? Aren’t there plenty of good ones already on the market? In short, the answer is yes. There are many fantastic baseball games on the market. With HardBall Wars, I’m really not re-inventing the wheel. You’ll never hear me tout the game as better or more realistic than any other game currently on the market. However, having said that, I do feel like this game stands up well against any other baseball game in terms of what is truly most important, the “fun factor”. My testers and I have had an absolute blast playing the game. The unique batter-pitcher interface, combined with the X- Factor deck, makes the game unique and in my humble opinion very fun to play. My philosophy with Downey Games has always been to price games as low as possible, making the games accessible to all. Most current baseball board games sell in the $50-$60 range. While that is reasonable to most, it does make it an expensive proposition to purchase multiple seasons or teams. With HardBall Wars, I’ve purposely designed the game with a cost factor in mind. For that same $50 or $60 you’ll be able to purchase multiple seasons of HardBall Wars. Also unlike other games, we strive to rate nearly every player who stepped foot on the field of play. HardBall Wars is based upon a modified log5 method. That may not mean much to some, but using this method allows the pitcher and batter to "Interact" on every at-bat. Rather than a 50/50 model or a generic pitcher grade, with HardBall Wars you'll see the difference between pitchers and batters and their impact on the at-bat in a very visual way. You'll also immediately see the difference in righty/lefty matchups at the plate. Fielding is not neglected in HardBall Wars. You'll see the difference between the gold glove shortstop and the lead gloved fielder not only in terms of errors committed but also the ability to turn hits into outs. The most unique aspect of HardBall Wars is our introduction of the X-Factor Deck. And often times it can generate a lot of excitement. Within the X-Factor deck just about anything you’ve ever seen in a baseball game can take place. From run downs, appeals, dropped third strikes, rain delays, rain outs, ejections, brawls to even the extremely bizarre like the now famous Pine Tar incident—all are possible within the X-Factor Deck. The deck is far more than just a Rare Play mechanism. There are many conditional events within the deck and even some very mundane plays. The X-Factor deck simulates the events that happen in real life that as a tabletop gamer you don’t often see in your own gaming. One can see something out of the ordinary in almost every baseball game in real life. And we have brought that to the tabletop through the use of the X -Factor Deck. With HardBall Wars, the decisions as a manager are all yours. You decide when to steal bases. You decide when to Hit and Run or Sacrifice the runner to the next base. You'll make the call when to intentionally walk the opposition’s slugger, or when to bring the infield in to cut down a runner at the plate. You'll make the call as when to attempt a squeeze bunt or play for the big inning. You'll make the call to bring in the lefty specialist to face the opposing left hand slugger, or stick with your right hand throwing starter. With HardBall Wars, you may even be ejected from the game! Nearly every situation that faces a major league skipper is replicated in the game. The printed game features game charts printed in full-color, the season of your choice, 3 dice, a die-cut X-Factor deck also printed in full color, score sheets all packaged in a sturdy game box.