Skip to Content
 

Baseball board game

2 replies [Last post]
Anonymous

I have developed a baseball board game. It allows you to play in any season (1920-present day) and each players stats will adjust accordingly. How do I design and test the game. Thanks. Paul

Anonymous
Baseball board game

Paul,

First, I recommend you join BGDF if you haven't already done so. There is some excellent talent and resources in the forum that can help you out with all sorts of game design issues.

That plug being said...

What sort of rules do you have? Is the game solitary, two player or multi-player? Is the game based on player stats (historical and fantasy) or built around play and pitch combinations?

I would first visualize how you want the game to be played and then go from there. Once you have a basic idea of the game rough out the playing surface, improvise any game pieces or cards you might need, then grab some friends and show them what you have.

Good luck. Once you get a working game I would be interested in looking it over and maybe even playtest it.

-Geoff
Tangent Games

IngredientX
IngredientX's picture
Offline
Joined: 07/26/2008
Re: Baseball board game

Paul wrote:
I have developed a baseball board game. It allows you to play in any season (1920-present day) and each players stats will adjust accordingly. How do I design and test the game. Thanks. Paul

The tricky thing here is that you're working on oft-trodden ground. Strat-O-Matic, APBA, and Statis Pro (in addition to Diamond Mind Baseball on the computer) have all done what you're attempting to do, with an extremely high degree of accuracy. I'm not saying that it's impossible to do it better, but it's a very tall order. Don't go into it without knowing who you're up against.

Unless, of course, you're designing this for your own recreation, in which case, have at it! I'd be curious to see what you'll do differently.

Also, you say you've "developed" it, but not "designed" it? I'm not too sure what that means. Do you have some rules, but not others? Do you have the rules, but not the playing materials? Do you have an idea about how it's going to go, but still have to hammer down the exact rules?

I'd say come up with a ruleset, and start playing it by yourself. That shouldn't be difficult at all; baseball board games are usually quite easy to play solo. I did it all the time with Statis-Pro and Strat-O-Matic when I was 12. Find any weaknesses in the game, tinker, and re-test. And re-test. And re-test.

Since you're aiming for a historical simulation, the bar is going to be set very high. As you know, in statistical terms, baseball was a very different game in 1920, 1950, 1980, and now. You should be able to handle those different eras with a very high degree of accuracy. This will take a lot of tweaking. Be patient - you will not get it on your first try, and maybe not even your tenth.

Accuracy will be very important. I've seen grognards tear apart baseball computer sims because there was the slightest deviation in the mechanics (like 3 stolen bases a game over a course of games set in the late 1990s - that's too many... or starting pitchers lasting only 6 innings in a game set in 1910... that's far too few).

Baseball, and the prospect of an argument about it, arouses passion in many people. If your game finishes more arguments than it starts, then you've succeeded! :D

Syndicate content


forum | by Dr. Radut