How do you want to play?
Online play needs both of you connected to the internet at the same time, and loads a small connection library from the web — it won't work fully offline.
Objective: Score more runs than the computer over the number of innings you chose. Each inning has two halves — you pitch while the computer bats, then you swap.
Each side keeps a hand of 6 cards. Each pitch, the pitcher and batter each secretly play one card from their hand, then reveal together. Played cards are discarded — your hand only gets refilled to 6 once you've played through all of it, so choose carefully and plan ahead.
Comparing the two cards:
Aces count as 1; Jack=11, Queen=12, King=13. A card's "value" for this comparison is its rank plus any bonus from a character card (Queen/Ace: +1) or an active Pinch Hitter (+2). Here's how three example matchups play out:
The pitcher rolls first. If the pitcher's roll is equal to or higher than the batter's roll, the ball is caught — batter is out. Otherwise, the batter's roll decides the hit:
| Batter's roll | Result |
|---|---|
| 6 | Home run — everyone scores |
| 5 | Triple |
| 4 | Double |
| 1–3 | Single |
All runners advance the same number of bases as the batter.
At the start of each half-inning, the pitcher draws a character card; a new one is drawn for the batter each time a new player comes to the plate. Face cards and Aces grant special abilities (applied automatically when they help):
| Card | Pitcher | Batter |
|---|---|---|
| Jack | +1 on catching rolls | +1 on hitting rolls |
| Queen | +1 added to the pitch card | +1 added to the batting card |
| King | May attempt a pickoff on a stealing runner (out on a roll of 5–6) | May attempt a steal (to second or third only, never home) whenever the pitcher throws a face card — safe on 5–6 stealing second, 6 only stealing third |
| Ace | Combines Jack + Queen bonuses | Combines Jack + Queen bonuses |
| Joker | A new pitcher card is drawn instead | Immediate walk for that batter |
Before any pitch, a runner can attempt to steal the next base. Stealing second (from first) succeeds on a roll of 4, 5, or 6. Stealing third (from second) is tougher and only succeeds on a roll of 5 or 6. Stealing home is not allowed. Caught stealing counts as an out.
Once per game, while you're batting, you may send in a Pinch Hitter: a button appears alongside your hand offering +2 to your hitting roll and +2 to your batting card's value. The boost applies automatically to every pitch of your current at-bat — surviving balls, strikes, and fouls — but the moment that at-bat ends (a hit, a walk, or an out), the Pinch Hitter's job is done and the next batter up is a normal, unboosted player, just like a real substitution. Once used, it's gone for the rest of the game. The computer has one of its own and will use it when the moment calls for it.