When ordering, please submit your season selection in the comments box
when checking out. If no season is selected, the most current season will
be included.
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.
Get in the dugout and order HardBall Wars today!
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 17 April, 2008.