I hope you enjoy this and it makes sense. The rules book requires only 2 pages to teach the basic rules. There’s also a page that explains the components, a page that shows an example of play plus variant rules, and a few more pages of help for beginners plus a F.A.Q section. So while I try to cover all the bases (get it?), I want to repeat that the basic rules require only 2 illustrated pages.
Yes, what I hope is the final prototype arrived. We’re moving along quickly now! In this video I open up a new RallyBird Baseball Board Game and explain its components. Along the way I discuss my purpose with the game and how the pieces fit in, what they do, and where they go on the board. I also discuss the rules booklet and what it offers. Stay tuned–I will soon make a “How To Play” Video. This game will be available for purchase as soon as I can complete proofreading the latest prototype.
As I try to emphasize in the video, I designed the game for what I searched for and could not find in other baseball board games: playability, short game time, and meaningful decisions for both offense and defense. All too many of the easier baseball boardgames seem to imply that defense has no decisions (and that offense’s decision is nothing more than a die roll).
Technical note: I tried to improve the sound on this video compared to my earlier ones. There’s a slight fluttering sound… I’m hoping it will go away as YouTube processes it. This is probably magical thinking. I have a lot to do before opening this game for purchase, and finessing video sound technology is not first on my list. Thanks for your patience.
I’m back from my baseball research trip at Dodger Stadium. What’s left for me to do before the RallyBird Baseball Board Game is ready for sale?
I’m waiting for the updated prototype to arrive in maybe two weeks (early May). This is the 4th and, I intend, final prototype.
I’ll check the rules booklet and cards for typos, make sure the box illustration margins are symmetrical. It should be ready to go, with no more than minor adjustments. Or so I hope.
I’ll use this updated prototype for commercial photos that help consumers understand what it is and the fun it offers.
I’ll use it for a How to Play video. I’ve been promising this and think it’s a good idea. The game is simple, but probably easiest to understand through this method. Now, making a video entails a lot of things. A place to shoot, image and sound quality, light, framing, memory space in the camera, editing. I don’t want it to become a complicated task. If people unconsciously expect professional quality, well I hope I don’t completely disappoint them. I haven’t done this before and need to get it right. I was hoping to use my phone, but my tests suggest this won’t work. So I may need to buy a video camera. While I could offer the game for sale before I finish this video, I do mention this video as complete in the rules booklet. So I’m hoping to complete this first and do it quickly.
Then the game is ready for sale! I want this to happen before the end of May, 2018.
Here is a very short time-lapse video of a play tester’s Walk-Off Home Run when playing the RallyBird Baseball board game… the player token rounds the bases… teammates rush out of the dugout and leap around him at home plate. (I recommend you set play speed to 0.5 if you can.. click the control to the lower right beneath the image.)
The video also shows a typical Defensive array of Glove tiles on the board. The red-numbered Glove tiles reflect previous Offensive success moving a runner against them. In this situation, after the successful Home Run, Defense will have to remove the red tile in the upper left (left field of the board). This was a walk-off home run.
But if it hadn’t been the end of the game, it would make Defense’s work more difficult as she has only 5 Glove tiles left that half-inning. She wouldn’t have had enough Glove tiles to cover all the 6 zones on the board. That means she’d have to leave one Zone empty, using the lower value printed on the board. Offense would have to guess which one as Offense selects his tactics first and place the At Bat card face-down, then Defense sets up the Zones.
Note the 6 Glove Tiles on the board. Some have red numbers, some have white. The Red numbers reflect previous Offensive success against them. They’re usually higher numbers now, but vulnerable to removal. Removal means Defense would have to work with fewer than a full set of Glove tiles, and use the lower numbers for those Zones printed on the board.
This was sad for Red, defending above. Fortunately, she enjoyed delicious revenge in a following game. After trailing in score in the 7th and 8th inning, she successfully used the (optional) RallyBird power in the 9th. The RallyBird gives the underdog in the 9th inning the choice to re-roll when on Offense, but the RallyBird flies away as soon as you miss one of those re-rolls. Red put runners on the bases then pushed them forward with small ball infield hits again and again (thanks RallyBird). She came back 4 runs in the 9th inning to win. Now Red was cackling and proclaiming RallyBird love, and Blue was cursing that bird. So there!
The RallyByrd Baseball Board Game 