Blaseball

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Res Ipsa
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Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:44 pm
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Blaseball

Post by Res Ipsa »

Anyone else following or "playing" Blaseball? I stumbled across it when I found (and backed) a boardgame version of the online game. It's an online game where 24 imaginary baseball teams compete in computer simulated games. Each game is reported, pitch by pitch, although the fast pace means that games are typically 30 minutes long. A season lasts a week, including playoffs.

Playing is simple. First, pick a team to root for. I picked the hometown Seattle Garages. Their logo is a guitar and their slogan is "Park It." They are part of the Chaotic Evil division. Early in the season they "went Rogue" and are under investigation. I have no idea what that means.

The team has a roster of nine, plus five pitchers. Players have several categories of stats: Batting, Defense, Pitching, Running, and Vibes. Some computer takes all the stats and turns them into 12 simultaneous games starting every hour, on the hour, 24 hours a day.

Every day, I receive money and blessings from the league. I can use the money to bet on games and I can spend it to buy votes. Each season, all the fans vote on a Decree that will change the rules starting with the next season. Our current candidates are Redistribute Wealth (The winning team gives its players away to other teams), Relegation (the worst team gets a complete new roster), and Open the Forbidden Book ("It is forbidden")

Blessings are like raffle tickets for any of a number of advantages for your team. The raffle is held at the end of the season.

That's pretty much it, except for the black hole. Last season, the fans voted to open the forbidden book. And, at the end of the season, the entire league was sucked into an enormous black hole. And blaseball was gone.

Until late last year, when the enormous black hole began "belching" teams, players, decrees and blessings back onto earth. Even now, I notice new players replacing old ones every once in a while. That happens when the black hole belches out a player who falls to earth and lands on an existing player. What happens to the old player? I have no idea.

For me, the fun is in the sheer wackiness of the whole game. There are all kinds of little bizarre details: The number 8 is always upside down. The logo for the league leading Mexico City Wild Wings is a drumstick. The more you look, the more weirdness you find. And the black hole belches out one aspect of the game at a time, so this first season kind of feels like a tutorial. For examples, individual player stats were only provided starting a day or two ago.

Three games left in the regular season, and the Garages are still holding on by their fingernails for a playoff spot. Park it!!
he/him
When I go to sea, don’t fear for me. Fear for the storm.

Jessica Best, Fear for the Storm. From The Strange Case of the Starship Iris.
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