Living Deadball

Introduction

As mentioned previously, I am on a baseball kick. I decided to try out Deadball: Baseball with Dice.

Deadball (hereafter DB) is available from Drivethrurpg. It is pay as you want with a suggested price of $10.

Overview

DB is similar to other baseball simulations that use dice. For each at bat, you roll some dice and consult some charts to determine what happens. Just like a real baseball game, you progress through 9 innings of at bats. Highest scoring team wins!

Let me elaborate.

• First, roll D100 - D? where D? varies depending on the pitcher's ability.
• If the roll is
• <= batter's ability (usually around 25-30) then roll for a hit
• <= 5 above the batter's ability then the hitter gets a walk
• > 5 above the batter's ability, then it is an out
• You then 
• roll a D20 and consult a chart to determine the type of hit, or 
• Take the singles digit from your D100 roll and consult a chart to determine the type of out. This is important because it could result in a double play

That's essentially it. At its core, it's pretty basic. Of course, there are complications, such as bunts, errors, and all the frills of a baseball game. Also, there are player traits that can modify dice rolls and affect results.

What is particularly unique about Deadball is that it provides multiple ways to create your own ratings. You can convert real baseball stats, roll them up randomly, or use the pre-rolled fictional teams provided in the rules. This provides a great deal of flexibility.

By the way, here is another review of Deadball that provides a bit more detail than I did.

The Game

My plan is to play out a sample of the 1922 American League season. Back then, the AL had eight teams. I plan to play 28 games per team, which may be a bit ambitious. I created my own schedule and opening day features the Sox battle - the Boston Red Sox visit the Chicago White Sox.

The starting pitchers are:

• BOS - Jack Quinn (8-7 3.78 ERA in 1921)
• CHI - Red Faber (25-15 2.48 ERA in 1921)

Boston struck in the 2nd inning. With 2 outs and men on 2nd and 3rd, Muddy Ruel lined a drive down the line for triple. When the throw went errant, Muddy managed to skip home for a 3-0 lead.

Chicago chipped away in the bottom of the inning with two doubles. Score 3-1.

Both pitchers settled down with 3 innings of scoreless play. But Boston extended its lead after Joe Harris doubled then scored on a double play. Boston added another run off reliever Shovel Hodge in the 8th. They would need that run.

Ben Karr came in for Quinn in the 9th. He gave up a single and a walk before striking out Ernie Johnson. After another walk, he was replaced by Bill Piercy. Chicago then had Hervey McClellan pinch hit for the pitcher. With bases loaded, He roped a double that scored all men on base. Score 5-4.

Now Chicago felt confident. The potential tieing runner was on 2nd and the top of the order was up. But Piercy managed to get Eddie Collins to ground out and Earl Sheely to fly to right field. Game over.

It was an exciting victory for the Red Sox!

Evaluation

Pros

As you can see from my recap, DB creates a very realistic simulation of a baseball game. 

Like baseball, fortunes can turn quickly. When I got to the bottom of the 9th, I figured Boston would cruise to a victory. However, their starter was tiring so I put in a reliever to close out the game. Chicago then managed to make it interesting with 3 runs and a chance to tie the game!

I only played a single game, but it seems that DB creates realistic results, and this is no small feat. I've tried to design dice baseball games and they've either been offensive slugfests like a softball game at the company picnic or there is about as much scoring as a soccer game.

While DB features plenty of dice rolling and random events, there are decision points. Akin to a real baseball game, events are out of the managers control most of the time. He must rely on his players to get the job done. However, he has crucial decisions to make - the initial batting order, who to pitch, and when to substitute. These decisions are present in DB.

The ability to create your own ratings is a welcome feature. I spent a little time creating a converter in Excel. Now I can easily download stats from online, plug them into my spreadsheet, and get DB ratings.

Overall, DB is an excellent baseball simulator.

Cons

Most of these cons are in comparison to Strat-o-matic Baseball (SOM), a game that I played extensively.

DB uses a "groping for dice" system, meaning that it employs a variety of dice - D100 for swing results, D20 for hits, D12 for defense, and anywhere from a D4 to a D20 for pitchers. This results in the player groping around to find the right dice for a given situation. As a recall, SOM uses D6s for most situations, with an occasional D20. Personally, I find that fewer types of dice streamline the game and make it move quicker.

DB's system involves rolling and possibly modifying results, then referring to chart. This seemed a bit slower than SOM's card based system. Modifiers are essentially built into SOM's cards. You just roll and reference the result. Of course, this could be part of DB's learning curve. I assume I will get quicker given time. I'm guessing that Board Game Geek's high estimate of 30 minutes per game is realistic. To be fair, this is actually quicker than SOM's estimate of 45 minutes.

Overall

I would say that this is a worthwhile buy. I will certainly play it again, and I like having the ability to create my own ratings.