The Latest News from #RallyBirdBaseball Central

Hello RallyBirders!

I am recovering from an unwelcome bug. So I fight back with practical news mixed with an impractical mirthful spirit.

CONTACT INFORMATION

If you’d like to contact me, please feel free to email me at: RBBB email.png

I’ve already received a few player emails and I welcome them!

RULES UPDATE (MINOR)

I paid a service to review my rules and received some suggestions about small clarifications. Therefore, voilà, here’s a link to the October 2019 version of the rules. Truth is beauty, beauty Truth.

BIG LEAGUE GRAPHICS

Here’s an update on the RallyBird Baseball Board Game Add-On Kit: Big League & Coach Card Easy Advanced Game. There is no change to the rules or to the Coach Cards portion of the kit.

I’m in the process of changing the graphics due to branding/copyright respect of the large and powerful legal entity known as . These changes include the 30 team tiles. They will show a graphic of a variety of rally birds instead of the team name.

I laboriously finished all the 60 graphics of the two-sided tiles and ordered a prototype to proof before releasing. I imagine this will happen in November, the same month that TS Eliot took British citizenship in 1927. Coincidence???

BIG LEAGUE… 2019 SEASON ?!

Much to my astonishment, I stare with eyes round like saucers at the fact that the 2019 regular big leaguebaseball season has concluded. Therefore its history of jostling team performance is now available to RallyBird Central’s mathematical wing. What can stop me? I can cogitate and digest the points of the 2019 season into the easy, quick turned, ready-to-play RallyBird rules. I’ve plunged once into the data, and came up for the air. When will my next plunge be? Soon, friends, soon.

When ready I’ll add the 2019 season to the Big League Add-On Kit. Whether it’s part of the printed part or not I have to consider. I suppose it should bump the 2018 season data off. If I include both seasons in print, it adds to the cost. I’ll consider all the options. Both seasons will be available as a free download for anyone who buys the Add-On Kit.

INSTAGRAM

Yes, I did it. The RallyBird Baseball Board Game is now on Instagram. You will never see a picture of me posing with duck lips, however. I’m still figuring out what it can do. I like the ability to send short video clips of the board game in action. I don’t want to shock you, but the address is: https://www.instagram.com/rallybirdbaseball . I’ll follow you back.

The RallyBirdBaseball YouTube Channel

There are 8 videos for you to watch about the RallyBird Baseball board game here. Please subscribe!

In a funny way, the videos reflect a history of my familiarity with making videos, the tools I use, and my ability to edit them. Who knew that board game creation required knowledge of video editing? Crazy world, yes, but it’s also an awesome world of opportunity I’m trying to embrace.

You can help others who might be interested in the board game by clicking the thumbs up button. Thanks!

Dreams & Ambitions

I’d like to make the RallyBird Baseball Board Game available on Amazon. There are a lot of little steps I need to take before I can do this. One I have done already–purchased UPC codes for the game. There are other steps I need to take, equal in charm.

In general I’d like to bring the cost down. Suddenly iron laws of economics stomp in the hallway. I’d like to explore other manufacturers. Suddenly CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and key black) standards rear their proboscises. Professional printing standards shouldn’t be an intrusion!

Well, everything is a learning step and I like to learn. However my little computer is already wheezing with my current graphics program. In short, I probably need a new computer and a new professional graphics program in order to explore other manufacturers. Perhaps there is a work-around. That’s where my thought process slenders down under the Limbo stick and probes the far end of the asymptote.

OCTOBER BASEBALL

Have you been enjoying the October Baseball postseason drama? My little friend here was so nervous about the 9th Inning last night, she just went to bed with a plate of apple pie. I’m still trying to calm my hair down from it standing straight up for so long.

Why is that pain so delicious? Isn’t it odd how baseball adds meaning to my humble life? I made a conscious decision in my middle age to follow baseball again and I have no regrets! It’s so much fun. Too soon it will be over. Relish it, friends!

Thank you for reading.

The Game of #Baseball Is Not Symmetrical. The RallyBoard #BoardGame Reflects This.

Is this controversial? I don’t believe the game of baseball is symmetrical. The RallyBird Board Game reflects this. Yes, the field has bilateral symmetry, sure. But the game includes the action. Runners only may move in a counter-clockwise direction. First base is a lot different than third base! The relation of second base to first base is a lot different than second base to third base.

This play action differentiation impacts the action value of the left side of the field compared to the right side. It impacts situations, and I think delivers a feeling of action value to the bases that is not level. When measured by action value and potentiality, the level field actually has “altitude” differences (I made a whole video about baseball’s topography.)

Because I believe that baseball is not symmetrical, some pairs of At Bat card tactics are also not symmetrical. Here’s one pair:

Grounder Right is slightly more effective than Grounder Left. In the RallyBird Baseball Board Game, Grounder Right moves a non-forced runner more often.

Grounder Left and Grounder Right aren’t the only non-symmetrical cards in the RallyBird Baseball Board Game. I show these two similar Left/ Right card treatments in the video I made on this topic below, Infield Left and Infield Right.

Let’s not forget there are more right-handed athletes than left-handed…

Thanks for reading! There’s more information about the game below.

Here’s a link to the RallyBird Board Game Rules PDF.

The board game is currently for sale here.

Dynamic How to Play video below!

Testing MLB Team Rules for the RallyBird Baseball Board Game

I designed the RallyBird Baseball Board Game for a easy, 1-hour, thoughtful board game experience of the sport. This meant when I recently took on the task of adapting historic MLB team performance to Rally Bird, I did not try to drill down on the charismatic, individual statistical performance of players. Instead, these optional, add-on MLB rules I’m testing depend on team averages over the season. This is a necessary simplification to keep the RB board game quick and playable, yet with emphasis on decisions for offense and defense each At Bat.

Within these broad modifications, the decisions of the board game players and their dice determine the individuality of events. It’s fun for me to try to adapt MLB team performance to the characteristics of this board game. Does it succeed? I don’t know yet, but I’ve designed and ordered the components I need to test the playable asymmetry of the 2018 season. This includes a larger set of Glove defense tiles, and the print out of the adaption rules (1 page) and individual team ratings in RallyBird Board Game categories.

By the way, enjoy today! It’s opening day of the new MLB season! –PG

Pickles Baseball & PT Barnum

First this…

And then this…

It was the Portland Pickles (wearing white) playing the Bend Elks (pale yellow jerseys).

Suddenly this bird creature arrived on a motor scooter and began dancing around the third baseman. This interloper, BirdZerk, pressured the fielder to dance with him. The crowd roared. Then BirdZerk stole his glove and motor scootered off the field. Sadly the third baseman lifted his hand and a teammate brought a replacement glove.

BirdZerk appeared again a little later. He sassed the umps and danced around them. He whacked their behinds and mocked them. Then he began increasingly complex dance break dance moves. Suddenly one of the umps (pictured on the right below) jumped in the air and flipped over backwards. He began to dance with the crazy Bird. In fact, the dancing was synchronized and complex. Yes, he was a ringer!

Later BirdZerk appeared in a mad scientist lab coat. He had a remote control device (on the grass in pic below) and he guided his “robot son” (how?!) who was part bird (?) onto the field.

I think we need to overlook what the definition of a son is, what a bird is, and what a robot is as well. Mad Scientist BirdZerk guided the robot over to a real ump…

The robot had limited mobility but somehow squatted down to reveal its most advanced function: It belched loudly, then turned around and let out smoke.

Meanwhile the Pickles scored and scored again and yes, again, including a Grand Slam. They were winning 14-0. Another creature appeared, about 80% baseball and 20% bird. It came down the third base– home plate baseline performing agile dance moves…

Then played catch with a Bend Elk player (ringer!) using its beak.

The Pickles scored again. While admiring their skill, and feeling dismayed about the Elks’ 4 errors, I also had to admire the spirited clown entrepreneurship supporting baseball as PT Barnum style entertainment. I don’t come for the antics, and would rather see a more balanced contest with fewer errors, but it was a fun surprise.

Also note: the association of baseball with birds on the field ever grows.

PS. You can pick up a copy of the RallyBird Baseball board game here.