It’s time to return to the diamond and the gridiron with some of your favorite games from the future! Baseball looks markedly different in the year 2045 with the Naturals, Robots and Cyborgs all vying for supremacy on the field. Today we will look at the same world created for the future expansions of our favorite sports but with a unique twist on the original version!
Baseball Highlights: The Dice Game and Football Highlights: The Dice Game were both created by Mike Fitzgerald and Ian Bach and published by Eagle-Gryphon Games. They play 1-4 players in 20 mins.
What’s in the Box?
In Baseball Highlights you get a rulebook, game board, individual player tokens and custom dice along with a score pad for each player. For the Football Game you get a rulebook, a game board, scorepad, 18 dice and yardage markers for each player.
Baseball Gameplay:
In Baseball Highlights your goal is to score the most runs over your opponent by drafting the best dice and stringing together powerful combos.
Each player will begin with a baseball play sheet and their own markers. For the first turn of the game the player who is active will roll all of the 9 play and pitcher dice. Moving forward the players will roll dice and all dice they were passed from previous players. The active player chooses one of the play areas and takes all the dice in that area. That player checks the boxes for that area on their play sheet. Boxes are checked left to right and then if there are actions in a box you check you must use those as well.
Once a player uses all of their dice they return them to the general supply. The non-active players will check off one box on two different tracks where there are still dice in those areas. They stay on the board.
Finally all players will remove base runners according the the pitcher die result. Some of the dice results will give outs, some will have no effect and one will even allow you to steal a base. Then to end the turn the active player returns all dice to the supply and passes the dice they used to the next player. That player becomes the new player and it starts the next round.
During the game players can take actions such as single, double or triple runs or even a home run! You can also use walks and stolen bases to move a single runner but not advance all of the runners. Chained and wild chained actions allow you to make more of your rolls as well.
You can also score bonus plays that allow you to check off a bonus box if it is the last box checked. The power dice allow you to check off the dice in that track as well.
The game is over at the end of the player’s turn at the end of the final round. The player who has the most runs wins!
Football Gameplay:
Next let’s talk about the Football game. Your goal is to score more points than your opponent by drafting the best of the dice available and using them to chain great offensive run and passing plays so your team can score through touchdowns and field goals.
Each player grabs a Football play sheet and a pencil along with a yardage marker to start the game. The Power and Defense dice are placed near the middle and the first player is chosen. That player takes the 11 Play dice and a Defense die to begin.
Depending on the number of players, each player will take a turn in clockwise order through a number of rounds. For the first turn of the game, the active player rolls all the play and defense die. For each turn after the player rolls the dice that are passed to them along with any of the Power dice they have unlocked. Each of the dice are placed in their appropriate areas on the game board. Then each player beginning with the active player will pick all of the dice in an area and place it in front of them. These dice are then scored on your player sheet by checking one box off for each die rolled.
The actions for football include run and pass plays that can gain more yards with breakaways and yards after catch plays. After all of the offensive yards are gained players will check and subtract the defense die. This die will determine how much yardage you would lose to the defense.
There are also chained and wild chained actions for this game as well. Field goals are an option as well and you can take one at any time. The game is over at the end of the last player’s turn on the final round.
There are also rules for both games that include solo play giving a challenge to a solo player against an AI opponent.
Impressions
Baseball Highlights and the Football expansion is a great port of a game we all already know and love in a roll and write form. I really enjoy the gameplay and ease of moving into this one from the familiarity of the card game.
For those sports fans out there both Baseball and Football highlights will be great version of a game you already love in an easy to play dice form. I love all types of sports and really enjoyed the familiarity these provided for simulating the competition on the gridiron or the diamond.
Baseball highlights the dice game also provides a great experience for the gamer who isn’t necessarily a baseball fan but does enjoy a roll and write board game on the table. The mechanics for this one are some of my favorite where everyone has choices on both their turn and the turns between. I love the combo aspects as well, it is one of my favorite parts of these types of games where you can string multiple things together and make them fire all at once.
The solo mode is great also, providing you with a similar experience against the AI. I like how it challenged you to strategically still make good picks but not leave too much in an area to run the risk of having more runs scored on you. I was able to play a solo game in 10-15 mins so it lines up as a great game for solo play with minimal time investment for setup and gameplay.
Overall I can’t wait to get this one on the table more with family and friends. This game brings all the things you love about the original and seamlessly transitions it into an enjoyable roll and write experience! It is bound to be one of your favorite roll and writes if you love combo-producing games in this genre. Don’t miss the chance to take a swing at this game-it should definitely to be a home run at your next game night!
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