Blaseball: Wild Cards Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
  • Teams
• Cards
  • Opening Hand
  • Players
  • Specials
  • Abilities
  • Weather and Shadows
• Turn Sequence
  • Drawing and Playing Cards
  • Reveal
  • Emergency Draw
  • Play Ball
  • Batting
    • The Pitch Total is higher than the Bat Total
    • The Bat Total is higher than the Pitch Total
    • The Pitch and Bat Totals are the same
  • Running
    • Let the Batting Player Run
  • Catch
• Clean Up
  • Draw Back Up
• Changing Sides
• Game Over
• Notes

Setup

First, make sure that each Coach has a Team Deck and decide who will Pitch and Bat first. Make sure both Coaches are sat on their correct side of the playmat. The Batting Coach should be able to read "At Bat" face up, while the Pitching Coach can see "Mound" and "Outfield". Both Coaches should put their Team card in the marked slots too, then add some Vibe Tokens to these cards.

You should be able to see a Vibe Token icon on the left side of your Team card with the number 3 next to it. Any time you flip a card with this icon, add the amount of Vibe Tokens to it from the supply, putting them on or near the card.

You can use Vibe Tokens to fire off Abilities during the game. Both the All-Stars and Underdogs teams have the same two Abilities, allowing them to reroll dice or add to a roll total. You'll find other Abilities on other cards too!

Next up, you should both shuffle your Team decks and draw five cards each.

Teams

The All-Stars: The Best of the Best, the heavy hitters, the kind of wholesome winners you'll see on the cover of Blaseball Magazine every month. They're also the sort of folks who'll do anything to win and are certainly way better than those Underdogs. Their Coach is definitely the type of person who would get things started first by choosing to draw five cards.

The Underdogs: The Lowest of the Low, the cheats, the liars, the rapscallions of the diamond... yet still as beloved as their mortal enemies, the prissy, perfect All-Stars. As adept at the game as they are at scheming, they will - of course - pretty much do anything to win. To make that happen, their Coach should probably draw five cards and get this show on the road.

Cards

Opening Hand

Some card games let you mulligan, which means you can get rid of your first hand of cards if you don't feel like you got a good draw. In Blaseball: Wild Cards you have to deal with what you're given, but don't worry, you'll have options regardless!

There are two types of card in the game: Players and Specials.

At the beginning of a turn, the two Coaches must put Players on the field. Each space you can place a card on the playmat is called a zone. The Pitching Coach will need someone to Pitch from the Mound zone and another Player to potentially Catch in the Outfield. Meanwhile, the Batting Coach will need someone to Bat (which shouldn't be much of a surprise). All cards should be placed face down, and they'll be revealed in a specific order shortly. If you don't have a Player card to put in a zone, don't worry - you'll do an Emergency Draw shortly to bring someone into play.

At this point, Coaches may also play Special cards face down to the Special zone on their side of the playmat. These cards can be revealed when the Coach is in control of the game, which you'll see marked on the Turn Order written on the playmat.

Once both Coaches have played the cards they want to for this round, it's time to reveal who is playing.

Players

Each Team deck contains 14 Player cards. The Player name, their star value and tags can be found at the top of the card, and their special Abilities are at the bottom. On the left side are the stats for Pitching, Batting and Catching, as well as how many Vibe Tokens they get when the card is flipped to reveal the Player.

Specials

Each Team deck contains 10 Special cards. The card name is found at the top, and the description of the special abilities are at the bottom. Some Special cards also get Vibe Tokens when the card is flipped to reveal what it can do.

Some Special cards can also be played straight from a Coach's hand, as long as they show the correct symbol AND their Special zone is empty.

Weather cards are also different in that, when they are played, they are immediately moved to the marked Weather zone on the board.

Abilities

Abilities are found on every card. Some require that you spend Vibe Tokens to activate them, some are always in effect, and others will fire when certain things happen during the game.

You can use an Ability any time you are in control of the game. Use the Turn Order sections on the sides of the playmat to determine when you're able to trigger Abilities - remember, you're in control during the sections that have a star next to them!

Weather and Shadows

Weather: Weather cards effect only the Team whose Coach played the card, unless otherwise specified. When revealed, they must always be moved from the Special zone to the Weather zone. If there is already a card in the Weather zone, it is removed and discarded, replaced by the new Weather card.

Shadows: The Shadows is a special collective discard pile used by both Coaches. Any cards sent to the Shadows can only be retrieved by using special Abilities. If there are cards in the Shadows when the teams Change Sides, they remain there. Coaches can take any cards from the Shadows as long as they have the Ability to do so, and may use them as normal.

Turn Sequence

Drawing and Playing Cards

Both Coaches now play cards face down to any empty zones they control; the Mound, Outfield and Special zones for the Pitching Coach, the At-Bat and Special zones for the Batting Coach. If there are cards in these zones already, new cards do not have to be played (because the Coaches have paid to keep them in play earlier).

Revealing cards happen in the same order, but if a card is already face up, it obviously doesn't need to be flipped. However, both Coaches still get the opportunity to play Special cards at the time they would reveal their cards.

Once all Players have been revealed, and any Specials and Abilities are activated, it's time to Play Ball once again.

Reveal

Player cards are always revealed in a specific order. Remember, if you don't have a Player card to reveal, you will have to do an Emergency Draw.

First, the Pitching Coach flips their Pitcher on the Mound zone. They can also play a Special card either before or after the Pitcher is revealed before passing to the Batting Coach.

Next, the Batting Coach flips their Batter on the At Bat zone. Again, they can play a Special card before or after this reveal too, before passing back to the Pitching Coach.

Finally, the Pitching Coach flips their Outfielder on the Outfield zone. Once again, they may play a Special card either before or after this happens.

If a Coach already has a Player in one of these zones, they don't need to play a new card and reveal one when the time comes. However, they do still have the window to play a Special card if they want to.

Once you've got all your Players ready to go, it's time to actually Play Ball!

Emergency Draw

If you don't have any Players in your hand to place on the Mound, At Bat or Outfield zones, you'll have to do an Emergency Draw. When it comes to the time to reveal your card and there's nothing there but an empty space, draw a card from the top of your Team deck. If it's a Player, they slot into the position immediately and you'll use them as normal. If it isn't a Player, show it to your opposing Coach then put the card on top of your Discard Pile.

If you're the Pitching Coach and you only have one Player in your hand, you can choose which zone to place it in - either the Mound or Outfield - then Emergency Draw for the other zone when the time comes.

Play Ball

First, the Pitcher needs to actually throw the ball. To do this, the Pitching Coach rolls two six-sided dice and adds the Pitch modifier from the card of the Player on the Mound zone. The result of this total is the Pitch Value.

At this point, you can use Abilities from cards you have in play (or even some from your hand if they have the right symbol) to modify the value. A good rule of thumb is that a higher total is better, because the Batter is going to have to outroll this number in order to hit the ball.

Once the Pitching Coach has got a final result, they should use the 20-sided tracking dice to show the total target that the Batting Player will need to beat to get a successful hit. Place this dice on the Player card.

Batting

Next, it's time to see if the Batting Player can even make contact with the ball. To do this, the Batting Coach rolls two six-sided dice and adds the Bat modifier from the card of the player on the At Bat zone. Again, Abilities can be used in order to modify the value, and the Batting Coach is looking to roll higher than the Pitch Total - the more, the better.

Once the Batting Coach has got a final Bat Value, they set their own 20-sided tracking dice on the Batting player card, and one of three things is going to happen.

1. The Pitch Total is higher than the Bat Total
2. The Pitch and Bat Totals are the same
3. The Bat Total is higher than the Pitch Total

The Pitch Total is higher than the Bat Total

If the Pitch Total is higher than the Bat Total, the batter swings and misses, taking a Strike.

Take one of the Strike Tokens from the supply, placing it on one of the marked empty spaces of the Scoreboard.

If this is the first or second Strike Token on the Scoreboard, the Batter will get another chance at getting a Hit. Head back and Play Ball again.

If this is the third Strike Token, then sorry... it's bad news. The Batting Player is Out.

The Bat Total is higher than the Pitch Total

The Batting Player swings and with a mighty THWACK!, the ball goes sailing through the sky. It's a Hit!

Now the Batting Coach has to make the decision. Do they want to try and run, or will they play it safe and take a Ball? Remember, when the Scoreboard shows four Balls, the Ball Tokens will be removed and the Batting Player will earn a Walk.

The Pitch and Bat Totals are the same

The ball hurtles through the air, but the Batting Player stands their ground. It's absolutely nowhere near the plate, and the umpire calls "Ball!".

Take one of the Ball Tokens from the supply, placing it on one of the marked empty spaces of the Scoreboard.

If this is the first, second or third Ball Token on the Scoreboard, get ready to roll off against each other once more by heading back to Play Ball again.

If this is the fourth Ball Token on the Scoreboard, the Batting Player has earned a Walk. Once the Walk has been dealt with, move on to Clean Up.

Running

Getting all the way around the bases and back to Home is the only way you'll score those much needed Runs.

First, work out the difference between the Pitch and Bat Totals, then tilt the Batting Player's card to show that number in the At Bat zone under the card. This number is called the Potential, and is the maximum number of bases each Player can run.

So, if the difference between the totals is 1, tilt the card to the right a little so the 1 icon is showing. If the difference is 2, show the 2. If it's 3, show the 3. If the difference is 4 or higher, show the H icon, meaning that this could potentially be a Home Run!

Next up, it's time to give the Pitching Coach the opportunity to either let the Batting Player run or attempt a Catch.

Let the Batting Player Run

If the Batting Player is allowed to run, then all Players currently on bases also get to move. The Batting Player must run to at least First Base, and can run around to the base equal to their Potential (so, if the Potential is 2, the Batter could reach all the way round to Second Base).

All other Players also get to run an amount of bases up to the Potential, but they are not obliged to move. Of course, you can only win by scoring Runs, and you only get Runs by getting Players to Home, but you may want to keep certain Players on the field for strategic reasons! Remember, the bare minimum required is that the Batting Player must move to First Base.

Players can be moved around the bases in any order, but may not move backwards around the diamond. There can only be one Player on a base at any time. When a Player is moved to Home, their card is added to the Discard Pile and a Run is scored. Mark this using your Team's Score Token on the track at the side of the playmat.

Once the Batting Coach has finished moving all Players, check the score track at the side of the board. If the second Team is batting and they have outscored the first Team, that means the second team has won and you should move to Game Over immediately.

In any other case, both Coaches should move on to Clean Up.

Catch

If the Pitching Coach decides to attempt a Catch, they must roll two six-sided dice and add the Catch modifier from the card of the Player on the Outfield zone. Any Abilities can also used at this time, and the end result of this is the Catch Value.

Once the Pitching Coach has got a final Catch Value, they reset their 20-sided tracking dice and put it on the Catching Player card. One of two things is going to happen.

1. The Catch Total is higher than the Bat Total, or
2. The Catch Total is lower than or equal to the Bat Total.

The Catch Total is higher than the Bat Total

This means no Players get to move and the Batter has been caught Out.

The Catch Total is lower than or equal to the Bat Total

The Outfield Player fumbles the Catch attempt and the Batting Coach is going to take full advantage of it! All Players currently on bases also get to run if you choose. The Batting Player must run to at least First Base, and can run around to the base equal to their Potential +1 (so, if the Potential is 2, the Batter could get all the way round to Third Base).

All other Players also get to run an amount of bases up to the Potential +1, but they are not obliged to move. Of course, you can only win by scoring runs, and you only get runs by getting Players to Home, but you may want to keep certain Players on their field for strategic reasons! Remember, the bare minimum required is that the Batting Player must move to First Base.

Players can be moved around the bases in any order, but may not move backwards around the diamond. There can only be one Player on a base at any given time. When a Player is moved to Home, their card is added to the discard pile and a Run is scored using the Team's Score Token on the track at the side of the board.

Once the Batting Coach has finished moving all the Players, move on to Clean Up.

Out

An effort was made, but the Batting Player is Out. Sad times on the Blaseball field.

The Batting Coach takes the Batting Player's card and adds it to their Discard pile.

If the Batting Player is Out because they reached three Strike Tokens on the Scoreboard, remove the three Strike Tokens from the Scoreboard, then replace them with a Out Token.

Alternatively, if the Batting Player is Out because their Hit was Caught, leave any Strike Tokens on the Scoreboard. Unlike standard baseball, Strikes stay in play between Players.

Next, check the amount of Out Tokens.

If this is the first or second Out Token on the Scoreboard, move on to Clean Up.

If this is the third Out Token on the Scoreboard, it's time for the teams to Change Sides. If the teams have already Changed Sides during play, it's Game Over.

Walk

A Walk is earned when a Batting Player reaches four Ball Tokens on the Scoreboard.

First, remove all four Ball Tokens from the Scoreboard before continuing.

Next, move the Batting Player card to First Base. All other players on bases also automatically move one base towards Home.

Once players have moved, it's time to Clean Up and get set for the next turn.

Clean Up

You'll only do the Clean Up phase when either a Batting Player is Out or after you've resolved a successful Hit. If that hasn't happened, you should head back to Play Ball.

Cleaning up is always done in a specific order, starting with the Pitching Coach.

If they choose to keep their Pitcher, Outfielder, or any Special card in play, the Pitching Coach can pay 1 Vibe Token (taken from any of their cards) to do so. Any cards that they control which have not been paid for must be removed from play and put on their Discard Pile. If there are Vibe Tokens left on a card when it is discarded, one is moved to the controlling Coach's Team Card, and the rest are moved back to the supply.

Next up, the Batting Coach. Any Players that are on bases remain there for free - they've already done the hard work and Vibe Tokens don't have to be spent to keep them in play. Also, leave any Ball and Strike Tokens on the Scoreboard - in a big difference to standard baseball, these remain in play between Players.

At this point, the Batting Coach can pay 1 Vibe Token to keep any of their other cards in play - this will normally just be Special cards of some kind. Any cards they control that are not paid for must be removed from play and added to their Discard Pile. Again, if there are Vibe Tokens left on a card when it is discarded, one is moved to the controlling Coach's Team Card, and the rest are moved back to the supply.

The Batting Coach may ALSO force their opponent to remove cards from play by paying 2 Vibe Tokens per card they wish to trash. It's expensive, but a great way of getting rid of a powerful opposing Player or Special card.

Once you're all done with cleaning up, both Coaches need to draw back up to five cards.

Draw Back Up

Before drawing cards, both Coaches can choose to get rid of as many cards from their hand as they like. Doing so means that they can take 1 Vibe Token from the Supply (and that means exactly 1 Vibe Token, not one per card).

Both Coaches then draw cards from their face down Team Deck so they have five cards in their hand. Of course, sometimes you might not have enough cards in the Team Deck to do so.

If you're the Pitching Coach and you have no more cards left in your Team Deck, shuffle your entire Discard Pile to make a new Team Deck, then keep drawing until you have five cards in your hand.

If you're the Batting Coach and you have no more cards left in your Team Deck, you're stuck with the cards you're holding! The Batting Coach can only go through their Team Deck once, and once you have no more Players in your deck or in your hand, you won't be able to Bat any more. At that point, you will either Change Sides or (if that's already happened once during play) it's Game Over.

As long as the Batting Coach has at least one Player remaining either in their deck or hand, play will continue with both Coaches playing new cards.

Changing Sides

When the first Batting Coach has either reached three Outs (or they have no Players remaining in their Team deck or hand), the game reaches its midpoint and the two Teams change sides.

First of all, return all cards back to their original Coach's Team decks, except for any cards that are in the Shadows - they will stay there unless removed via other means.

Next, remove all Strike, Out and Ball Tokens from the Scoreboard, returning them to the supply. All Vibe Tokens are also returned to the supply.

Rotate the playmat 180 degrees, so both Coaches are now on the other sides. This means that the Pitching Coach will now be the Batting Coach and vice versa.

Both Coaches put their Team cards in the marked zones, adding Vibe Tokens as shown, just like they did at the beginning of the game. They then shuffle their Team decks, draw back up to five cards, place Players and Specials, and Play Ball as normal.

Game Over

Coaches will only be at this point when both Teams have had the chance to Pitch and Bat.

If the Team who batted second outscores the first Team, the game immediately ends with a win for the second Team.

If the Team who batted second take three Outs and haven't outscored the first Team, the game immediately ends with a win for the first Team.

If both Teams have the same score, the game result is a tie. Be assured in the knowledge that you have met your match on the diamond, and look forward to the inevitable rematch!

Notes

Transcriber notes: This is a walkthrough tutorial, not a complete rulebook. It does not contain the full text of every card's Abilities or the complete list of Special cards, because those are printed on the cards themselves. The rules above are only what the walkthrough states; no abilities have been added beyond it. Section headings (Setup, Cards, Turn Sequence, and so on) are added for navigation and mirror the walkthrough's passages. Source typos corrected: "showss" to "shows", "orSpecial" to "or Special", the Emergency Draw "Mount" zone to "Mound" (the zone named everywhere else), and a doubled period after "Potential". The walkthrough's menu and "Jump to" navigation links are omitted.