Rather than being a plate-appearance-by-plate-appearance statistical simulation using real players' statistics, like Strat-O-Matic, Brett Ball is a pitch-by-pitch tactical simulation using archetypal players for each team's lineup.
Each team's lineup consists of an identical selection of 9 batters falling into one of five broad categories: high average, low power, extra speed; high average, high power; decent average, decent power; low average, low power; and (optional) pitcher. There's also a selection of pinch hitters, one from each category (except pitcher), and a pinch runner.
The player on defense starts the action by rolling a pair of dice; if the total is between 2 and 5, it's a 'hittable' strike (the lower the number, the easier it is to hit); 6 or 8 (except 4-4) are foul strikes; 7 is an unhittable strike; 8 (4-4 only), 9, and 10 are hittable balls; and 11 and 12 are unhittable balls. If it's a hittable pitch, the offensive player decides whether to swing; if they do, they roll the pair of dice, and consult a chart to determine the results. Base runners can attempts steals and (sometimes) advancing an extra base on a hit; the defensive player can call pitch-outs if a runner is on base; and the batter can be made to hit-and-run, sacrifice bunt, or even suicide squeeze. The usual rules of baseball apply (3 outs to an inning, 9 innings to a game, etc.).
- brilliant artwork
- engaging combat and diplomacy mechanics
- dynastic politics, diplomacy, and conquest
- Dark Ages / medieval England with Viking incursions
- dudes-on-the-map with dynamic events and combat
- Black Orchestra
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — control of territories and key regions on the map
- bribery/alliances — bribe neutral kingdoms and Viking factions to influence outcomes
- Card-driven combat — combat enhanced by playing combat cards
- Combat: Deck/Hand — combat enhanced by playing combat cards
- Event-driven variability — events pop up to shape the game state
- Events — events pop up to shape the game state
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a very quick game under an hour
- bribe kind of neutral kingdoms, and you can try to bribe the Vikings
- it's solitary, but I really prefer it as a two-player game
- this is Valkyrie, absolutely fantastic
- hidden movement solitaire game
- innovative and fun
- very fun solitaire experience
- I would actually like to see this system adapted to a war game
- Silver Frost is a riff on Everdell
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I cannot wait for Pacific Chase.
- This is part of his recon series.
- If SD Histcon is probably two-thirds historical games and maybe one-third other games, Circle DC is probably half and half.
- Thank you to everybody who supports the channel.