How to Play

A head-to-head battle of prediction and deception. Every pitch is a trap. Every swing is a gamble.

OVERVIEW

Baseball Army Men is a two-player tabletop baseball strategy game. The pitcher secretly selects a pitch type and location. The batter secretly commits to a swing. Reveal both cards simultaneously — every pitch ends in a Hit or an Out.

⚠ There are no balls or strikes in this game. Every pitch ends in a hit or an out.

Players agree on game length before starting:

3 Innings
~10 min
6 Innings
~25 min
9 Innings
~45 min

Each inning has a Top half and a Bottom half with three outs per half-inning. The Away Team bats first (Top). The Home Team bats second (Bottom).

Before the game begins, each player secretly chooses one Special Operations Player. Place the card face up next to your dugout so both players can see it.

🎯 THE PITCHER — FORM P-01

Before each pitch, the pitcher secretly makes two decisions on the Pitcher Card, then covers it from the batter:

1 — CHOOSE A PITCH TYPE

🔴 Fastball (FB)
Changeup (CH)

The base game has two pitch types. Some Special Ops Players add a third option.

2 — CHOOSE A STRIKE ZONE LOCATION

Select one of six boxes — a row (High, Middle, Low) and a column (Inside or Outside):

Inside
Outside
High
H·I
H·O
Middle
M·I
M·O
Low
L·I
L·O

The Pitcher Card also has a Throw Out Runner box — used for the Steal mechanic.

🏏 THE BATTER — FORM B-01

The batter secretly chooses one swing type on the Batter Card, then predicts the pitch type and a target location:

⚡ POWER SWING
ResultCondition
HOME RUN Pitch and Box both match
TRIPLE Box match only
OUT Anything else

Predicts the exact pitch type and the exact strike zone box.

🎯 NORMAL SWING
ResultCondition
DOUBLE Pitch and Row both match
SINGLE Row match only
OUT Anything else

Predicts the pitch type and a row (High, Middle, or Low).

Key: Pitch = Fastball or Changeup  ·  Box = exact zone square (e.g., High & Inside)  ·  Row = High, Middle, or Low

The Batter Card also has Steal and Pitch boxes — used for the Steal mechanic.

🃏 REVEAL & RESOLVE
  1. Both players lock in their choices simultaneously.
  2. Remove the blocking cards to reveal the pitch and the swing at the same time.
  3. Use the Batter Options card (Form B-01) to determine the result: Out, Single (1B), Double (2B), Triple (3B), or Home Run (HR).
  4. Reset the cards and proceed to the next pitch.
🏃 BASERUNNING & SCORING
HitAll Runners Advance
1B Single 1 base
2B Double 2 bases
3B Triple 3 bases
HR Home Run All runners score & bases clear

A run scores when a runner reaches home plate. Use the Umpire Clicker to track runs.

🏴 STEALING — ADVANCED RULE

Each team receives 3 White Bases and 3 Red Bases per game.

⬜ WHITE BASE
Steal
🟥 RED BASE
Caught Stealing

Before the pitch is locked in:

  • The batting team may secretly place one White Base on the Batter Card for each runner they want to steal (up to 3 White Bases at once).
  • The pitching team may secretly place 1 Red Base on the Pitcher Card if they suspect a steal.
⬜ WHITE BASE ONLY
  • If the batter gets a hit, each stealing runner advances one extra base beyond the normal hit advancement.
  • If the batter is out, stealing runners still advance one base — unless it is the third out.
Runner on 1st steals + Single
Runner on 3rd. Batter on 1st.
⬜ + 🟥 WHITE & RED

Batter is out: The lead stealing runner is caught. Two outs are recorded.

Batter gets a hit: The Red Base removes only the extra base gained from stealing. If the hit alone would advance that runner to the same base or farther, the Red Base has no effect.

Runner on 1st steals + Single
Runner out at 3rd
Runner on 1st steals + Double
Runner out at home
Runner on 1st steals + Triple
Runner scores safely (would have scored without steal)
Runner on 1st steals + Home Run
Runner scores safely
🟥 RED BASE ONLY: If a Red Base is revealed but no White Base was played, the Red Base is wasted and has no effect.
📟 UMPIRE CLICKER

The 3D-printed Umpire Clicker tracks three things during the game:

  • Outs — advance one per out; reset after three (end of half-inning)
  • Runs — advance when a run scores
  • Innings — advance at the end of each full inning
The Home Team acts as the umpire and operates the clicker for the entire game.
🔄 INNINGS & SWITCHING ROLES
  • After three outs, the half-inning ends.
  • The pitcher becomes the batter and the batter becomes the pitcher.
  • An inning is complete after both players have batted (Top and Bottom halves).
🏆 GAME END & WINNING
  • The game ends after the agreed number of innings (3, 6, or 9).
  • The player with the most runs wins.
  • If the Home Team is already ahead after the Top of the final inning, the game ends immediately — no Bottom half needed.
  • If the score is tied after the final inning, play extra innings until a winner is determined.
⭐ Extra Innings: A runner starts on 2nd Base at the beginning of each extra inning.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS PLAYERS

Before the game, each player secretly chooses one Special Operations Player card. The Away Team chooses first. Place your card face up next to your dugout.

Each of the 12 Special Ops Players has a unique ability. Abilities come in three types:

🛡 Always Active 🔄 Once Per Inning ⚡ Once Per Game
View All 12 Special Ops Players →

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