VISITORS
0
0
0
HOME
0
0
0
INNING
1
OUTS
0
VISITORS
0
0
0
HOME
0
0
0
INNING
1
OUTS
0
If you remember dice baseball from years (and years) gone by, here is your big chance to relive those golden memories. If you don’t remember, or never played dice baseball this is still a golden chance to play dice baseball online, just skip over the reliving memories part.
Dice baseball is a tabletop game my bros, buds and I played as kids. It was like a board game, only not really. There was no board, or tokens, or cards, or other paraphernalia, just a pair of dice and a simple set of rules. Plus the rules of baseball. Basically, if you don’t know the terms and rules of baseball, dice baseball will make no sense to you. Anyway, we only used a pair of dice and our memories to keep track of innings, outs, and runs. Which is all you need to figure out who wins a baseball game of the dice or real-life variety.
Dice baseball is played one at bat at a time. You roll the (2) dice for that batter and apply the outcome to the situation as it is. You know, outs and runners on base. There are 36 possible combinations of a two dice roll. In dice baseball the lower number always comes first (2-5 and 5-2 are both 2-5) meaning there are 21 different results. Though some different roll combinations are the same, a 1-6 strikeout is the same as a 2-5 strikeout. Which means there are actually… oh, who cares? It’s dice baseball.
At any rate, this is the Official Terry Colon dot Com version of Dice Baseball. Unlike other online computer games, my Dice Baseball will not do things automatically for you. You will have to figure out the results of the rolls. You will track the runners. You will tally the score. You will keep track of the outs and innings. Just like good old-fashioned dice baseball without a computer on the tabletop. Besides, why let the computer to do everything and have all the fun anyway?
1. Before you begin the game you will need to know the rules and be familiar with the play of actual baseball. Go watch, play and learn the game. Dice baseball has lasted 50 years and it will be here when you get back. If you already know the game, proceed to step 2.
2. Decide who is which team, either visitors or home, any old way you want. As in real baseball, the home team bats last.
3. You can rename the teams by selecting (double-clicking) the text (VISITORS, HOME) on the scoreboard and typing in any name you want.
4. Roll dice for batter. You can use real dice on whatever surface you have handy, or the digital dice provided. Simply click on the digital dice and they’ll roll.
IMPORTANT: The dice roll is not totalled as a single number, but is read as a two intiger number with the lower number always read first in the sequence. Rolling a five and a two gives you a 2-5, not seven. And not 5-2, the lower number is always first. Except in doubles, of course, where it doesn’t matter.
5. Find dice roll result on the handy-dandy chart provided and apply to the situation, how many outs, runners on base.
NOTE: The number or abbreviation in the parentheses tells you what happens if there are base runners.
(DP) Double play on lead runner and batter if a force available. If no force runners do not advance.
(FC) Fielder’s choice, batter out, runners advance 1 base.
(FO) Force out, lead runner out if force available. If no force, batter out, runners advance 1 base.
(SAC) RBI if man on third and less than two outs.
(1) Runners advance 1 base.
(2) Runners advance 2 bases.
(3) Runners advance 3 bases.
6. To keep track of runs, hits, errors, and innings simply click on the number box to add one. That’s it. Just don’t overdo it cause there ain’t no reverse.
7. To keep track of outs simply click on the number box to add one. Hey, just like the other bits from step 5. Only in this case it only goes from zero to two. Once you get to three it resets to zero because the half inning is over and the other team bats. Like in baseball, see?
8. Select which team is at bat by clicking on the appropriate on deck circle. Any base runners will go away automatically when switching teams.
9. To keep track of base runners click on a base to add a runner there. Click on the runner to delete. Pretty much a simple on/off business. Easy.
NOTE: Base runners cannot be moved, they will not run the bases or anything like that as you generally expect with online games. They’re there for players to keep track of manually as a visual aid. Or for fun if you think it’s fun.
10. Click on the empty batter’s box to switch from right-handed hitter to left-handed hitter or vise-vera. Which really makes no difference to the dice roll or outcome, but it might be kinda fun for some players.
For those who want more of the action of real baseball, even though this is just dice baseball and will never be really like real baseball, I offer these optional rules:
11. Roll of 4-4 becomes error/wild pitch. Roll dice again, add up to single total 2 to 12. (You know, snake eyes to boxcars.) 2-6 is one base error. 7-12 is wild pitch and runners advance one base, batter hits again next roll. 7-12 is non-result if bases are empty. Everything stays as is and you start at bat over with a new roll of the dice.
Just to keep it simple these next two rules are used only if there is only one runner who is on on first base. With multiple runners it just gets too complicated so I’m not even going to try to figure out all the possibilities.
12. Sacrifice bunt is attempted by announcing intention first. Roll dice, add up to single total 2 to 12. 2-5 runner out, batter to first. 6-12 batter out, runner advances to second.
13. Stealing second is attempted by announcing intention first. Roll dice, add up to single total 2 to 12. 2-6 runner out. 7-12 runner safe a second.
Beyond that there’s not much to tell you. It’s baseball. Teams alternate turns at bat, there are three outs per half inning, nine innings, extra innings if tied and the rest of it. The same as non-dice baseball. If something crops up that isn’t clear in my official rules, fake it. You know baseball, do whatever makes sense to you. It is, after all, once again, only dice baseball. Go back to the top of the page and play. Enjoy.
© Terry Colon, 2019
