Baseball fans should enjoy Bottom of the 9th. I bought it because I like baseball, and I think it is one of the most “fun” games I own. I have never had a bad time playing, win or lose. There is strategy, there is bluffing, there is luck. It is a fast game with choices to be made. The art is excellent. It feels like a high-stakes ball game. Because the theme so effectively elevates the game, non-baseball fans may not get as much out of it.
The strategy begins with the batting order. The game does a good job making you feel like a baseball manager. Each batter has their own strength. Combining these strengths makes winning the inning much easier. You want a couple of leadoff hitters to make contact and hustle to first base. One ability that implements this idea is Dan Martini who take one unopposed Run Roll. Run Rolls are the fielding action when the ball is in play; the unopposed roll gives the runner a chance to get to base before the fielders know what’s happening. Following the lead-off hitters, you want a masher like Kerry Rumble whose trait helps her hit more home runs. All the different player traits can be used in the game. One player can turn certain strikes into balls, working the pitch count and fatiguing (more on that coming) the pitcher. Another is able to hit curveballs as easily as strikes. These examples only come from the batters. Each pitcher has their own special trait and ace pitch.
At the plate, the batter and pitcher first choose what kind of pitch will be thrown using color-coded tokens (high and inside, low and away, etc). This is the Stare Down. Correct guesses earn batters the corresponding tokens. If the batters guess incorrectly, the pitcher earns the tokens. These tokens are used by the players to make the pitch easier or more difficult to hit. There is a cost for pitchers. A fatigue track records the pitches thrown. At a certain point certain pitches can no longer be thrown. When that happens the batter knows what the pitcher must choose, giving them the advantage. There is a real strategy to working the pitch count. Hitting happens with dice rolls. Baseball is a slow paced game. The Stare Down and the dice rolls emulate the tension found in each pitch of a close ball game. The tension works well. When the game is tied, the bases are loaded, with two outs and two strikes on the board, slowing down the action gives the weight a moment to sink in.
This sort of tension is where I feel Bottom of the 9thshines. I have played games where winning and losing comes down to a single action. Few have captured the feeling better than Bottom of the 9thand I think that is because I know baseball. I’ve never been a spaceship captain or city planner or pulp adventure monster hunter. But I played Little League and have watched tons of baseball. I know the feeling when your team is fighting for the playoffs and every game matters. I can hear the announcers in my head. “Hannah Cait is stepping up the to plate. She was just called up from triple AAA this week and wow she’s in it now. Two runners in scoring position and two outs, the pressure is on. If she can bring a runner home, the Dukes are one game out of the wild card.” The artwork and abilities do a decent job of giving each player enough personality that it is hard to avoid getting sucked into a running narration.
The art and design made three excellent choices that make the theme stick. The players are all cartoons with very expressive faces. Some are goofy, some are charming, and some are intimidating. The cartoonishness reinforces that is not a crunch baseball simulation. The old-timey 1920s baseball aesthetic also rules. Flat-topped hats and curly mustaches are always charming. Third, and maybe most importan, the team names are pitch perfect. Boiling Springs Bubblers, Potacello Hammers, Silver City Sluggers, Arkham (yes that Arkham) Elders all sound like real minor league teams. The game oozes style in a way that adds to the experience in a way that works for me as a baseball fan.
Along with the art, a quick note on the components. All the player cards are nice, thick cardboard. They could have easily been the regular card stock used for the solo player deck. Everything but the dice is wood with a simple cream and maroon color color scheme that pops. I love the meeples, awesome little runners with baseball helmets.
I lot Bottom of the 9tha lot. It will be one of my go-to gifts for my board gaming friends who also like baseball. I think all baseball fans should have a copy, even if you’re like me and only play it seriously around Opening Day and the World Series.
The Keasy Depot 