2020 · The Game Band · Baseball · Horror

Blaseball

An absurdist, player-driven, online almost-baseball league where community members bet and spend a virtual currency to make changes to teams, players, rosters, and even the rules of the game across simulated seasons. The game ran from July 2020 to June 2023.

Released: 20 July 2020
Platforms: Browser
Genres: Baseball Horror Indie Simulation Sports Strategy
Developers: The Game Band
Publishers: —
Perspective: Text
Themes: Comedy Business
Country: United States

About

Blaseball was a baseball simulation horror game developed by The Game Band. It was active from July 20, 2020, to June 2, 2023, and was played via web browser. During each week the game was active, a full season and championship series of "Internet League Blaseball" was simulated, with elections on Sundays in which the community changed the rules of the game. Non-player characters, such as the league's owner or commissioner, occasionally delivered dialogue on the website and through Twitter accounts, creating an absurdist horror narrative.

The game has an active fandom known for their prolific fan works. There was a high degree of audience participation, with the game's developers actively engaging with the fan community online.

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Blaseball centered on an absurdist simulation of baseball, with fictional teams, featuring random events such as the "incineration" of players by "rogue umpires". Each player had a name and a star rating, which was used to determine their stats, as well as amusing trivia such as their preferred coffee type and their pre-game rituals. After their first log-in, users would choose a favorite team and be given some coins. The game allowed users to use these coins to bet on the outcomes of the simulated games.

Fans could also "idol" players and earn coins based on their performance. Each season lasted a week, and users were able to follow what happened in real time. The matches were organized every day on the hour, while the post-season happened in two parts, with wild card matches and quarterfinals happening on Friday and semifinals and finals happening on Saturday. Users were able to use their coins to purchase votes, which were used to vote on events and rule changes that will happen after each season on Sunday.

Development

Sam Rosenthal, the creative director of The Game Band, spent some time on video conference calls during a quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with friends who do not usually play video games, but were still eager to play browser adaptations of board games. The idea of creating a title that would bring people together attracted the developers. At first, he thought to make a horse-racing gambling game, but the team decided that the whole concept was better suited for baseball.

From August 9, 2020, to August 24, 2020, The Game Band put the game on a temporary hiatus, citing the problems associated with running into unexpected viral popularity. Blaseball was put on another hiatus, referred to as a "Grand Siesta", from October 25, 2020, to March 1, 2021.