HardBall!

Play is controlled with a joystick or arrow keys and an action button. One of the four cardinal directions is used to choose the pitch, and again to aim it towards low, high, inside (towards batter), or outside (away from batter). The same directions are used to aim the swing when batting. When fielding after a hit, the defensive player closest to the ball will flash to show it is the one currently under control. The four directions are then used to throw to one of the four bases.

HardBall! was one of the first baseball video games to incorporate the perspective from the pitcher's mound, similar to MLB broadcasts. There are also managerial options available. The player has a selection of pitchers to choose from.

HardBall! was a commercial blockbuster. The Commodore 64 version topped the UK sales chart in early 1986. It went on to become Accolade's best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987; by 1989, this version had surpassed 500,000 units sold.

Info rated HardBall! four-plus stars out of five, stating that it "is easily the best baseball simulation we have seen to date for the 64/128" and praising its graphics. "Graphics is HardBall's strength. Realism isn't", Antic said of the Atari 8-bit version.