I first heard about this game in passing and was intrigued. After listening to Mark Johnson’s Boardgames to Go “All About” show focused on this game I went out and bought it.
A Quick Rules Summary
Each player has three cards in their hands. They alternate plays.
Each play has three steps:
- Lay down a card which depicts what happens at home plate.
- Resolve the action
- Draw a card from the deck (replenish the hand to 3).
There are a couple exceptions to the rules. At the bottom of the 3rd and 6th innings both players discard their hands, reshuffle the deck with the discard pile and draw three new cards. The other exception is the “pinch hitter/relief pitcher” card. When you draw that card, you play it immediately and then take the top card of the deck and put it underneath the pinch/relief card without looking at it. On any turn, instead of playing a card from your hand, you may choose to use your pinch/relief card. If so, discard the pinch hitter/relief pitcher card and play the card underneath it (for better or ill).
I also recommend doing a 7th inning stretch as mentioned on the Boardgames to Go Podcast. But aside from that, this is a very simple game.
Listening to a Baseball Game
Here is the point that I don’t think I’ve seen elsewhere.
You are sitting there and the events just happen in front of you. Like on the radio, you’re emotionally invested in what’s going on in the game but you have (almost) no control over what happens on the field. Like radio, you get the results of the play and then you have to fill in the details of the play with your mind’s eye. As a spectator of the game, you really get that sinking feeling (or rising hope) as each inning ebbs and flows.
The pinch hitter/relief pitcher is a great example of that dynamic. The new guy comes on and you have no idea what’s going to happen – especially in their first play. It really captures that hope for something good to happen even though you know the odds are leaning against you (the reason you’re resorting to the relief card is because you have a hand of crummy cards).
War (the Card Game) Meets Baseball
If you like baseball then this is worth having in your collection.
Done.
If you are still wondering if you would like playing the game, here is another thought that popped into my head.
Can you ever see yourself playing a game of War or a slightly less passive variant such as Egyptian Ratscrew? If you hate such heavily luck based light games then I’d advise you to pass on Harry’s, even if you are a baseball aficionado.
However, if you love baseball, and you can imagine a scenario where you are willing to play and exceedingly light game (such as burning the afternoon playing with a kiddo), then I think Harry’s is worth having in your collection.
This is a game where you must chill and just let the game happen to you. You’re playing Mike Krukow, not Bruce Bochy (Vin Scully not Joe Torre). It works for me, because the announcers are my actual connection to baseball. I listen to the game more than I watch it (and with one game I’ve played more innings of Harry’s Grand Slam Baseball than in real life!)
This game captures the spirit of listening to the game on the radio after mowing the lawn on a hot summer’s afternoon. If you love that, there’s a good chance you’ll love this game.