Tabletop Baseball

[h3]RANKING:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td] [h3][strike]AVOID | FLAWED[/strike] | [b]MAYBE[/b] | [strike]WORTHWHILE | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE [/strike] [/h3] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h3]SYNOPSIS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [th][b]ASSESSMENT:[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] Tabletop Baseball is a faithful if unimaginative, adaptation of the coin-op game found in arcades & malls. Delivering fun & casual gameplay that is very simple & very minimalistic, yet captures the nostalgia of the real world experience. Ball physics feel sufficiently recreated, though additional pitch types & batting options would have fostered a better game. It possesses the same annoying scoring zone changes that occur mid-hit, as the original. While true alt. modes or variants are lacking, it at least provides x5 inning lengths & the possibility for local coop. Either with shared or separate input devices. Atmospheric audiovisuals do justice at immersing the player in the ambience of the original version. A perfect way to relieve some stress at the end of a long day, that [b]MAYBE[/b] enough to attract arcade junkies like me. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]STATUS:[/b][/td] [td]Given the version number, it may be prematurely released. More unlocks at least are indicated to come [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]APPEAL:[/b][/td] [td]Fans of baseball & very simple, casual, coin-op arcade games [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]VALUE:[/b][/td] [td]Given its simplicity & solitary mode, definitely get on sale [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Key provided by developer through [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/][b]INDIEGEMS[/b][/url] curator | Check out their vids on [url=https://www.youtube.com/@IndieGems2][b]YOUTUBE[/b][/url][/quote] [i]More info below....[/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3621456515 [h3]HIGHLIGHTS:[/h3] 🟡 PLAYS like the physical coin-op arcade game from nostalgia's past. Loved playing that version. This one is a faithful recreation. 🟡 GAMEPLAY is very simple, very repetitive, but fast-paced & a lot of brainless fun - or will be for fans of the coin-op. Follows a nerfed baseball format & very simplified rules. Essentially striking a ball with a bat into one of the scoring zones, attempting to get as many runs as possible. While avoiding hitting too many fouls or outs. A few more 'non-original' mechanics that change-up the repetitive nature of gameplay would go towards bringing the game up to modern standards. 🟡 Ball PHYSICS is very much representative of the coin-op, including all the limitations. The ball does travels in the same predictable channels depending on the pitch, bat position & timing of the swing when hitting the ball. 🟡 SCORING ZONES have the default values of the original coin-op: Out, Single, Double, Triple & Home Run. Plus the fixed fouls at either side of the playing area. Its annoying that scoring zones will sometimes cycle to other values, as the ball is in the air. Though this adds some much needed unpredictability to play. 🟡 MULTIPLAYER is included, but limited to hot-seat which to be fair, is adequate for such a niche game. Online versus would have been great, but without enough players online, its the perfect excuse to grab a friend in the real world. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3621460975 [h3]OFF TARGET:[/h3] ⚪ CONTROLS with keyboard or controller are without issue in singleplayer. In versus care must be taken where a controller is used, as pitching & batting input is available at the same time. Potentially causing conflict even when the other player is using a keyboard. Steam offers 'Mostly supported' schema for controllers. ⚪ Several UNLOCKS for backgrounds, stadium & bat skins are a good start, but many more are needed. ⚪ SETTINGS are very basic, limited to audio outputs. Though at least highscores & internal awards can be reset by choice. ⚪ AI legit throws all x4 types of pitch in varied configurations: slider, fastball, curveball & knuckleball. Annoyingly it will sometimes pitch the ball before all runners have exited the field on a home run. Thereby obscuring the ball & making it more difficult to hit. ⚪ PRODUCTION quality is very good. Everything looks & feels lovingly crafted. No BUGS were noticed. OPTIMISATION is the only concern running at 130fps without any settings to change or limit this. STABILITY comes without issues. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3621459648 [h3]SHORTCOMINGS:[/h3] 🟤 Lacks GAME MODES. There is only the basic one from the original physical arcade version. For one or two players. Split into x5 sub-modes dependent on innings length. Nothing wrong with that, but this is a videogame in 2025. Some imagination to create a few fun variants shouldn't be beyond the developer. 🟤 No PITCHING in singleplayer mode. Perhaps another default design feature, in this version it would have been nice to be able to pitch at an AI that was trying to get more home runs than the player. At least as a variant mode. 🟤 SCORING is off, as sometimes runners making it back to the home plate do not register a point. 🟤 STAYING POWER is limited to periodically returning for some stress relieving fun once the x21 awards have been achieved, There are no alt. modes, variants, difficulties or Steam Achievements to overcome. [table] [tr] [td][b]REVIEWED WITH:[/b][/td] [td]Build v 0.8.0 INTEL i5 6600 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX970 4GB @ 1920x1080 fullscreen, EVO850 SSD, Speedlink XEOX Pro Analog Gamepad [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td]Click for:[/td] [td][b][h1][url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/nourl1/screenshots/?appid=3943430&sort=newestfirst&browsefilter=myfiles&view=grid]SCREENSHOTS[/url][/h1][/b][/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Thank you for reading | Click to follow my curator[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40556040-The-Irregular-Gamer/] THE IRREGULAR GAMER[/url][/quote]

Don't be discouraged by the basic look of the game - it actually gives you a lot more gameplay than you'd expect! It not only offers fun physics-based gameplay, but an option to have two players on one controller (or keyboard) and I love that! It's quite fun to unlock some cosmetics as well. It's a fun, balanced, and enjoyable game at a great price-point.

If you’ve ever been to Dave and Busters, there’s an arcade game that’s basically this. I’d considered how to buy one for like 10 grand but this $5 version is perfect for my son and I to enjoy together.

Hey Dev: 1) baserunners don't reset between innings, please fix! 2) Highscore initials entry box should be automatically selected so you can just type. 3) AI should wait for runners to cross home fully before quick pitching. So glad I found this gem. It's super fun to beat your highscores, and so satisfying to knock a grand slam off of the suprisingly tricky AI pitchers. It's quick to pick up, and if you have someone over it's easy to throw them a controller and play against each other regardless of their skill level. It's a complete and very fun experience, and it looks like there is more to come. This is why I love games and these are the types of games we need to support: not a cashgrab, just a quality engaging and very fun experience. If you got this far, you know what to do.

Not bad little arcade-style game. I liked the handcrafted, unlockable environments!

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/indieretrogamers From the devs of Lumberjacked, Tabletop Baseball is a game you play with your controller and aim the ball to score. The highlight of this arcade game is the realistic physics.. As a batter, you can choke up on the ball or swing late to aim for right field. Most of the unlockable fields depends on amount of games played, so it's obvious the developer wanted you to keep the game up to 2 hours. You can also pitch the ball. As a batter, there is definitely a nice feel about aiming the ball and getting a home run. Needs more fields and interesting aspects to pay full price, but it is fairly priced. if the concept looks fun to you, get it. I'm not regretting my purchase at full price.

I love games like this in arcades, and this is a great approximation. Something as simple as this, great to hop in, play a few innings, and just chill. Customizations are fun and not hidden behind impossible achievements. I love the little baseball guys that hop around the board! I just have a few drawbacks. No camera movement. I wish I had a higher view to better judge the ball speed. Sometimes the animations get in the way of the pitch. You'll be watching your guys run bases and suddenly the ball launches and you strike out. Speaking of the ball, it's unpredictable when it will launch. You'll be watching the ball you hit to see where it lands, then the next ball launches. Even with that, I love this fun little game. I play them IRL whenever I see one in the while and it's a great fun option to have this is my library. I hope for a sequel or upgraded version with more features, there's a lot of potential here!

Definitely a stress-free relaxing homage to what arcade games used to be. As the game does not require a massive amount of engagement or focus, I can play this while talking to other people in the room, or am listening to something like a lecture or the news or something. Wish the developers would make another old-style video game like this one. Well done.