YORKTON - While board games are a definite area of interest, it’s not the only one, at least for a few of our group.
The majority follow sports at some level, and that includes a summer fascination with baseball – predominantly the Toronto Blue Jays after the Major League Baseball allowed the Montreal Expos to move to Washington for the 2005 season.
Typically, if you follow baseball you would be rather excited at this time of year, as pitchers and catchers report for the earliest stages of spring training, which is the hint that winter will end and the game will be back in full swing soon.
Alas, this year spring training is in limbo as MLB and its players haggle over a new contract. As part of that process players have been locked out, and fans are left to read about the snail’s pace of negotiations rather than about how pitchers are looking in their early sessions.
Of course baseball fans, especially those who also like board games, can substitute a baseball-themed game to fill the void for a while.
There are tons of options – some such as Stat-o-Matic Baseball being truly classic – a very realistic simulation of the game, for those wanting to feel what it might be like to manage a team. There even used to be a league locally where a group met weekly at the Yorkton Public Library – a group that is missed.
But, if you want some simpler baseball gaming, then the answer might be Canball.
This is one is super simple, the kind of offering perfect for a grandparent to play with their grandchildren, or to share over a coffee on break, or on the cabin patio to relax in summer.
The game is simply the player who is batting rolling two dice, referring to a clearly defined chart right on the board to see what the result is – home run, walk, single, pop out etc -- and charting the results.
And everything is right on a very well-made board. You move pegs around the diamond, record outs, and keep score.
Once you roll three outs, hand the dice to your opponent, and repeat through nine innings.
There is no strategy here.
No need to fret over in-game decisions.
It is simply roll dice, and hope the fates are kind.
It reminds a bit of Yahtzee, although there are frankly less decisions here.
Yet, for all its simplicity, the game has a charm – at least if you like baseball.
It helps that the game board is actually as nice a board as any game, even shaped like a baseball field. Aesthetically it is great to leave on a desk or coffee table.
The game comes in a zippered bag so travel is slick too.
This is not a deep game, but for a baseball fan looking to relax, whiling away some leisure time, Canball is a solid choice to look into at canball.ca
