Glossary - Walk-Off 199X

Run & Metastructure

Run

One full playthrough. You start down in the World Series and try to win 5 games in a row. Ends when you win the World Series or lose a game.

Walk-Off

Winning a game with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 9th. Every game is a walk-off situation by design. You're always the home team, batting in the bottom of the 9th, needing at least one run to take it.

World Series

The run's goal. Win 5 games in a row to win it. You begin the series down 0-4.

Win

A game you've won this run. Your Win count decides how far behind you start the next game (see Deficit) and how big your payouts are.

Deficit

How many runs you start each game behind the opponent. The formula is Wins × 5, so the first game of a run starts level and any run you score wins it. Every win after that puts you further behind at the start of the next game.

Career Mode

The main mode of the first build. A freshly generated roster each run.

Story Mode

A game mode with a fixed, named cast, playing out as a repeating time loop with escalating difficulty.

Resources

Focus

Your spendable resource within a single plate appearance. Every Match Card has a fixed Focus cost (0-4). Your Focus pool refills each plate appearance; play as many cards as you can pay for.

Dollars

Your pregame currency. Spent in the office on Card Packs and Candy. May also have some in-game uses with specific cards.

Task Points (TP)

Your second currency, and the only thing that buys Memorabilia. Earned by completing Tasks.

Task

A small in-match objective, e.g. win with a walk-off homer, or win without recording a single out. Completing one awards Task Points. Each Task can only be completed once per run, so the Task Points available in a run are finite and knowable. Check them on the To-Do List.

Fans

Earned through in-game events and wins. More Fans means bigger Dollar payouts after each game.

Your Roster & Players

Roster

Your set of players for the run. 5 by default, adjustable between 4 and 9 by certain game elements (like memorabilia). Every player is a pinch hitter.

Pinch Hitter

What every player on your roster is. You send one up to bat per plate appearance. You cannot send up a player who is already on base, or has just gotten out.

Player Card

One card per roster player. The front shows headshot, name, handedness, Nickname (above the portrait), and Traits (below it). Flip it (right click) to see the back: season stats, the four Tools, and Luck.

Handedness

Left or Right. There are no switch hitters. Gives a small bonus or penalty depending on the matchup with the pitcher. Try to match the handedness to get that bonus: lefty on lefty, righty on righty.

Tools

The four rated abilities (0-100) that shape a batter's odds:

Hit - raises the chance of a Single.
Eye - raises the chance of taking a Ball (which leads to Walks).
Power - raises the chance of a Homer.
Hustle - raises the chance of a Single, and especially of stretching it into a Double or Triple.

Luck

A 1-5 rating shown as four-leaf-clover icons. Influences Fouls and Hit By Pitch.

Season Stats

A player's accumulated line for the run (plate appearances, at-bats, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, strikeouts, hit-by-pitch, field outs). Shown on the back of the Player Card.

Nickname

A powerful passive modifier assigned to a player. Strong effect, no downside. A player can hold exactly one. (e.g. "Hammerin'".)

Trait

A passive modifier like a Nickname but weaker, and it usually carries a tradeoff. A player can hold up to four. (e.g. "Lofty Swing", which gives you more homers, but more strikeouts too.)

Cards & Deck

Match Card

The cards you play during a plate appearance to shift the odds. Front shows art, name, and Focus cost (and sometimes flavour text); flip to read the rules text. These make up your Collection, and the Game Deck you build out of it. They're distinct from Player Cards.

Collection

Every Match Card you own this run. Card packs add to it. The Collection is not what you play with: before each game you choose which of these cards to take with you.

Game Deck

The 20 cards you pin to the Corkboard before a game. This is the only thing you draw from during the match; every other card stays home. Can be rebuilt between games.

Selling

Click and hold a card on the Corkboard to sell one copy for Dollars. This is the only way to remove a card from your Collection.

Hand

The 6 Match Cards you draw at the start of each plate appearance by default.

Focus Cost

The fixed price (0-4 Focus) to play a Match Card.

Flip

Turning any card over to see its back face by right clicking it. Player Cards flip to stats/Tools; Match Cards flip to rules text.

Scrap Card

A postgame card used to gain a Nickname or a Trait. Each Scrap Card has a Nickname on one face and a Trait on the other. You can only claim one face of a given Scrap Card. You must claim exactly one Nickname and assign every remaining Trait before you can proceed. Skipping is not allowed.

Game Phase

The actual baseball match. Bottom of the 9th, you're the home team, down by your Deficit. Score more runs than the opponent before making 3 outs to win.

Plate Appearance (PA)

One batter's turn at the plate, from first pitch to a final outcome. You pick who bats by dragging their Player Card onto the field.

Pitch Information

By default you know the next pitch: its type, velocity, and exact landing zone. The only question is what to do about it. Any or all of that information can be obscured by specific game elements, such as Pitcher Modifiers, but by default you get all of it.

Pitch Wheel

The wheel showing the odds of each possible outcome for the next pitch, with every card and pitch modifier already summed in.

Count

The current number of balls and strikes during the current at-bat. 4 Balls is a Walk; 3 Strikes is a Strikeout.

Play / Fast-Forward / Pause

The three VHS-style controls above the Pitch Wheel. Play simulates the next pitch. Fast-Forward keeps simulating until you Pause. Click again on Fast-Forward to change the fast-forwarding speed. Right click to return to a previous speed, or you can just cycle it.

Manager Action

Actions you do from the dugout, rather than something the batter does at the plate. See them by clicking the scorebug. You get each one once per match. A couple are available in every run; the rest come from your Personality.

Batting Outcomes

Ball

A pitch taken outside the zone. Four Balls equal a Walk. Driven by Eye.

Walk

Reaching first base on four Balls.

Single

A one-base hit; batter reaches first. Driven by Hit and Hustle.

Double

A two-base hit. Driven by Hustle.

Triple

A three-base hit. Driven by Hustle.

Homer

A home run; batter and all runners score. Driven by Power.

Strikeout

An out on three Strikes. Reduced indirectly by good Tools.

Field Out

A ball put in play but fielded for an out. Reduced indirectly by good Tools.

Foul

A foul ball; extends the at-bat. Driven by Luck.

Hit By Pitch (HBP)

Batter is hit; takes first base. Driven by Luck.

Scoring Play

A plate appearance that drives in at least one run. Scoring Plays trigger the pitcher's escalation (see Modifier) once per play, no matter how many runs score. This rewards burst scoring: cashing the bases in one swing gives the pitcher only one modifier, scoring the same runs one at a time gives them one modifier for each run scored.

The Pitcher

Pitcher

Your opponent for the game. You choose from three offered pitchers before the match (via the TV cartridges). Harder pitchers pay out better on a win.

Pitch Mix

The set of 1-4 pitch types a pitcher throws. Shown pre-game on the back of the cartridge, which you can flip by right clicking.

Pitch Type

A specific pitch (e.g. Four-Seam, Curveball, Eephus). Determines the pitch's speed and location. Unlike Pitch Group, does not have outcome bonuses or penalties; instead, specific pitch types interact with specific cards or memorabilia or other game elements.

Pitch Group

Every pitch type belongs to one of three groups, each with clearly-shown outcome bonuses/penalties:

Fastball (Four-Seam, Cutter, Sinker) - easier to make contact with; favours hits and homers.
Breaking (Curveball, Slider, Screwball) - hard to square up; favours strikeouts, walks, and fouls.
Offspeed (Eephus, Changeup, Spitball) - disrupts timing; favours fouls and weak contact (field outs).

Velocity

A pitch's speed in mph. Higher velocity always makes a pitch harder to hit, regardless of group or type.

Strike Zone

The grid over the plate. Mouse over to see a more detailed view. Pitches in the zone can be called strikes; pitches outside can be taken as Balls. Where a pitch lands affects the odds (e.g. dead-center pitches are more homer-prone).

Pitcher Modifiers

Modifier

An ability the pitcher adds to their pitches, one per Scoring Play. As your comeback mounts, the pitcher "clutches up." The UI always shows the next Modifier coming, so scoring now (and triggering a new modifier) vs. setting up a bigger play is a tactical choice you have to make. Rule Modifiers - change what pitches do:

Pinpoint - the pitch always lands in the zone (no more Balls off it).
Gas - the pitch is much faster, and harder to hit.
Framed - the pitch is always called a strike, even outside the zone.

Information Modifiers - take away what you know:

Unpredictable - you no longer know which zone the pitch will land in.
Deceptive - you no longer know the pitch's type or velocity.

Ability

A boss pitcher's always-on signature power, applied to every pitch at all times (rather than added gradually like Modifiers). Gives certain unique pitchers a distinct identity.

Boss Pitcher

A hand-authored, named pitcher who shows up on a fixed cadence through a run. A boss always has an Ability, and beating one pays a bigger cash bonus. On a boss game the boss takes one of the three cartridges and the other two are normal pitchers, so you can avoid them. But a boss you avoid stays in the pool and comes back later as a harder version.

Day / Night Game

Whether a game is played in daylight or under the lights. Purely atmospheric: it changes no odds, no payouts and no card behaviour. It is a property of the pitcher you are facing, shown on the cartridge, and the three cartridges are never all the same.

The Manager's Office

The Pregame and Postgame phases, both played inside a diegetic 3D office.

Pregame Phase

Played entirely inside your manager's office, a 3D space with no flat menus. Every action is a physical object you click to zoom into. The camera sits in one of two views (the Desk and the Wall) and buttons at the edges of the screen pan between them.

Postgame Phase

Also in the office. A newspaper drops onto the desk summarizing the game (headline, score, attendance, new Fans, Dollars earned). Click Proceed and it flies off, revealing the Scrap Cards for Nickname/Trait assignment.

Desk Objects

Candy Box

Where you give Candy to your players. Only sits on the desk when you are holding at least one piece. Zooming in raises your roster's player cards; hovering one previews what that candy would do to that player, since the same candy is worth wildly different amounts to different people. The roll happens once, when you confirm, and there is no undo.

Card Packs Catalogue

A mail-order book for buying Match Card packs. Each half-page is a pack theme with rarity toggles; order, confirm, and packs are delivered to your desk to tear open. Each pack has 4 cards. You keep at least one, and the rest are resold for cash.

Card Packs Box (Career draft)

A box of player packs (distinct from the Catalogue). Tear one open, draft one player card onto your roster, the rest are discarded, next pack opens.

Phone

Lets you have a Pep Talk. Once per pregame, if a player is eligible, pick up the phone to start a chat, and choose one of a set of temporary bonuses for the next game.

Game Manual

The in-game manual, opened on the desk.

Flavour objects

Pizza box, cigarettes, coffee, beer. They have no mechanical effect.

Wall Objects

TV (Pitcher Selection)

Three cartridges, and three pitcher choices. Slot one to preview its Pitch Mix and Ability; confirm to start the game.

Display Case

The Memorabilia shop, bought with Task Points, not Dollars. A fresh shelf of a few items is offered each pregame; buying one takes it off the shelf.

Corkboard

Mounted above the TV. Where you build the Game Deck you take into the next game. The whole board is your Collection; a notebook page to the left lists your Deck as handwritten lines with a counter. Click a card to add a copy to the Deck, click its line on the page to take that copy back out, and click and hold a card to sell it. Cards already in the Deck are marked with a red pin. Multiples of a single card have (x2) or (x3) and so on in their notebook display.

To-Do List

The readout for Tasks: which are still outstanding, which you have completed, and your current Task Point balance. There is nothing to buy here; it is where you check what is left to earn.

Gumball Machine

Where you buy a Gumball. The price rises with each crank within a pregame and resets at the next one.

Whiteboard

At a glance: Dollars, Fans, win-loss record. Zoomed in: projected earnings, pitchers beaten, wins remaining to the World Series.

Trophy Shelf

Achievement system and rewards. Hover a trophy to read its description.

Meta Systems

Memorabilia

Collectibles bought from the Display Case with Task Points, applying powerful passive effects for the whole run.

Candy

The umbrella term for the consumables you give to players in the office, via the Candy Box. There are two kinds: Gumballs (bought from the wall machine) and Chewing Gum (that comes for free with card packs). Candy has many effects. Most affect a player's Tools; some roll against their Luck, and some grant or strip Traits and Nicknames, and more. Gum tends to be weaker and more straightforward than Gumballs.

Coaching Style

A pre-run choice, fixed for the whole run, picked from three offered. It hands you a unique piece of Memorabilia at run start, with a powerful effect. Because it fires after every pitch, it is felt constantly and reshapes how you build a deck. Coaching Style Memorabilia do not appear in the Display Case.

Personality

The other pre-run choice, from the same panel and also fixed for the run. It grants a specific Manager Action.

Pep Talk

A once-per-pregame phone conversation with a random player that grants a bonus carrying into the next game.

Difficulty Modifier

A pre-run option that adjusts the run's difficulty (and rewards). Chosen before starting a run, alongside your starting deck.

Unlockable

Persistent content (starter decks, difficulty modifiers, card pools, named rosters) earned across runs and kept permanently. Some require winning runs, not just completing them.

Reading Card Text

Match Cards describe their effects in a compact, consistent shorthand. Here's how to read it.

Weight Changes

+20 Homer, -30 Ball. The core of most cards. Each line adds (or subtracts) weight points to an outcome on the Pitch Wheel. These are not percentages: a +20 Homer makes Homer a bigger slice of the wheel, but the actual odds depend on every other weight in play. Always read the Pitch Wheel for the true resulting chance. You can also see the resulting change by simply hovering over a card, without needing to play it.

Conditions

A clause at the start of a line limits when the effect applies:

vs Fastball/Breaking/Offspeed - only against that pitch group.
vs pitch ≤90 mph - only against pitches at/under (or ≥, at/over) a speed.
vs pitch in zone 5 - only when the pitch lands in that zone.
If runner on 2nd - only with a runner on that base.
On 2-0 counts - only at that ball-strike count. (If 3-2 for a one-off.)
On pitch 4 / On pitch 4 or later - only on that pitch of the at-bat.
If previous pitch was Foul - only right after that result.

Card Keywords

Bolded keywords are the game's standard shorthand for effects that would otherwise need a full sentence.

Advance N

The next N pitches are thrown automatically, without you pressing Play. Normal odds still apply. Handy for reaching an "on pitch N" effect fast.

Force [Outcome]

A pitch is thrown, and its result is guaranteed to be [Outcome]. Usually tied to a pitch number or count (e.g. Force a Single on the 5th pitch).

Reveal

Reveals the next pitch's hidden info. Display-only - never changes the odds. May be gated (e.g. Runner on 2nd: reveal).

+N Focus

Adds N Focus to your pool immediately (this plate appearance). Instant. A grant to your next PA is written out explicitly (e.g. +1 Focus next PA). Can be conditional or negative.