Tabletop SportCast

Summer has arrived on the tabletop, and episode 259 is all about turning the page from a busy spring into a fresh season of gaming. James recaps his Q2 gaming numbers, including 154 sessions, 37 different games, 23 projects, and a spring table led heavily by baseball. He also looks back at key projects like the 1973 Hall of Fame Starting Pitcher Project, the 1986 MLB Tournament, XSE’s road to Apex, Gridzone AGL Season 5, and several first-time plays. Around the Table includes updates from PLAAY Games, Sideline Strategy Games, Season Ticket Baseball, Powder Blue Sports, 3d6 Gaming, 49 Sports Games, and Sports Sim Magazine. Then James shifts into summer plans, featuring more History Maker Baseball, the 1978 horse racing season with PLAAY at the Races, a 1966 AFL/NFL Season Ticket Football tournament, Gridzone, 1992 NASCAR, Featured Table Fridays, Fury Hardball FLASH, Legends of Boxing, and more.

In this episode of the Tabletop SportCast, James sits down with Roy Paeth for a Father’s Day conversation about games, family, community, and finding time for ourselves. Roy shares his journey from Strat-O-Matic Football and Statis-Pro Baseball to rediscovering tabletop sports games during COVID, eventually finding his way to live gaming conventions and a welcoming community of fellow hobbyists. The conversation also explores fatherhood, gaming with adult children, unplugging from everyday distractions, and Roy’s daily walking and hiking routine as a way to clear his mind and stay active. It’s a reflective episode about the role games can play in our lives — not just as a solo escape, but as a way to connect, reset, and create lasting memories around the table.

This week on the Tabletop SportCast, James sits down with Ian Brooke, designer of On Deck Baseball, for a conversation about creating a baseball game that captures more than just stats on a card. Ian shares the game’s origins, the importance of fictional leagues, player artwork, fatigue, confrontation rolls, and the design choices that help each game tell its own story. Along the way, they discuss how On Deck Baseball balances flow, strategy, realism, and pace while giving players the feeling that baseball is unfolding one pitch, one roll, and one decision at a time.

On-Deck Baseball Website: https://www.on-deckbaseballgame.com/#/

On-Deck Baseball on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/On-Deck-Baseball-113393317125269

Email Ian Brooke: on_deckbaseball@yahoo.com

This episode explores how to categorize tabletop sports projects into five tiers based on size and commitment, helping gamers plan and execute their projects more effectively. The host shares personal insights and frameworks to tailor project scope to individual preferences.

On this episode of the Tabletop SportCast, James explores the art of managing baseball teams in tabletop sports games. He discusses the balance between historical accuracy and personal strategy, from replaying seasons with realistic usage patterns to creating your own managerial style within historical guardrails. In Around the Table, he shares updates from around the hobby, and highlights from his ongoing baseball projects. He closes by introducing the idea of “manager cards” as a future enhancement for tabletop baseball gaming.