Whether you’re a fan of baseball or not, there appears to be a place for you in Blaseball, a text-based browser game that ultimately has players watching descriptions of fake baseball games and betting on the outcomes. And while that might seem pretty blasé, there are a variety of random events that can happen during games like “random incinerations that force team players to be replaced, Forbidden Rule Books, or peanuts raining from the sky that induce allergic reactions” according to the game’s FAQ.
That same FAQ also touts the level of community involvement as a key feature, with many players and fans of Blaseball creating fan art, lore, and filling in other blanks in order to enrich the game’s mythos. “Because the presentation of Blaseball is so bare, but the descriptions & names are so evocative, there is a wide gap of imagination that the community has filled in with incredible art, fan lore, and more (we’re talkin’ music albums, radio mockumentaries, play-by-play livestreams — the community is incredible),” explains the FAQ. “Any respectful additions you can make to the world of Blaseball is valid and encouraged.”
As to the point of being a baseball fan or not, the game points to getting involved in events, rooting for teams, and betting on outcomes as ways to get in to Blaseball without being a fan of the sport itself, while those who do want to go deeper can do so.
There are a number of resources interested players can dive in to, whether it’s the Wiki, the Discord, a video, and this all-encompassing introduction from Polygon. Seasons run every week from Monday through Saturday.
