Backyard Baseball
Ages 5 10 (even older).

There is lots more to playing baseball than hitting and fielding. You start by choosing one of eight playing fields - from Tin Can Alley to Steele Stadium. Each comes with its own sound effects. After choosing a team name and a color for the uniforms, you are ready to choose your team. The kids come in all sizes and colors - even one in a wheelchair.

Because you don't know anything about the players, you need to review the players skills - batting, running, pitching and fielding by going to Meet the Players. After a couple of games, they will be like old buddies and you will recognize their styles and strengths. The kids personalities come across when you pick a team. Some are boastful, some are pushy, some confident, some timid and when they are not chosen - well you know how that feels.

Now it's time to play ball. When your team is at bat, you have three different kinds of hits you can make, plus three different kinds of stances at the plate. It will take a while to get the hang of it and you might want to do some batting practice beforehand. When your team is in the field your pitcher has the choice of four different balls plus an intentional walk. Once you start racking up games the information in Statistics and Strategy will become more important in planning your wins.

There is running commentary on the game and cat calls and wise cracks from the stands. There is a lot of game play and lots of games to play before advancing to the playoffs and finally to become universal champion. It's fascinating enough to keep you inside on a sunny day.

Reviewed by Raeven D.

Well, I thought it was a pretty good game. It was hard at first because they don't tell you what to do. It was tough to pick teams because you had to know a lot about the person first but they had cards that told you about the person and how good they were at the position. Before you pick teams, you had to pick a team name and the team's jersey. Then you go to the games. That was a little confusing at first but then I got the hang of it. If you won a lot of games, then you go against the better teams. I liked Backyard Baseball. It's fun!

Reviewed by Mel S.

Back Yard Baseball is just like a regular baseball game. It was great. I loved it. There weren't any problems with the games and I would jump at the chance to play again. I would rate everything on the game a 10. The voices were great and the kids were cute. There were also a lot of diversity in the kids. You couldn't play with another person because you wanted to do it yourself. I think the age range was low it should be 9-12.

Melanie K., Age 9

Ed Note: Backyard Baseball 2001 is a newer version. The navigation is easier and faster with contextual help. Graphics showing players on the is field clearer. Players are juniors of the big leaguers so there are Jose Canseco, Pablo Sanches, Carl Ripkin Jr. For those who had a hard time hitting the ball - there is a Tee Ball - one that doesn't move - a little like a golf ball on a stand and an easy setting for parents. Not worth upgrading if you already have Baseball but otherwise it's very nice. Oh, and now you can play the game online with friends across the country.

Humongous games are on duplex Windows and Mac CD ROMs. They are played directly from the CD which eliminates install/uninstall problems.

Gen 5/00