Ball Four

Terminology

• Inning: A full deal, played until one player empties their hand.
• At-Bat: A single sequence of climbing. It begins with a Lead and ends when all other active players pass, a Ball Four is played, or a Foul Ball is used.
• Lead: The opening hand played to start a new At-Bat.
• Out: Passing on your turn. You are Out for the remainder of that At-Bat.

Components and setup

Players and deck

Play with 3–5 players; four is ideal. From a standard 52-card deck, remove all Jacks, Queens, and Kings. The resulting 40-card deck contains ranks 2 through 10 plus Ace in all four suits.

Strike Tokens

Give each player 3 Strike Tokens at the start of the game. Tokens are public, persist across all 9 Innings, and each player has a maximum cap of 3 tokens.

Deal and hand sizes

Shuffle and deal all 40 cards as evenly as possible. With 4 players, each player receives exactly 10 cards. With 3 or 5 players, set aside any remaining undealt cards face down for the duration of the Inning.

Determining the opening Lead

• Inning 1: The player to the left of the Dealer leads the first At-Bat.
• Innings 2–9: The player in Last Place—the player with the fewest cumulative Runs—leads the first At-Bat. If tied for Last Place, the tied player closest to the Dealer’s left leads.

Card hierarchy and baseball positions

Ranks ascend from 2 low to Ace high. Each rank corresponds to an official baseball scorekeeper position.

Valid baseball combinations

A played hand can only be beaten by a higher-ranked hand of the exact same combination type. A Home Run cannot beat a Triple simply because it contains more cards.

Structure of play

An Inning consists of a series of At-Bats. An At-Bat begins when a player plays any valid hand as the Lead. Proceeding clockwise, each active player chooses one action:

• Beat the hand: Play a higher hand of the exact same hand type.
• Play Ball Four: Play the matching fourth card of an active Triple, if applicable.
• Play a Foul Ball: Spend 1 Strike Token to discard matching-suit cards.
• Pass: Become Out and take no further turns during that At-Bat.

An At-Bat ends when all other active players pass in a row or immediately when a Ball Four is played. The winner clears all cards played during that At-Bat to the central discard pile and leads the next At-Bat.

Permanent play: no cards return

Every card played to the table—whether as a Lead, a higher climbing hand, a Ball Four, or a Foul Ball discard—is permanently removed from its owner’s hand. Beaten cards are never returned. When an At-Bat clears, all played cards move to the central discard pile.

Ball Four

The current top high hand exposes Ball Four whenever it contains an active, un-cleared Triple. This may be a standard Triple or the Triple portion of a Scoring Position or Bases Loaded hand.

If an active Triple is on the table, a player holding the matching fourth card may play it on their turn and announce “Ball Four!”

• The current At-Bat ends immediately and all cards from that At-Bat clear to the central discard pile.
• Place the matching fourth card face up in your personal scoring area. It is no longer part of your hand.
• You win the At-Bat and lead the next At-Bat.
• Immediately claim 1 Strike Token from the bank, up to your cap of 3.

Ball Four can only target a Triple in the current top high hand. Once another hand covers it, the buried Triple can no longer be targeted.

Foul Balls and Strike Tokens

If you cannot or do not wish to beat the active hand, you may spend 1 Strike Token to play a Foul Ball.

• Return 1 Strike Token to the bank.
• You must discard at least 1 card. If you hold no cards matching any suit in the current high hand, you cannot spend the token and must Pass.
• Identify every unique suit present in the current high hand.
• Discard up to 1 card from your hand for each of those unique suits directly to the central discard pile.

A Foul Ball does not win the At-Bat. It acts as a Pass for At-Bat resolution, but permanently reduces your hand size and can immediately end the Inning if it discards your final card.

Examples

• Single on the table—9♠: Spend 1 Strike Token and discard exactly 1 Spade from your hand.
• Double on the table—9♠ 9♦: Spend 1 Strike Token and discard up to 1 Spade and 1 Diamond, for a maximum of 2 cards.
• Triple on the table—9♠ 9♦ 9♥: Spend 1 Strike Token and discard up to 1 Spade, 1 Diamond, and 1 Heart, for a maximum of 3 cards.

Inning end and walk-off scoring

An Inning ends immediately at the exact moment a player plays their final card and has 0 cards remaining. This can occur through a standard climbing play, Ball Four, or a Foul Ball discard.

• All play stops immediately.
• The player who emptied their hand scores 1 Run for every card remaining in all opponents’ hands combined.
• Cards placed face up in personal scoring areas through Ball Four do not count as cards remaining in hand.
• All opponents score 0 Runs for that Inning.
• A player restores 1 Strike Token, up to the cap of 3, whenever they execute Ball Four or play a Home Run.
• Unused Strike Tokens have no point value.

Game end and Home Run Derby

The game ends after the conclusion of the 9th Inning. Add every player’s cumulative Runs; the player with the highest total wins.

Tiebreaker: Home Run Derby

If two or more players are tied for the highest score, those players enter a sudden-death Home Run Derby.

• Shuffle the 40-card deck and deal 7 cards face down to each tied player.
• Each tied player secretly selects the strongest legal combination available in their 7-card hand. Combination strength is: Bases Loaded, Scoring Position, Home Run, Triple, Double, then Single.
• Reveal simultaneously. The higher combination type wins.
• If tied on combination type, the combination with the higher rank wins.
• If still tied, shuffle, deal another 7 cards to each tied player, and repeat until one player wins.

Variant: 7th Inning Stretch

At the conclusion of the 6th Inning, the player currently in Last Place selects one special rule for the 7th Inning only:

• Double Header: The player who goes out scores 2 Runs, instead of 1, for every card remaining in opponents’ hands.
• Pinch Hitter: Passing does not make a player Out during that At-Bat. On a later turn, the player may re-enter by beating the current high hand, provided the At-Bat has not ended.

Return to standard rules for the 8th and 9th Innings.

Quick player aid

• Rank order: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Ace from low to high.
• Valid plays: Single, Double, Triple, Home Run, Scoring Position, and Bases Loaded.
• At-Bat options: Beat the hand with the same type, play Ball Four on an active Triple, spend 1 Strike Token for a Foul Ball, or Pass.
• Opening Leads: The player left of the Dealer leads Inning 1; the player in Last Place leads Innings 2–9.
• Ball Four: Play the fourth card matching an active Triple in the current top hand. End the At-Bat, take the next Lead, and restore 1 Strike Token.
• Foul Ball: Spend 1 Strike Token and discard at least 1 card, up to 1 matching-suit card for each unique suit in the active hand. It counts as a Pass.
• Inning end: The first player to reach 0 cards scores 1 Run per card remaining in all opponents’ hands.
• Game end: Highest cumulative score after 9 Innings wins; ties use the Home Run Derby.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and clarifications