Strike!

Strike! is a competitive card and dice game in which players take the role of batters facing pitches from an automated baseball machine inside a batting cage. Each round represents a short series of swings where players attempt to predict the outcome of a pitch and time their swing accordingly.

At the start of each turn, a pitch card is revealed, representing the speed or difficulty of the incoming ball. Players then secretly choose a bat card from their hand and simultaneously select a value on a die, representing the strength or timing of their swing. The values chosen by all players are combined with the pitch value to determine the final result of the play.

Once the result is calculated, players reveal their bat cards, each of which contains two possible target values. If the final result matches one of those values, the player scores points depending on whether the match corresponds to the higher or lower number on the card. Because bat cards are limited and each can be used only once per round, players must manage their hand carefully while trying to anticipate the decisions of their opponents.

A round ends after all bat cards have been played. The player with the highest score wins the game, provided they have reached the required point threshold; otherwise, a new round is played.

Finalist of the Jalapeño Games Crumble 2025 competition