Unassisted Triple Play

If you google the title of this post, you'll learn not only what it is, but how rarely its seen in major league baseball: only fifteen times in history.  The oldest known instance, from May 8, 1878, was an unassisted triple play (UTP) by the rules in use at the time, but by modern rules it was just a triple play.

Kardball Triple Play

Yes, it can happen.  For example, with a six on third, and a three on first after a walk, a batter hits a five against a ten pitch.  The outfield, who didn't have the factors for the first two batters, is holding a three and a five and the pitcher drew a deuce two cards ago. The side is retired with a 2-3-6.

KUTP

Now imagine a two-against-two Kardball contest, and the outfielder in the example above is holding a two in addition to the three and six.  There's your Kardball unassisted triple play (KUTP) right there. BOOM! goes the dynamite!

Our Kardball History Committee (KHC) is planning a special exhibit dedicated to the KUTP in the Kardball Hall of Fame complex (KHOFC), scheduled for grand opening on a moon of Jupiter in Spring of 2110.

It Takes Focus

Over the Christmas holiday, one new Kardball player was overheard to say "it takes a lot of focus" to play the game.  We don't disagree.  And it takes a little extra focus at 8:00 p.m. after a heavy meal of steak and wine.

Does Kardball require more concentration than any of these other familiar card games, or is it just that we haven't grown up playing Kardball with our babysitter's boyfriend every weekend, as is the case with some of these?

Crazy Eights

This game requires you to match the card on the discard pile with one in your hand, either on the basis of its face value or its suit.  Or you can just play an eight and name a suit of your choice.  Is that easier than remembering that a Jack counts as an eleven, and eleven has no factors?  We're not convinced.

Go Fish

Got any sixes?  No, go fish.  This is truly a no-brainer game if it's just one against one.  But if there's three or more players, you'll need all the functioning neurons of a third grader to remember who is holding the rest of your sixes.  Third grade math is all you need to play Kardball, so we say the difference in difficulty is too close to call.

War

Here we have a math-based game of inequalities.  If my eight is greater than your four, I take both cards. If your King is greater than my seven, you take both cards.  Truly not a game you can sleep through.  While the calculations may be slightly simpler than Kardball, this game's general test of mental toughness is every bit as intense.  

Kardball Kritical Period

Theory: any card game you learn before onset of puberty is more easily assimilated and retained.  Since Kardball has only existed for less than two years, we say Kardball is the game of the future, and always will be ....