Blaseball

Blaseball was a browser-based baseball simulation horror game from The Game Band, running from July 20, 2020, to June 1, 2023. Each week, the game simulated a full season and championship series of its fictional "Internet League Blaseball," with Sunday elections where the community could alter the rules. Non-player characters—like the league's owner or commissioner—delivered dialogue on the website and via Twitter, building an absurdist horror story. The game attracted a large, active fandom known for creating extensive fan works, and the developers frequently engaged with this community online.

**Gameplay** The game revolved around an absurdist simulation of baseball with fictional teams, featuring random events such as players being "incinerated" by "rogue umpires." Each player had a name, a star rating determining their stats, and quirky trivia like their preferred coffee type or pre-game rituals. After logging in for the first time, users picked a favorite team and received some coins, which they could use to bet on simulated game outcomes. Fans could also "idol" players to earn coins based on their performance. Seasons lasted a week, with matches happening every hour daily; the postseason unfolded in two parts—wild card and quarterfinal games on Friday, semifinals and finals on Saturday. Coins could buy votes, which were used to influence events and rule changes during Sunday elections.

Narratively, Blaseball’s story unfolded across eras shaped by players' collective choices. These included the Discipline Era, where the league united against a giant malevolent peanut called The Shelled One; the Expansion Era, which ended in January 2021 and featured a coin known as The Boss who wanted to add increasingly complex rules; and the Coronation Era, the final era before the game ended. On July 30, 2021, the game remained playable after a black hole consumed the league. Starting October 28, 2022, a weekly event announced one random returning player falling from the black hole to each team, leading up to the game’s return. On January 9, 2023, Blaseball resumed with a clean slate—the same teams but entirely new rosters of both new and returning players. Mixed feedback prompted The Game Band to place the game on a brief hiatus on February 3, 2023, to address concerns.