by Doug Snyder
MLB spring training is underway in Florida and Arizona, so I thought it was a good time to pull a baseball game off the shelf and onto the table. Baseball Highlights 2045 is a deck-building game that reimagines America's pastime with a futuristic twist by adding cyborgs and robots to teams that play six-inning mini-games. Players manage baseball teams by strategically playing cards representing game highlights from their team deck and adding free agent cards to improve their deck in buy rounds executed between mini-games. This game was a 2015 Golden Geek Most Innovative Board Game nominee, losing to Pandemic Legacy: Season 1.In my detailed review, I indicate that the solo mode of Baseball Highlights 2045 provides opportunities for skill development in card sequencing and team building. However, solo play is less engaging than competing against human opponents. The AI opponent for solo play is incapable of strategic decision-making, restricting the solo gameplay experience. Also, while the core gameplay loop is accessible, a thematic disconnect exists with the free agent buy rounds. Those purchases result in numerous roster changes to the solo player's team over a seven-game series by changing their team card deck. Although allowing for improvements to a deck throughout gameplay is expected in a deck-building board game, the resulting roster turnover for a team is inconsistent with the dynamics of professional baseball.
The game shows its age with production quality that does not hold up to current offerings. While ten expansions are available to inject new capabilities into the game, some are incompatible with the solo mode. A fan-made solo campaign exists and is available in the BGG files that allows for playing a team through a season into championship playoffs and a World Series. It is my favorite way to play the game solo. The Ballparks Expansion works nicely with the campaign as it can add additional considerations for team building. For example, if your home stadium is Selinker Stadium, you may not want your team to be too loaded with robots.
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As I comparatively rank Baseball Highlights 2025 against other solo games in my collection, it rates above Forest Shuffle and below Red Rising. The solo mode of Forest Shuffle provides scoring challenges to beat, but I prefer having an opponent to defeat. While Baseball Highlights offers an AI opponent, I wish it was more sophisticated. Its “dummy AI” is incapable of intelligent decision-making, so it compensates by giving a distinct starting advantage to the solo bot. This approach leads to a partial thematic disconnect that does not exist in the multiplayer game. Red Rising offers a more sophisticated solo design with its automa opponent. Red Rising maintains the richness and theme of the game in solo play. Despite any flaws of Baseball Highlights 2045, it remains an accessible and engaging option for baseball fans and newcomers to the sport.
Weighted Rank Score: 45.5
4 for Soloability
3 for Theme
3 for Art & Components
4 for Replayability
7 for Stimulation Factor
[MP3]https://anchor.fm/s/fc137d54/podcast/play/99559277/https%3A%...|Solo Play Review Podcast: Baseball Highlights 2045[/MP3]
(AI generated) Solo Play Review Podcast: Baseball Highlights 2045