When you first access the main hub area for Mouse: PI for rentwhich is where your office is located, you also get access to several other features. This area contains a shop to purchase ammo and missing collectibles, a weapon upgrade workshop, and a bar where you can enjoy a nice game of baseball cards.
Baseball Cards is exactly what it sounds like. It's baseball, but played with a deck of cards instead of a traditional ball, bat and mitt. This means that although the method of playing is different, the overall concept remains the same. The batter's goal is to hit home runs, and the pitcher's goal is to throw the ball and prevent the batter from scoring, but it's harder than it sounds.
How to play baseball cards
If you have already tried playing baseball cards, you know that it is simple in theory but difficult in practice. Your opponent, who is always the same mouse, has a fairly upgraded deck that can be nearly impossible to beat until you acquire some new cards yourself. That said, you also need to fully understand your goals throughout the game, as they change halfway through.
You will not win any Tokens for a Draw. Tokens are only awarded when you win the match.
First, you will always start a game of baseball cards as the batternot the jug. You will play five rounds as the batter, then you change, and you will play five rounds as the pitcher for a total of 10 rounds. Each round, as the batter, gives you a chance to hit home runs, while each round as the pitcher allows you to stop your opponent from scoring.
Unlike traditional baseball, there are only two rounds in baseball cards. So you only get one turn at bat and one turn pitching, then the game is over. In addition, “Striking out” has no effect on the game except your score. All ten rounds, five each, are always played in full.
This order is important because it means you will always know how many points your opponent can get before you either draw or lose. For example, if you get 5 points during your turn, you know that your opponent can get 4 points, and you will still win. But if you scored a point during your turn, you know you can't let your opponent score any points for you to win.
How to get more cards
To build your deck, which is highly recommended, before you go and waste money on the game, you'll want to complete quests and find baseball card collectibles. There is usually two or three per missionand once found, they are added to your deck.
If you miss them during the mission, you can buy them from the shop in town after the mission is over, but you have to pay for them this waywhile this card is free if you find them during the quest.
The the shop owner also sells booster cards for both the batter and the pitcher, but they are relatively expensive and frankly not necessary. You're better off saving your money for missed collectibles and actually playing baseball cards. One or two might be okay to buy if you're struggling, but the player cards you find during quests should have base stats that are high enough.
How to score home runs
While at bat, your goal will be to hit home runs. If you're not familiar with baseball, this essentially means that not only do you have to hit the first pitch from the pitcher, but also let your players, or cards in this case, get around the field and back to home base. When a player passes all three bases and returns home, this will count as a point.
Any players remaining on the field at the end of your five rounds will be discarded when the new round starts, meaning you don't earn points for them.
As for how you actually accomplish this, it depends on both what card you lay down and what card your opponent lays down. You won't be able to see each other's cards until you both chooseso the only way to guarantee winning is to play your best option. Whether you hit or hit, you have three different card types to watch out foras you can see explained in the table below:
|
Card type |
Explanation |
|---|---|
|
Smearer |
These are your players when you hit. They will have two numbers listed on them. The top number is for Power Swing, and the bottom number is for Speed Boost. Power Swing determines whether you will hit the ball, while Speed Boost determines how far the batter will run. |
|
Power Swing |
This is an additional amount added to your Batter's Power Swing number. You can only play one of these per turn, and you cannot play a Power Swing card and a Speed Boost card in the same turn. |
|
Speed Boost |
This is an additional amount added to your Batter's Speed Boost number. You can only play one of these per turn, and you cannot play a Speed Boost card and a Power Swing card in the same turn. |
|
Jugs |
These are your players when you play. They will have two numbers listed on them. The top number is for Pitch Focus, and the bottom number is for Fielding Play. Pitch Focus determines whether you'll get the batter to strike out, while Fielding Play lets you slow down the batter after a successful hit. |
|
Pitch focus |
This is an additional amount added to your Pitcher's Pitch Focus number. You can only play one of these per turn, and you cannot play a Pitch Focus card and a Fielding Play card in the same turn. |
|
Field game |
This is an additional amount added to your Pitcher's Fielding Play number. You can only play one of these per turn, and you cannot play a Fielding Play card and a Pitch Focus card in the same turn. |
With these in mind, you will be able to play one batter and one boost card of your choice per round. If you're confident in your Batter's base stats, you don't need to play a boost card, but I'd recommend it anyway, since your opponent has incredibly high pitching stats, and you will draw more cards each round.
In order to successfully hit the ball, your Power Swing number must be higher than your opponent's Pitch Focus. If these numbers are the same, a coin toss will determine who wins the toss. However, if your Power Swing is 3 points higher than your opponent's Pitch Focus, you will automatically hit a home runwhich is why it can be beneficial to increase your score as high as possible.
If you do not hit the Pitch Focus number, you will strike out for that roundand everyone's cards will be discarded. If you manage to hit, your Batter will move the number of bases listed on the bottom number, which is your Speed, plus any Speed Boost you may have given them.
That said, Pitcher also has a way of slowing you down. When you get a hit, the Pitcher's Fielding Play will be subtracted from your speed before you move. This number applies to everything on the field, that is any runners you already have on a base will also be affected by that inning's Fielding Play value.
If the fielding is high enough, this can even result in your Smet being stuck at home. Unfortunately, this also appears to be wrong, because if it happens, the card will block view of your hand for the next round.
So, for you to have the best chance of hitting Home Runs, you need to prioritize a relatively high hitting power every turn. Speed is important, but it doesn't matter if you can't even hit the ball. Most low velocity batters tend to have a high Power Swing, while high velocity batters tend to have a lower Power Swing.
This means You should ideally give batters with an 8+ base Power Swing a boost to their speed, and batters with a 2+ speed a boost to their Power Swing. Your opponent may have some pitchers who still play better than your hitter, but with a base of 8 or 9, your odds of hitting or drawing are pretty high.
How to stop the batter from scoring
On the pitching side, things aren't nearly as complicated. In the same way as batting, you will have three different types of cards to play. One is your Pitcher card and two are your boost cards of choice. Your main goal here is to stop your opponent from scoring any points, or at least less points than you did.
To achieve this you want play a pitcher with the highest possible pitch focus. Even if you don't manage to stop them from getting a hit, you'll still hopefully be close enough that they can't hit a home run on their first hit. If your base Pitch Focus stat is above 8, you should prioritize increasing your Fielding gameespecially if there are already runners on the field.
When you reach a certain point, you will also have the option to ban cards from a match. This allows you to prevent yourself and your opponent from using a specific card, but it can also help you avoid cards you don't want to draw. That said, you can't block any cards you don't have personally, so keep that in mind.
Even if your opponent doesn't hit, the runners on the field will still move by stealing bases equal to their speed number, minus whatever the fielding play number is for that turn, which is why it's important to prioritize some level of fielding play value with runners on.
It's also important to remember that if they hit a Home Run, everyone on the field will go home, regardless of their speed, so you definitely don't want to throw out a Pitcher with a Pitch Focus lower than 6 without a boost of some kind, and even that can be risky.
Overall, it's much easier to stop your opponent than to score points yourself, so pay attention and play your best cards, and you should be fine as long as you manage to score even two or three points on your turn at bat.
What's inside the prize D-Spenser?
Besides the satisfaction of winning, there is only one in-game reward for winning baseball card games. Unfortunately, that requires winning 20 games, not just one you need 30 to unlock the achievement associated with the Baseball Cards minigameso you will probably already complete this anyway.
After winning 20 matches, you will have 20 tokens to use on Prize D-spenser in the corner of the bar. Depositing your tokens is coming open it to reward yourself with the X1 D-Mousifier, a powerful Ray Gun it's definitely worth adding to your arsenal. Doing this will also unlock the 'Everybody Loves Raygun' achievement.
Mouse: PI For Hire – Achievement/Trophy Guide
Mouse: PI For Hire is full of achievements/trophies that require you to take on the role of detective yourself and sniff out hidden collectibles.
