Customer Reviews

Front Porch Classics Generic Circa Baseball Desktop Game

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I ordered this because I liked the look, and thought it would be a neat addition to my game collection. To my delight, it also turns out to be great fun! It is basically a pinball style game, but even without the electronics and all, it is a joy to play. Have a friend who wants to play? It's easy to follow basic baseball rules and play through nine innings. Swing the bat to get a single, double, triple, home run, or even get out! Much like real baseball, you'll have to work to get some points on the board. As an added bonus, this game is easy to assemble and beautiful to behold. It stays out nicely, as a decorative piece for your game room or as an addition to any sports memorabilia collection. I'm not even a sports fan, and I love this game. It's a good return to simple fun, with value added craftsmanship.

This toy seems to be the "economical version" of the Old Century Baseball Tabletop Games made by the same company. Instead of 3 ramps, this game only has 1. It is also much smaller. Overall, my 8 year old and 11 year old really like it and play with it from time to time. It doesn't hold their attention as long as a nintendo DS (what does?), but they'll bang around on it for a good 15-20 minutes a few times a week. I like it because the price was right and it's not plastic. It really is wood. It sounds funny, but it just feels good to play this game. Additionally, the unit is built very well and is proably more durable than one might expect. They didn't scrimp on manufacturing this unit and I would expect their other games are the same.

My 10-year-old son loved this game while it lasted. Overall, I would have rated it 5 stars except it lasted about three months. After that, the skimpy assembly that holds the plunger together (the metal rod that launches the ball into the game) fell apart and a tiny metal screw was lost. I contacted University Games to inquire about replacement parts. Their super-friendly and helpful customer service department told me they don't have parts, and promised instead to replace the game. However, three months later we have never received a replacement game, repairs parts, or any other resolution.
Given this experience, I cannot say I would recommend this product to anyone else, nor would I really be inclined to buy another product from University Games.
Don't say I didn't warn ya .......

UPDATE: In all fairness, University Games did finally replace this game with a new one, free of charge. No problems with the new one .... yet.

My son wanted electronic baseball for Christmas,however, after reading the many reviews on Amazon.com I was convinced it was a bad product. I came across Front Porch Games Circa Baseball and thought it looked like one of the arcade games my husband and son enjoyed. I was not disappointed. Took us some time to get the homeruns figured out but now that we have it's great. What I also like is we leave it out on the coffee table as a decorative piece and everyone who comes over can't resist it and have to take a few swings. I would suggest this product to anyone whose looking for some good clean family fun.

I got this game for my 6-year-old son in my parents' name for Christmas 2005, and it was his favorite toy. He loves baseball, and of course pinball carries its own intrinsic interest and sense of fun. He's especially interested in it if I play with him, so there's a definite positive social aspect to the game as well. Additionally, the game's wooden and metal components are well made and, within reason, this is a durable toy.

Our 6-year-old son just loves this game! It was super easy to assemble, easy to learn how to play, and the games go by fairly quickly and are exciting. Plus it doesn't make all those noises that almost all the new, electronic toys make. It seems pretty durable and well-made and we're very happy with what we got for the price.

Ok, not getting anything else done. This game can be played solo or with a friend. Great for hand/eye coordination. Great game!

when my boys were 5 and 7 years old they got this game and they still play with it occasionally at 15 and 17. their younger cousins came over to play with it and loved it so I bought it for my 5 year old nephew. Very durable and fun toy, the only downside is we have lost some of the balls to it over the years.

I got this for my twelve year old son to give him something to do besides playing on the computer or playing video games. He loved it and i liked how it was made of wood. it reminds me of old time toys.

It was great fun until it broke. The set screw on the plunger that holds a piece in place for the spring to push against came loose on the first day. It's essentially impossible to tighten, and even if you were able to successfully tighten it, it looks like it would come loose again right away since the indentation the set screw goes into on the plunger rod is so incredibly shallow. My son wanted to give up on the game when this happened, but I came up with a workaround of just rolling the ball down the ramp in center field (the "home run" ramp). He still plays with it some but nothing like he did those first couple of hours before it broke. The mechanism for the bat still works, though, so that's what keeps it from getting only one star for durability. If you don't mind doing the workaround, the game is still fun, but having to roll the ball down the ramp is a hassle because you have so much less time befor the ball gets to the bat.