Townball
The version of Townball played at University High School is based upon the standard bat-and-ball game played in Massachusetts before the civil war. The Massachusetts Game (as it was called) was the early rival of the New York Game (the equivalent of what we now call "baseball") as the National Pastime until The New York Game eventually won out. In the Massachusetts Game, the pitcher stands only 35 feet from the batter, and thus the pitcher delivers the ball slowly to the batter in such a way so as to allow him to easily hit. First base (or stake) is also 30 feet from the batter, and the other three bases are 60 feet apart in a square (see the image below). Thus getting on base is easy. Scoring, however, is not.
At University High School, we play a modified version of The Massachusetts Game referred to by its creators as "Twenty-First Century Townball", which incorporates fast overhand pitching, as well as a "strike zone" behind the batter, which, if hit by a legal pitch, the batter is called out. The beloved "one out, all out" rule (one out per inning) is kept, along with no foul balls and the practice of "soaking" the stakerunners to get them out. Another stake behind the batting point is added so as to give a more 360-degree feel to the game (like in cricket). It also uses the Fibonacci sequence in determining various aspects of the game (such as the size of the strike-zone, as well as the distances used to form the stake paths). For more information on all the ways in which the Fibonacci sequence is used in 21st Century Townball, click here.
What makes the game of Townball so much fun? As mentioned earlier, it is easy in townball to get on stake, but very difficult to score. This keeps everyone involved and mentally alert at all times. Risk taking abounds and hidden ball tricks are the norm. A lot of the things that people find "boring" about baseball (like foul balls, walks, long innings, etc.) essentially disappear in townball. The game is fast-paced, being played first team to 8 runs, win by 5, with a cap at 13. This allows for a lot less to keep track of, such as innings, the number of outs, and the count.
With this game being so fun to both play and watch, we at University High School have to ask why it did not win out as the National Pastime. But though it may not yet be America's Pastime, we definitely consider it ours.