Playfinity’s Backyard League Gaming Baseball matches the size and weight of a regulation Major League baseball, and it connects to an iOS or Android device via Bluetooth. The app tracks different stats about each throw, such as speed, airtime, height, and transfer speed.
The Backyard League Gaming Baseball is designed for kids 6-14, and it offers 70 hours of playtime on a single-cell battery. The ball is also water resistant.
Testing results from Andrew and Eddie Bardwell:
Setup: This was pretty easy, and I liked how the game gave you an animation of the setup steps. I definitely referred to the video when figuring out which way to orient the tracker inside the baseball. There are a bunch of other pieces in the ball that are maybe weights? They look like set screws, but I have no idea how or why they might be used. Anyway, the game worked great without them.
Once the battery was in and the tracker was inserted, the app recognized the ball immediately, and I loved the confirmation step to make sure it was sensing movement. Just tossing the ball up in the air 5x, while the in-app narrator cheers you on.
Initial game play: They have you get used to the game experience by tossing back & forth with a partner for 30 seconds. Then you get a score and repeat the game. If they would have told you why they make you repeat the game, that would have been better, we weren’t sure why there was only one option…made me wonder if that was all this app could do. The reason they gave you go again is so you they can show you the in-app experience of comparing your score with your previous benchmark, so the narrator cheers you on, letting you know if you’re in the lead, or you’re falling behind. It all made sense afterward, but a little guidance at that step would help.
Games: There are 5 games (as far as I see): Fast Throw, Pop Fly, Longer & Longer, Bulls Eye, and Higher & Higher. You can play against yourself, or play against The League. You have to play all the games at least once before you can join The League. Each one was a lot of fun, and they focus on some different skills. The only game that is a one-player is Higher & Higher, so this is definitely a two-person toy.
We liked the challenge of beating ourselves when we played each of the games, but we had some difficulty in the league. Maybe we just choked when the stakes were raised. But the league challenges were kinda weird. You couldn’t pick the game you wanted to compete in, it picked a single opponent for you, then picked the game at random from a spinner wheel, and then it picked the score to beat also at random. I would have preferred it if you could at least pick the game yourself. Also, why it picked a score at random is beyond me.
In summary, I was happy with both the setup and the in-game experience. I thought it was fun to play and had enough variety to keep people coming back. I’d love to see something like a speed tracker where you could enter the distance between the thrower & catcher and get a speed reading of each pitch. When giving as a gift, I’d make sure the kid has someone to play with.
Available at the Playfinity Store and on Amazon. Money Back Guarantee available on their site.
Photo credits: Ella Bardwell
Disclosure: The manufacturer provided us with this product for testing. Opinions however, are and always will be strictly our own.