On the title screen choose who controls each club (Human or CPU), the difficulty, whether the designated hitter is used, and an optional seed (the same seed always produces the same rosters and the same game). Press PLAY BALL. If a saved game exists, RESUME SAVED GAME continues it.
PITCHING 1-4 choose one of the pitcher's four pitches I / K high / low J / L left / right of the plate Enter down the middle U O N M the four corners BATTING Arrows aim the bat (press the same arrow again to recentre) Space swing B bunt S send the lead runner on the next pitch FIELDING (the nearest fielder runs the ball down for you) I second J third L first K home Enter hold the ball RUNNING Up send the runners Down hold them ANYTIME M manager C scorecard P pause F fast-forward A audio F5 save Q quit Every control also has an on-screen button for touch play.
The away club bats in the top of each inning and the home club in the bottom. Each half-inning lasts until three outs are made. Within a half-inning the order is always: the pitcher chooses a pitch and a spot, the ball is delivered, the batter swings or takes, and if the ball is put in play the fielders and runners act until the ball is held and every runner has stopped. The umpire then announces the result and the next pitch is set up. The home club does not bat in the bottom of the ninth if it already leads, and the game ends the moment the home club takes the lead in the ninth or later.
Runners advance automatically on the ball in play. A forced runner must run; an unforced runner weighs the time the defense needs to get the ball to the next base against the time he needs to reach it, and holds on a fly ball until it is caught or drops. On offense you can overrule him: Up sends everyone, Down holds everyone who is not forced. Before a pitch, S sends the lead runner on a steal; the catcher's arm and the runner's speed decide it. Fielders move on their own: the nearest man goes to the ball, the others cover their bases.
A run scores when a runner touches home. A batter is out on three strikes, a caught fly ball, a force at a base or a tag; a batter reaches on four balls, a hit by pitch, a hit, an error or a fielder's choice. The swing window is wider at Rookie and narrower at Legend. The quality of contact comes from timing and aim together: the bat must cross the zone within a tenth of a second of the ball and close to where the ball actually is. Late is a push to the opposite field, early is a pull; aiming under the ball lifts it into the air, over it drives it into the ground. Pitches break late — a curveball starts high and finishes low — and a tiring pitcher (watch the stamina bar) loses velocity and control.
Lead after nine complete innings, or after any complete extra inning. The home club wins immediately by taking the lead in the bottom of the ninth or later.
Trail when the game ends. There are no other losing conditions; the game always finishes with a winner because extra innings continue until one club leads after a complete inning.
The game autosaves between half-innings and F5 or the Save button saves between pitches (not during a pitch or a play). One save slot is kept in the browser under the key tronsoft_ninety_feet_save; the audio preference is kept under tronsoft_ninety_feet_prefs. Q returns to the title, from which RESUME SAVED GAME continues or PLAY BALL starts a fresh game. A finished game clears its save.
C opens the scorer's card for both clubs: one diamond per plate appearance, baselines inked as far as the runner got, a red filled diamond for a run, and the play written over it in scorer's notation (6-3, F8, L4, SF9, E5, 4-6-3 DP, K, Kc, BB).