How the San Diego Padres history timeline game works

On every card in the Padres deck is a franchise milestone with a brief caption below the title, and you put them in order by the year they happened. You begin with one card on the timeline, its year showing. Every card after that goes into a gap of your choosing. Choose well and the year appears; an incorrect one moves the card to where it belongs and costs you one of three lives.

San Diego's history is light on titles and rich in great individual careers, so the deck leans on awards, milestones and big contracts. Two franchise legends account for several cards each, spread over their long careers, which makes their milestones easy to confuse. The modern cards are crowded with expensive signings and blockbuster trades that came close together.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 20 of the 20 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Padres begin play as an expansion team San Diego joins the National League in its first big-league season
Nate Colbert's five-homer doubleheader The slugger ties a record with five home runs and 13 RBIs in one day
Ray Kroc buys the team and keeps it in San Diego The McDonald's magnate purchases the club to prevent a move
Randy Jones wins the Cy Young Award A soft-tossing lefty is named the NL's best pitcher
San Diego hosts the All-Star Game The Midsummer Classic comes to San Diego Stadium as Ozzie Smith debuts
Tony Gwynn makes his debut A future batting champion plays his first big-league games
First pennant sends them to the World Series Steve Garvey's walk-off homer keys a comeback before a loss to the Tigers
Trevor Hoffman is acquired A future all-time saves leader arrives in a midseason trade
Ken Caminiti's MVP powers a division title A slugging third baseman wins MVP as the club takes the NL West
Return to the World Series Kevin Brown and Gwynn lead a pennant before falling to the Yankees
Tony Gwynn reaches 3,000 hits The franchise icon joins the 3,000-hit club
Petco Park opens downtown The club moves into its new ballpark in the East Village
Win the NL West division The club captures its first division crown in seven years
Hoffman becomes the all-time saves leader The closer passes Lee Smith atop the career saves list
Peavy's Cy Young and Gwynn's Hall induction An ace wins the pitching Triple Crown as the icon enters Cooperstown
Manny Machado signs as a free agent A star third baseman joins on a then-record $300M free-agent deal
Return to the postseason In a shortened season the club reaches October for the first time since 2006
Fernando Tatis Jr. signs a $340M extension The young shortstop commits to a 14-year deal
Trade for Juan Soto and topple the Dodgers A blockbuster deadline deal precedes an NLDS upset of the rival Dodgers
Machado signs a record extension The third baseman locks in on a new 11-year, $350M deal