This aims to be the shortest introduction to softball ever written... There's also a longer guide (nicked from the Manchester site).

• Softball is like baseball but with a bigger ball that is bowled (or "pitched") underarm to make it easy to hit.
• There are two teams in a game, usually of 5 men and 5 women each.
• The teams take turns batting and fielding (e.g. for five turns or "innings"). The aim is to score as many runs as possible.
• The fielding team wears a big leather glove (one each, that is) to make it easy to catch the ball.
• The field is made up of an "infield" and an "outfield" (see picture below).
• The infield contains 4 bases arranged in a diamond shape. They are called home plate, first, second and third base. The batter stands at home plate. The pitcher stands in the middle of the infield.
• A run is scored when a batter runs all the way around the bases and back to home plate. They may stop at any base and wait for the next batter, but only one batter may stop on any base.
• A batter is out if: their hit is caught; they fail to hit a legal pitch 3 times ("three strikes and you're out"); they are touched by a fielder with the ball when not on a base.
• A team is out when 3 batters are out.
• The pitcher has to pitch the ball between shoulder and knee height over home plate. If the pitcher fails to do this 4 times the batter gets a free walk to first base.
• The batter has to hit the ball into the area between 1st and 3rd base. If the batter hits outside of this area then that counts as one of their 3 tries to get on base.
• Most people in England aren't very good at it, but who cares (we aren't much good at anything else either, so this is normal). Americans have an advantage and therefore have to play with both feet tied together.