Baseball Boss

Baseball Boss (also known as BaseballBoss and abbreviated to BBB) was a web based, free online MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) baseball game published by Challenge Games.[1] Baseball Boss is also an official licensee of Major League Baseball Advanced Media. The game combines virtual baseball card collecting and fantasy baseball simulation through head to head completion against historical teams and other online players. The game was released on July 10, 2008. Players are given cards of real baseball players from all of baseball's ages (card sets range from 1907 to the 2009 MLB All Star Game) to create teams of players using their cards. Players then attempt to move up "classes," from Rookie to Hall of Fame by defeating other players' teams through simulated challenges. Players can spend their tickets, earned for sending challenges to other teams, to purchase new packs of cards from the Market, new cards from other users in the Auction House, or can trade with them.[2] Baseball Boss features two brands of cards, the "National" base brand and the "Spire" premium brand. In addition to playing against other online users, Baseball Boss allows users to collect entire sets or a group of their favorite cards in a way that resembles virtual baseball card collecting, using "Shoeboxes".[3]

Baseball Boss shut down operations on March 10, 2010. At this time Challenge Games will cease to exist.

Getting Started

Baseball Boss offers two ways in which players can sign up. Players can register with an email address, first name, last name and password, and then validate their email. Players can also register by connecting their Baseball Boss account with their Facebook account. When a player signs up, they are given the choice to pick their starter cards from three different collections; 1998, 2008 or cards from their favorite MLB team. The player then receives three free starter packs, which they can use to build their initial team to compete against other players.

The Cards

Virtual baseball cards are a central part of the Baseball Boss game experience. A player’s virtual baseball card collection is used to build their team’s rosters. Like real life baseball players, each baseball player card has ratings and abilities that affect the outcome of game play. The card’s ratings and abilities are based upon historical statistics for that real life baseball player in a given year. Each card also has a rarity tier and a corresponding color. This attribute measures how rare the card is within the overall distribution of the game. Tier 1 cards are the most common, and Tier 7 cards are the rarest.[4]

The color system is as follows:

• Tier 1 – Grey
• Tier 2 – White
• Tier 3 – Green
• Tier 4 – Blue
• Tier 5 – Purple
• Tier 6 – Orange
• Tier 7 – Red

Baseball Boss offers two brands of cards, Spire and National. Both of these card brands also have attributes that affect game play. For example, Tier 6 and 7 cards are only available in a Spire brand. Players can grow their card collections through a number of methods (see “Acquiring cards” below.)

Managing Teams

An owner plays the role of both general manager and manager for each team they create. A team’s roster contains up to 25 players and is built from an owner’s baseball card collection. The owner then sets fielding positions, batting lineups, starting rotations and bullpen assignments. After these decisions are made, the owner’s team is ready to compete against other players with a number of game types.

Game types

There are a variety of ways to play online baseball games in Baseball Boss:

• Challenge Play – Teams can challenge each other to a 3, 4 or 5 game series that either counts towards their record (challenge play) or not (scrimmage play).
• Historical play - Players can compete head to head against historical teams in challenges or scrimmages.
• League Play – Teams can join a league of other owners. Any owner can create a league and make it public (where anyone can join) or private (where only invited owners can join). There are two versions of pay leagues, where owners can keep the cards they receive after the league ends. There are also versions of free or “ticket” (see game currencies below) leagues where users can play with the cards they already own, or the cards they receive when signing up for the league. Depending on how the organizer configures the league, top finishers win additional packs of cards. See more on “acquiring cards” below.
• Class Play – Class play allows an owner to play their way up through a competitive structure, similar to a “Ladder” structure found in many different types of head to head competition. New players enter the Amateur class and play their way up through to Rookie ball, Class A, Class AA, etc. Different classes have different restrictions on payroll and the types of cards that can be used.
• Milestones – Players complete various game activities to earn rewards. Example milestones are beating a World Series champion team, beating historical teams and playing other players head to head.

Acquiring Cards

Players acquire cards to increase their baseball card collection or to increase the competitiveness of their teams. There are a number of ways players can acquire cards in Baseball Boss:

• Packs, Boxes, Cases – Players can purchase cards in various packages through the Baseball Boss store with Tickets or Challenge Coins (see game currencies below).
• Trades – Players can trade cards with other players through the game’s trading system.
• Auctions – Players can put their Baseball Boss cards up for sale in the game’s auction house, where other players bid with Tickets (see game currencies below).

Game Currencies

• Challenge Coins – Challenge Coins are the virtual currency of Challenge Online Games. They are used to acquire items and services in any of their free-to-play online titles. Challenge Coins are purchased with real money or can be exchanged for tickets in Baseball Boss in the game’s currency exchange.
• Tickets - Tickets are the official in-game currency of Baseball Boss. Tickets are generated from playing various game types and milestones. Tickets are used to purchase packs and other items from the Card Store. Packs, boxes and cases in the Card Store cost both Tickets and/or Challenge Coins. Tickets are also the primary currency of the Auction House. Tickets can be traded for Challenge Coins in the game’s Currency Exchange.

Baseball Boss Membership

Players can buy memberships to the game. Members gain multiple benefits, including an unlimited number of card collection slots, and weekly stipends of packs and Challenge Coins.

New Sets

Baseball Boss depends on interest from the blogging community to help announce and promote its new sets. Since its initial writeup in TechCrunch in July 2008, Baseball Boss has continually drawn on bloggers to announce promotions, like The Simpsons' card giveaway[5] and the introduction of new sets of cards like the 1957 set.[6] Baseball Boss has also done a few other promotions, like one for Father's Day in which cards were released that featured famous Father/Son combinations.[7]

Gameplay

Baseball Boss can be played in two ways: in a browser or on the iPhone. The browser-based version loads straight to the browser without a software download. This functionality means it can be loaded and played on the iPhone.[8] Since the game is predicated on the premise that 5–10 minutes each day is sufficient to actively play the game, the iPhone seemed a natural way to allow users to play the game even when on the go.

End Game

Challenge Games determined to cease operations with Baseball Boss effective March 10, 2010.[9] Exact details could not be provided per standard procedures in relation to the game.

References

  1. ↑ "Challenge Games Secures Financing". Archived from the original on 2010-02-10. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  2. ↑ "If you don't love baseball yet". Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  3. ↑ "Collecting virtual Baseball Cards". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  4. ↑ "Trading Cards meets Fantasy Sports". Archived from the original on 2008-08-21. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  5. ↑ "Baseball Boss Cards in The attic". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  6. ↑ "1957 Set Introduced at Baseball Boss". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  7. ↑ "Baseball Boss releases Father's Day set". Archived from the original on June 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  8. ↑ "Baseball Boss makes pitch for iPhone". Archived from the original on 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  9. ↑ "Baseball Boss Goes Belly Up". Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
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