Phillip Schwarzmsnn is a Euro-game expert whose time in Finland working for Nokia gave him a deeply immersive experience in the mechanics of those games. But he’s also a former Strat and Statis player who keeps one foot firmly in the world of sports sims (he began playing Out of the Park version 3 in the early 2000s). He’s aiming to bridge the gap between classic sports sims and contemporary games — whose themes run the gamut from the Alhambra to Taverns of Tiefenthal to Wingspan. His concept, Sandlot Stars, immerses players in a colorful, card-driven baseball-themed game for three rounds — the seventh, eighth and ninth innings — with elements of ballpark effects and Yahtzee-style dice probabilities in the mix.   

We talk through Phillip’s 10 ways to bring sports simulations into the modern world. He also offers insights into a handful of great new sports games including Baseball Highlights 2045, Bat Flip, Bottom of the 9th, Dice Realms and Envelopes of Cash, a game about college football recruiting.   

Phillip also runs the San Francisco Board Game Designers group with cofounder Jim McCollum, and they’re  working on a football game.  

Stay tuned to the end for his explanation of Finland’s answer to baseball, pesäpallo.

Sandlot Stars is tentatively on scheduled for a print-and-play release by summer’s end.

Check out Phillip’s Facebook group for the game at sandlotstarsgame.com.

1. Audience Targeting (7:48)
2. Theme and realism (13:07)
3. Game play (16:40)
4. Drafting (20:00)
5. Solo Play (30:59)
6. Dice manipulation and the push-your-luck mechanic (38:15)
7. Multiplayer (46:57)
8. Visuals (50:02)
9. Odds/gambling (53:40)
10. What makes baseball great (1:01:30)