The World's Greatest Baseball Game (1977)

The World's Greatest Baseball Game (TWGBG) is yet another baseball simulation based on player performances. Rules for TWGBG offer seven different levels of increasingly detailed game play. Regardless of the level of play, however, the path to victory depends as much on putting the best players on the field as in the result cards one draws. The use of result cards and a Special Events chart are reminiscent of the Action Cards and "Z plays" chart from a contemporary product, Statis-Pro baseball. One additional detail regarding TWGBG should be noted. In this game, the players for each team in a given season are those who were set to appear on opening day for that year; however, the stats for that player come from the previous year. For example, stats on the 1980 Don Stanhouse (LA) card reflect his 1979 (Baltimore) performance. This differs from baseball game systems such as Strat-O-Matic or Statis Pro, where card sets were published only after a season was completed. TWGBG was intended for players who wanted to use the opening day rosters and play out a season as it was progressing.