Dynasty Baseball 2014 is a good way to pass time

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Fans Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Baseball simulations are evolving and still being played thousands of times a day. Why? They’re downright fun, entertaining, frustrating, and ingenious all at the same time. They test your skills in various manners as they pertain to the great American pastime.

If you haven’t ventured into the baseball sim world, you’re missing out. Maybe Fantasy Moguls’ Dynasty Baseball is for you. The app version, which I’m covering here, is more simplistic than the version offered on Facebook. The best part is that the two can go hand-in-hand as you can play the app using your Facebook info. And playing on your mobile device makes this a way to pass a few minutes throughout your day.

The “fully loaded” version of the game on Facebook is highly suggested, but the app version isn’t too shabby. Actually, it can be addictive.

And like most sims, the past and the present come together. I currently have Mike Leake in my starting rotation, Todd Van Poppel in the bullpen, Ruppert Jones in the outfield, Mariano Duncan at second base and Miguel Montero behind the plate.

So what’s the home screen look like?

When you first open the app, the first image above first appears, then heads to your personal home screen. Touch the icon in the upper left and the image you see to the left is what next appears. This is your game menu, so let’s take a quick cruise through it.

Store
Just as you’d think, this is where you go to purchase more games, reputation points (RPs), “cash” (which can be done though your Google Play account), and bonuses. The bonuses are achieved upon reaching certain levels of the game and take only reputation points to buy.

PlayGames
1. League – join a league with other players that are on the same level (yep, there a re levels involved). Build up valuable RPs which can be used for bonuses and training your players. Win your league and have a player or two lead the league in a stat to gain more RPs. Winning a league or placing within a certain number of places in your league is how you level up in Dynasty Baseball 2014.
2. Daily Games – scroll through and pick out your opponent. Quick, easy way to build up your cash. You get a rolling 12 per day.
3. Rivalries – if you have Facebook friends that also play, here’s where you can challenge them.

Manage Team
1. Lineup – set your batting order, starting rotation and how your bullpen will be utilized.
2. Training – improve your players by using two methods of training: quick (use RP and cash) or extended (cash only).
3. Managers- hire real MLB managers to provide “synergy” (boosts) to your players.

Sign Players
To use any of these three (Daily Draft, Free Agents, Legends), I highly recommend doing so through the Facebook version. This way, you have all the “numbers” and needs at your disposal to make a better decision regarding your roster.

Statistics
1. Milestones- once five players from your roster reach a certain statistical milestone, you are awarded a permanent bonus for your team. There are six that are in play, three for batters and three for pitchers. They are hits, home runs and stolen bases for you batters. For the pitchers, there’s wins, strikeouts and saves.

There are a couple of drawbacks to playing through the app versus being on Facebook, but neither should curtail you from at least trying this app.

1. You don’t view the sim “playing out” as you can on Facebook. All you get is the final score. Maybe I’m being picky, but it is honestly more dramatic to watch the game play out. Had more than a few walk-offs since I’ve been playing.
2. The in-depth numbers (stats and ratings of your players) aren’t at your disposal through the app. This could affect decision-making which is why I suggest making any roster moves through Facebook. On Facebook, pitchers have specified roles (SP and RP) and those roles are not displayed on the app.
3. If you do decide to sign a free agent, the app will force you to choose a player in your starting lineup to drop.
4. You will quickly use your allotment of daily games. May take you all of five minutes to do that! (Just remember that those 12 games will “rebuild” as the day goes on.)

Any app will have a drawback or two associated with it especially when compared to a web version. Outside of not having the in-depth info needed to improve your roster by signing free agents and/or adding players through the draft, there are no other issues I have with this game.

If someone pressed me to rate this game based on a scale of one to five stars (five being the best), I would not hesitate in giving it four. I do play it everyday, and as I suggest in the title, you can easily pass a few minutes of your day playing this.