But soccer isn’t the only sport, and Football Manager isn’t the only sports management sim game around. There’s a wealth of management sims based on other sports, and these are the best of the bunch.

8 Out Of The Park Baseball Series

The Out of the Park Baseball series has been the premier baseball-management sim since its first installment in 1999. The 2007 edition even managed to beat the legendary Orange Box on Metacritic. It even had a brief stint under Football Manager creators Sports Interactive but has since been published by developers Out of the Park Developments directly.

The series has received official licensing from both Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball since OOTP 2016, so fans can now pick out their favorite players to make their team the best in the world. Each game has been well received by fans, with each new entry being an improvement over the last to one degree or another. So, it’s a good time to grab Out of the Park Baseball 23 on Steam and get playing.

7 Tennis Elbow Manager 2

Anyone for tennis? If swinging for the fences isn’t a player’s thing, maybe helping a future ace master their lobs and backhands will be more to their liking. Players can train up to 9 athletes, build up their skills, gain sponsors, and more as they try to produce the world’s #1 player.

They can stick to the traditional text-based action, or watch their players’ matches in real-time 3D. That, or play as them directly if they don’t trust the AI. Though it’s solid enough as developers Mana Games got real tennis players in to help get things just right. The game’s available on Steam and is considered to be one of the best tennis sims around, if not the best overall.

6 Retro Bowl

If anyone saw Football Manager, and weren’t happy about the lack of touchdowns and shoulder pads, Retro Bowl has their back. New Star Games’ 8-bit looking tribute to Tecmo Bowl gives players a simple but extensive take on American Football. Players can only control the offensive team, but they can manage defensive players among other options. They can draft, trade, and cut players, sign any tempting-looking free agents, and boost morale to make their team the best around.

It was originally a mobile game on iOS and Android, so there are extra perks if players cough up an additional $1. For example, players can edit their own uniforms, logos, etc., to resemble their favorite teams. That, or create completely new ones if those NFL teams feel old hat. The game is also available on the Nintendo Switch if players would rather pick up a Joycon than their smartphone.

5 F1 Manager 2022

There are many racing games based on Formula 1, but there aren’t many management games based on it. EA Sports and Intelligent Games tried one out in 1999 with F1 Manager to middling reviews. They didn’t try again for 23 years, when Frontier Developments gave it another shot with F1 Manager 2022.

It essentially builds on the My Career option from F1 2020, where players can customize their cars, get new parts, and work with engineers based on real F1 staff to organize their pacing and pit stops to stay in pole position per race. Players could pick it up on PC via Steam like most of the other entries here, but it’s also available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and the Xbox Series X/S.

4 Motorsport Manager

F1 Manager 2022 is the newest, flashiest entry in motorsport management, but it only offers the base game. Frontier Developments sadly stopped supporting the game within 2 months of its release. It took fan backlash to keep the updates coming, but eventually it’ll be up to fans to provide them through mods. If that news leaves people cold, they may have better luck with Motorsport Manager, available on iOS, Android, PC, macOS, Linux, and the Nintendo Switch.

What Motorsport Manager lacks in licenses it makes up for in support. The game has received consistent updates and a range of DLC since its original release in 2017. Playsport Games’ product lets players develop their cars, and appoint drivers and engineers to get ahead. Though they have to be careful, as it’ll throw in the odd curveball to test players’ skills and in-game reputation. Each port is solid, but the PC and Switch versions are arguably the best with their extra tracks and exclusive circuits.

3 Teamfight Manager

Here’s a meta entry: a game where the player manages a team of other video game players. Created by Team Samoyed, Teamfight Manager has players create their own eSport team for matches in a 16-bit take on DOTA. They can pick or ban champions to produce the best combo, then use Training Points to boost one stat or another to make them play better.

They can also upgrade their training center facilities, change their gear, and provide new equipment to keep them strong and happy. Then they can take on the AI or fight their friends in 1v1 battles or 10-player scrums. So, it’s not a bad choice to pep up one’s collection on PC, macOS, and the Nintendo Switch.

2 Total Extreme Wrestling 2020

The WWE games have had one GM Mode or another based on running their flagship shows since the PS2 days. Still, they’re a little too polished to really resemble what the world of professional wrestling is like. Where are the TV deal and sponsorship negotiations? The prima donna wrestlers unhappy with their co-grapplers? The referees and other staff that need to keep things running?

Total Extreme Wrestling has had all that and more. Since its original incarnation as Extreme Warfare in 1995, the series has received intermittent new releases. The latest entry, Total Extreme Wrestling 2020, is regarded as the best of the bunch. The action is told all through text and stats but offers plenty of options to keep people on their toes. Players can book their own storylines, assign gimmicks to their wrestlers, and work out their foibles in the name of TV ratings. Available for the PC, the game can be downloaded from Steam or from developer Grey Dog Software’s own website.

1 Sensible World Of Soccer

At the end of the day, if a fan really wants an alternative soccer sim, there’s this old school classic. Originally made for the Commodore Amiga, Sensible Software’s Sensible World of Soccer did what no other soccer management had done up to that point. It included every significant soccer team worldwide, be they the UK’s Manchester United or Ghana’s Asante Kotoko. 1,500 teams and 27,000 players in total.

Players can buy, trade and cut players to perfect their side, and take them to the top. Or at least try. If they’re unlucky, they can be fired by the chairman, or sent to a lower league team to try again. As simple as it looks now, it was cited as one of the world’s most important games alongside Doom, Tetris, and Super Mario Bros 3 by Stanford University in 2007. Formerly part of Games With Gold’s Xbox 360 selections, the game is available on PC via GOG.com, or MS-DOS and Amiga emulators, with active online leagues and decades’ worth of mods and updates to tweak the game to one’s liking.

More: Football Manager 22: Best Mods You Need to Install