Since I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with sports management simulation games — to an absurd degree. Whether it was Total Extreme Wrestling, Out of the Park Baseball, Draft Day Sports: College Basketball, World of Mixed Martial Arts, Eastside Hockey Manager, or Front Office Football Nine, I’ve played (or at least tried to play) them all.

All that to say: this micro-genre of very niche video games is my true love. Football Manager is no different. I’ve poured thousands of hours into various editions of Sports Interactive's iconic series and formed hundreds of parasocial bonds with players who, technically speaking, don’t exist. (They’re real to me, dammit.)

Despite what you might think of a glorified spreadsheet simulator, these games aren’t grindy — they’re meditative. They reward patien

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