Strat-O-Matic plays ‘What If?’

Game will look at five scenarios involving Browns, Cavs, Indians

If ever there was a “What If?” capital of the pro sports nation, Cleveland would have to be in the running.

Perhaps no sports town anywhere in the civilized world can play the “What If” game better.

Strat-O-Matic plans to play that game for us.

What was once strictly a popular sports board game created 61 years ago has been available on the digital platform for about 30 years. Strat-O-Matic is wellknown for its simulations that provides at least some answers to those “What If?” sports questions.

John Garcia, 32, has been StratO-Matic’s Chief Content Officer for 11 years. He’s played Strat-OMatic all his life.

“It’s a game I love,” said Garcia in a phone interview. “It means so much to me. It’s not just a job for us. It’s much more than that. It’s our childhood.”

Garcia loves the simulation game, and takes it seriously.

“It’s the accuracy,” he said. “It’s what we pride ourselves on — having realistic ratings.”

It’s not all about statistics — be it baseball, football, basketball or hockey. According to Garcia, a lot of hours are put in reading content from various media outlets that cover each professional team for the most accurate grade for a player and team. Research also includes talking to beat writers and team scouts for trends, analytics and other factors.

Stat-O-Matic is a game company based in Glen Head, N.Y., that is best known for its baseball game. The first Stra-O-Matic baseball board game was created in 1961 by Hal Richman, a mathematics student in college. He created a football game in 1968, then an advanced baseball game in 1972, followed by a basketball game in 1973 and a hockey version in 1978.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Craig Ehlo — shown driving against Michael Jordan during the 1992 playoffs — will forever be known for his role in “The Shot.”