Don't have time for a full game? Franchise mode lets you play games that run from around 5 to 45 minutes.

Hey everybody, Matt Schaeffer here. Designer on MLB the Show. For those of you not familiar with Franchise mode in the Show 18, here is a quick rundown of everything you’re missing out on.

Managing Your Team

Franchise mode begins with taking control of a MLB organization with the intent of building and managing a brand new dynasty for the baseball history books. This mode gives you the ability to manage your team as much as you desire, including setting your lineups/rotations, drafting future talent, managing staff, and other general manager tasks.

Front Office Phases

As a GM of a MLB team, you need to focus on making the right decisions at the right times. This year, we’ve broken Franchise mode down into 19 unique phases that contextualize the important moments general managers experience in a typical MLB season to help guide your franchise to success.

To help with this, each phase is labeled on the home page and calendar screen to remind you of your current phase, the upcoming phase, and when the next phase begins.

Each phase contains a list of important tasks that are relevant to that time of the year., so you’ll no longer find yourself unsure of what to do next.

Not interested in dealing with a specific task? Simply press square to switch it from manual to auto.

Phases also deliver you dynamic content and visuals throughout the season to help you make informed decisions that impact your team. For example, you can easily see:

The result of your last game and who played well.

Your next opponent, starting pitchers, and how they are performing this year.

How your team stacks up per position compared to other teams.

Your star players who are going to be free agents in the offseason.

This is just some of the content we’re now able to deliver at appropriate moments throughout the season, instead of requiring you to find it on your own.

Phases also allow for navigation that is quicker and more intuitive than ever. Even if you decide to never leave the home page in Franchise mode, you can still make all the decisions necessary to manage your team to the World Series.

Playing With Your Team

After you’ve had a healthy dose of management tasks, it’s time to hit the field. In The Show 18, there are many ways to experience Franchise mode games, each of which offer varying completion times to fit your schedule.

Play Full Game: Roughly 45 minutes. This is the full 9-inning game experience. You take full control of your players and all in-game management decisions.

Roughly 45 minutes. This is the full 9-inning game experience. You take full control of your players and all in-game management decisions. Critical Situations: Roughly 10 minutes. As the season progresses, you’re prompted to join in on intense gameplay moments that occur during different games.

Roughly 10 minutes. As the season progresses, you’re prompted to join in on intense gameplay moments that occur during different games. Player Lock: Roughly 10 minutes. Play as a single player on your team and experience the game from their perspective.

Roughly 10 minutes. Play as a single player on your team and experience the game from their perspective. Quick Manage: Roughly 5 minutes. A text-based simulation that unfolds based on your decisions and input. You also have the option to jump in and out of the action at any time.

Roughly 5 minutes. A text-based simulation that unfolds based on your decisions and input. You also have the option to jump in and out of the action at any time. Manage Full game: Roughly 45 minutes. For our most hardcore fans that enjoy managing a team. You have the ability to jump in game as the manager and make every management decision for your team.

Roughly 45 minutes. For our most hardcore fans that enjoy managing a team. You have the ability to jump in game as the manager and make every management decision for your team. New Retro Mode: Roughly 30 minutes. New this year, play at any time with your franchise team in Retro mode. Retro mode features simplified gameplay controls and a retro presentation package to recreate that nostalgic feeling from past baseball video games.

Now that you are familiar with what franchise mode has to offer, join us for a more in depth look at all things Franchise on our Twitch stream at 2PM PT today.

Don’t miss out on First Pitch weekend, starting on March 23 and giving early access (up to 4 days) to those who pre-order from participating retailer. You can also stay up to date on all things MLB The Show 18 by following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.