As we previewed yesterday, Challenge Games has released a new online game that combines virtual baseball trading cards with a fantasy game. Challenge Games is not new to the online gaming field, they created a successful online multiplayer game called Duels. The difference with their games versus some of the more massive online games requiring hours of gameplay is that Challenge wants to make shorter games for the more casual gamer.

Enter Baseball Boss. It’s a different take on fantasy baseball in that you select 40 virtual baseball “cards” of your favorite players for the last 100 years, the system creates the best roster for you, and then you play against friends or the system in simulated games. Think you know who the best players are of all time and want to see them play together? This is the simulation for you. You can also just take your favorite current players and see how they stack up against players of yore, like Ernie Banks, Jackie Robinson and the like.

You can watch the simulation live or via Flash after it’s been played. You can improve your team by trading cards with others, but you can also buy “packs” of cards and see who you get, just like in real life. If you have ever collected baseball cards, it’s a similar feeling there of opening a fresh pack of cards and experiencing the surprise of the cards you’ve received.

It’s definitely a fresh, interesting concept on combining virtual trading cards and fantasy baseball. Problems? Well, hopefully Challenge has received permission from MLB or they may be facing legal action for using all these player names and images. Also, I’m not sure where the revenue for the company will come from, as the e-commerce model of buying cards and perhaps advertising may be enough if it’s wildly popular, but I don’t see it just yet. I can see them or competitors branching out into doing this sort of thing for other sports, namely football and basketball.

After all, we like to collect cards and we all have those water cooler discussions about players from different eras and how they would stack up against one another. There is now a way to see how those simulated games would actually play out. And for that, this is a welcome addition to the fantasy sports landscape. They are currently in beta mode so you can signup and give it a try.