http://forum.onlinegames.strat-o-matic. ... 16&t=10283this link should help a little. Basically, the way it works is that you draft players from the set as usual but each "player" can be one of 5 cards and you are not told which one until the year is over. You try to figure out which card it is through stats (which are imperfect obviously due to the randomness of rolls), injuries, and decisions that HAL makes (although that is also relatively unreliable). It is more fun than standard strat, in my opinion. Note, the actual card stays the same throughout the year regardless of whether it is dropped or traded.
IT is a different kind of skill. Unlike the basic strat leagues, other than minor matchup decisions, you are constantly dropping and adding playuers and analyzing stats, at least for the first half of the season. In regular strat if someone is doing terrible it is probably just bad luck. In the mystery games, it could indicate that you have a dud year.
In my opinion, I would start with the 80s or 70s game. The 90s game has a lot of players with one spectacular steroid year which the vets are more aggressive about drafting and are better able t spot. Just my opinion. I think alot of people like the 90s best and, I think, the salaries are generally more "correct."