Loving the Mystery Cards

my biggest mistake was with Valenzuela in the 80s set during the Mystery Tournament. I typically wait longer than most before I cut a guy, especially a pitcher but all the signs pointed in the wrong direction...

Rolls H11/P20
vLefties .600 average
vRighties .429 with 2HR's

I was sure he was on his '87 year, so against my nature I dropped him and low and behold he ends up on '85, his 1.15 whip 3R season...precisely the one I wanted when I drafted him. UGH

It sounds like a neat project. I'm not super excited about the 90's though. Strikes really burned my ass. I really like the 80's because I was absolutely nuts about the game then. If you really need someone let me know though.

Of all of the online SOM games, I prefer the Mystery Card game also.

That having been said, it's way past time to upgrade both the 80s and the 70s game.

Of all of the online SOM games, I prefer the Mystery Card game also.

That having been said, it's way past time to upgrade both the 80s and the 70s game.

I agree 100% with adding a few cards per decade! It would not take many new cards to shake things up and make players rethink their rosters.

I have to disagree with much of the favorable sentiment expressed here in regards to the mystery card sets. I had played the 80s a few years ago. I can’t understate how excited I was at the outset at the idea of managing a team with the element of real-life uncertainty that accompanied the concept of the game. But then how deflating it was to realize that I was getting “outplayed” not in terms of ability to manage a collection of players with uncertian abilities, but instead by players who were combing thru the daily dice rolls to to unlock and effectively remove the mystery card element from the game. What I thought was a real-life like baseball game ended up feeling more like a contest as to who was the better card hacker.

Anyway - why am I writing this now? As I said I had played a few years ago and just recently started playing again. (Have had a couple of ATG teams and have been enjoying it.) but I see the new in-season daily version of Strat with new cards created every day and it got me to thinking. I started wondering it was possible to marry up the ease of creating new player cards with the multiple season mixing of the mystery game and basically just create new cards for every player in, for example, the 80s game but just not show anyone what the resulting cards look like? Why can’t the concept of the mystery card game be created where the cards really are a mystery? Make it really about managing, not card hacking. Not sure if what I’m suggesting is possible, but seems like it could be a great improvement. Curious what others think.

"Make it really about managing, not card hacking. "

Not sure I understand this statement. How does one "card hack"?

I have to disagree with much of the favorable sentiment expressed here in regards to the mystery card sets...

Oxford has a point. The mystery card sets are somewhat "gamey." However, it is also what makes this version of the online game so fun. Every player card is a mystery. Sometimes the clues are obvious and you can nail down which season a key player has. Other times, you have to give it your best guess based on incomplete evidence.

For example, I probably spent over an hour (over the course of about a week) trying to figure out if Matty Alou really had his worst card, or if he was just underperforming. I ultimately cut him. It was satisfying to see two other teams pick him up since he did prove to have his worst year.

Since we can't actually see the players in real life, it's hard to use real-life managing skills to determine how good someone is. And while it may be gamey, the mystery game offers an interesting challenge trying to determine which season each player has. There is plenty of documentation on the forums to bring you up to speed in card evaluation. Do your homework and give it another try with a new attitude, and you just might discover the mystery card sets are the most interesting.

If you just want to draft and then sit back and enjoy the season then the mystery card games are not for you. If you enjoy being more involved by checking the circumstances of injuries to help determine what card the player has, or doesn't have, then this can be a very enjoyable game. There are other ways of determining the card such as length of injury and HBP as well as actual results the player is getting.

If actually looking at the game results to determine what cards your players may have is called "card hacking" then yes a successful manager needs to "card hack" especially his own players to determine if he should keep them or try someone different. Even if you actively try to determine your what cards your players have it is not all that easy sometimes. Maybe the player has the same injury on multiple or all of his cards. Maybe the player has been hot on a bad card and you keep him too long or cold on a good card and you cut him too quickly. It is not as simple as you may think and trying to figure this out is the fun of the mystery card games.