When the technological advancement of blockchain was first introduced very few people thought it would change the world. Now it seems that blockchain is slowly creeping into every aspect of our digital lives. Blockchain is now being used in a ton of things from digital assets like Bitcoin to even video games. Today, we will be focusing on how blockchain can impact video games and the best blockchain-based games of 2021.
What is a Blockchain-Based Game?
To put it simply, a blockchain-based game is a video game that uses the blockchain of a cryptocurrency to host the game. In this aspect, think of the blockchain acting as a server for an online multiplayer game like Call of Duty or Apex Legends.
A good example of the application of blockchain into video games is a game called Hash. Hash was developed by Ubisoft using the Ethereum blockchain. How the game works is you’re dropped off on a randomly generated island. As soon as you land you can start building obstacles, etc. on the island to create challenges.
The cool thing is the challenges you create aren’t for you, they’re for other players visiting your island. When your island is made available to the public, players are charged an entry fee to get in. Since the island is hosted on the blockchain you own it, which means you get to keep the fee. When someone completes the challenges you set up for them they win an amount of cryptocurrency.
Blockchain-Based Games of 2021
In 2021, you have quite a few blockchain-based games to choose from but let’s run through some of the best ones. Most of these games run on the Ethereum blockchain but some are on other platforms.
The first is Axie Infinity. This is a Pokemon-style game running on the Ethereum blockchain. The goal of this game is to breed and battle small animals called Axie. The way the game works is first you have to have a cryptocurrency wallet loaded with Ethereum. Then you can purchase Axie’s from the marketplace. After that, it’s all about battling your pets, breeding new ones, and selling them to earn Ethereum. In order to breed your Axie, you must purchase Smooth Love Potions(SLP). These tokens are cryptocurrencies themselves and can be bought on a few exchanges like Uniswap and Binance.
The second entry on our list is Splinterlands, a blockchain-based card game. Splinterlands works similarly to Magic the Gathering as you acquire monster and spell cards to battle people. Again, because Splinterlands is on the Ethereum blockchain, you own all your content and the cards can be traded or sold for real-world money. To get started, go to the Splinterlands website and sign up. After that, you will have to pay $10 to acquire the summoners spellbook to unlock all the game’s features. In order to trade cards and earn dark energy crystals, which are the in-game slivers of Ethereum, you have to have the summoners spellbook. So, you can’t really play the game without it.
If you’re a gamer and interested in cryptocurrency then you should definitely give some of these blockchain-based games a try. Gaming has always been a good way to meet new people and pass the time but now, thanks to the blockchain, you can even earn some coins along the way.
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Drew Blankenship is a cryptocurrency investor, family man, father and lifelong automotive enthusiast. He lives in North Carolina with his wife, daughter and their dog Enzo.
