What are Crypto Games

How crypto games work

Crypto games are mostly found in a blockchain or network, in which they operate and allow the user to interact with their wallet. Examples include plantvsundead, which is on the binance Smart chain, or star atlas, which is on the solana network.

Games can be started by connecting your wallet or by creating an account in the game itself. In most games, you will need to connect your wallet, usually metamask to deposit the cryptocurrencies and withdraw the rewards you get in the game.

Each crypto game is different, and we find games that do not require you to connect your walllet, as some games you still cannot earn money directly by playing, and you do not need a wallet, but simply create an account like a normal game.

Crypto Games Vs Traditional Games

The main difference between crypto games and traditional online games is the use of a network to play.

By using a network in the game, this opens many options for players to interact with the game and other players, either by receiving rewards that can be easily withdrawn from the game and converted to real money, exchanging objects or game characters in a Marketplace or transferring NFT’s between players or even interacting between different games that are in the same network.

In traditional games we find some aspects mentioned, but with a somewhat different operation, as it could be a Marketplace to buy and sell objects, for example, in CS Go, or other games that you can receive rewards for playing. But the main difference is the agility and ease of monetizing what you get in the game with much more liquidity for users. This allows users even today to earn a salary or a high amount for just playing, for example, in Axie Infinity.

What is play to earn games

Play to earn games are games that you can earn money or have a functionality that allows you to generate tokens or some way to monetize your time playing. Play to earn functionalities are found in most games, but not all.

There are games that have not yet implemented this feature or are games that do not focus on this way of generating money for their users. You can find games where they give prizes to the best 100 or 200 of the ranking, but this type of games are not play to earn, since, if you are below, you do not receive any reward. For example, this is currently the case in town star.

Also, in most play to earn games, you will have to make an initial investment to play, usually by buying characters or NFT’s within the game. Each game has a minimum initial investment to start and the price of the token and its NFT’s will depend on how long you can take to recover the investment.

Keep in mind, that usually in play to earn games where you receive a lot of rewards, the tendency for the price of the token you receive to go down is quite high, if no new players enter or there is some method to regulate the price of the token, like crypto mines does.

You can also find play to earn games that are free to play, although currently we only have mir4 that is popular and they are in the minority. This game allows you to get a token by playing without investing money, although as you can imagine, you will have to spend a lot of time to get the token.

How to invest in crypto games

To invest in crypto games, there are usually two options: invest in the game token, or invest in the NFT’s of the game (characters and items).

If you want to get into the game, it is very likely that you will have to buy NFT’s that you will use inside the game in their play to earn or other games they have.

You can also find several games that have two in-game tokens, each with a different functionality. Usually the native token of the platform that is used to log in, and another one for more in-game aspects and mechanics, being the second one a token that is used more in the game. For example, in Axie Infinity we have the Axie Infinity token and the Smoot love potion (SLP) token.

If you want to invest in the token and not play, keep in mind if many new tokens are generated every day by playing and the functioning of the cryptocurrency in the ecosystem. Also, the utility it has in the game, since the more use it has, the more people are likely to buy it for in-game use.

If you want to invest in NFT’s, I recommend you to use them if you don’t have to dedicate much time to the game, and play to earn if it exists to get more tokens. Before investing in any NFT’s, find out which ones are better and more worthwhile in the game. Also, you will usually find in-game boxes or chests where you get a random NFT, and it is usually much more worthwhile to buy a better than average NFT from the in-game Marketplace. Since, when opening chests or boxes, you are more likely to receive a low value NFT. The value of NFT’s is closely tied to how hard it is to get and what you can get with that NFT if the game is available, so keep in mind that the price of the game token, and the rewards they give for playing, can affect the price of your NFT.

Things to consider

Before entering any game, it is very important to review some aspects to avoid losing your money or making a bad investment. Keep in mind that many games are new and the risk of investing in crypto games, especially in the newest ones, is high due to their price volatility. Let’s see aspects that are usually important to see before putting your money, although this does not mean that if it does not meet any of these aspects it is a bad game or if it meets all of them it can not be a scam.

The first thing I recommend you to check is the team behind it, if there is a company or investment fund behind it, and check that it is true, since many games put partners that are not real to make believe that they are a good project. If there are large investment funds or important partners, it usually gives more confidence and it is very likely that the game is not a scam and will disappear soon. Teams are usually anonymous in many games, and for this reason you should not be suspicious, but you should take it into account. Games with a public team are usually more reliable, since, in case of any problem, you know who is behind it.

Once you have seen the team and the companies behind it, I recommend you to look at their whitepaper, if it is professional or a very little elaborated whitepaper. Also the graphics of the NFT’s, characters and the game, that it looks professional and elaborated. Check their social networks, especially I recommend twitter and telegram. In telegram check the messages they have pinned, to see the changes and aspects they comment.

Look at the changes or updates they have made in the past, as it is very common for many games to make changes, and the benefits they gave are reduced to half or less. Although making many changes does not have to be a negative thing, it is not very reliable for game mechanics or rewards to change every few weeks or even days.

Check that there is a way to withdraw your funds and how it works. Since many times there are commissions, or a certain amount of time that must pass before you can withdraw the tokens you have generated. Always check that you will be able to withdraw what you generate so that you are not playing a game that you cannot withdraw the money.

Initial investment and tokenomics. This is very important, the amount of money you must invest to start playing and how the game token works. Since the functioning of the token, it can affect to recover your investment sooner or later, if the tokenomics make the price of the token fall and depreciate quickly. To do this, find out about the rewards they give and the balance between the tokens the game gives and the price it currently has. If they give a lot of tokens, it is very likely that the token will drop in price if it does not have other functionalities or mechanics to prevent this from happening.

Play crypto games on your mobile

Crypto games can also be played on your cell phone, mostly Android or iPhone. Some of the most developed games have their own mobile app, such as overlord world, axie infinity or mir4, but others you can play from the browser as you can do with the computer. Here are some guides on how to play different games on your mobile.