New to Blockchain Gaming aka Crypto Gaming aka dapp gaming?
All the terms above seem suitable to use when it comes to crypto games because they utilize blockchain technology with cryptocurrencies. Therefore, crypto games can also be referred to as Blockchain Games or dapp games. (decentralized games)
View our Crypto Games List & Find Your Next Favorite Game.
Read our Tips & Tricks to Keep Your Blockchain Items Secured.
Great, let’s move to our Beginners Guide to Crypto Games.
What are Crypto Games?
Considered as the next generation of gaming, crypto games allow players to earn crypto through various activities. For example, some games reward players with their in-game currency which can be later exchanged for other mainstream cryptocurrencies or purchase items and characters that can be sold in Marketplaces.
Crypto Games provides the gaming community a new way to get rewarded for their time spent playing games. The play-to-earn model has become quite popular in the past few months and more and more gamers are joining crypto gaming communities nowadays.
There are a number of different types of games to play in the Blockchain gaming industry right now such as pay-to-play games that require players to make an initial purchase to acquire a certain character or at least an item in order to play the game. On the other hand, we have mining games that reward players with coins by generating certain resources or completing specific activities and of course, free-to-play games that you can start playing straight away and earn some crypto!
Before we go into detail about some necessities a crypto gamer should know, let’s talk about the fully decentralized games and the hybrid ones.
Decentralized Games aka dapp Games
A game is fully decentralized when it’s built on top of the blockchain technology. This type of games follows blockchain principles meaning that most of the times, each move you do is irreversible and usually you have to send a transaction to the network where some fees occur. Most of the times they are playable using Metamask extension when it comes to Ethereum blockchain, TronLink for TRON games, Scatter for EOS Blockchain and so on. Most decentralized games are currently using sidechains for a better gaming experience. In sidechains, usually, the player doesn’t have to pay for fees each time an action is performed and it completes instantly unless otherwise stated.
Hybrid Crypto Games
With the term Hybrid game we describe all the games that are using blockchain to integrate a decentralized economy and non-fungible tokens for items but the game itself is not based on the blockchain. For example, if your favorite steam game integrates blockchain economy & assets, it will be a hybrid game. The game is located in the central servers owned by the company, but the items and the economy are on the blockchain.
Enjin Wallet, The Home of Crypto Gamers
The Enjin mobile wallet is essential for any gamer and especially for crypto games in the Enjin ecosystem. The Enjin wallet acts like any other cryptocurrency wallet but it also allows users to see items that are stored in their wallets. You will be able to store any ERC20, ERC721 and ERC1155 tokens (items) in your Enjin wallet. Think of the Enjin Wallet as your inventory for various games, items earned from crypto games can be stored in there any games based on the Enjin ecosystem can be accessed using your Enjin Wallet. As the world’s most secured cryptocurrency wallet, its the safest choice to store your hard earned items.
Some of the hottest games are built using Enjin’s blockchain and many of them are part of the Gaming Multiverse. An alliance of blockchain games where you can use a single item in various Multiverse games. Isn’t that cool?
- Check here the list of the Multiverse Games and start playing now.
- Download the Enjin mobile wallet.
- You can learn how to set up the wallet here.
Keep in mind the following: Enjin is a token based on the Ethereum blockchain. So your Ethereum wallet is also your Enjin Wallet. Confused? Keep reading below.
ERC Token Standards
Each item in Crypto Gaming is a token, it can be an ERC-721 Token, an ERC-1155 Token (The multiverse standard) and so on. There are a couple of token standards available but we will stick to those two for now.
Most of the games are utilizing ERC-721 Token standard to create their in-game items while Enjin based games are using the ERC-1155 Token standard which is considered the most advanced as of today. ERC-1155 items have a base value in ENJ coins meaning that at any given point, you can melt the items using Enjin Wallet and receive some ENJ coins that can be traded for Ethereum or any other cryptocurrency. It’s not always a good idea to melt an item because it can be sold in the marketplace for a higher price. In-game items are also called NFTs, keep reading to find out more.
Fungible & Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
With the term “Non-Fungible token” or in short, NFT, we refer to assets that exist on the blockchain. An asset can be for example an in-game item, a collectible artwork or even an apparel authenticity token. As you can understand, NFTs goes far beyond the crypto gaming space and they can have thousands of different uses.
Before we dive into Non-Fungible tokens, let’s explain first what the Fungible tokens are.
Fungible Tokens
Fungible tokens are cryptocurrencies based on other cryptocurrencies, a blockchain within another blockchain. For example, the ENJ (Enjin Coin) is a fungible token based on the ERC-20 Standard. Fungible tokens allow the creation of identical and divisible tokens.
To give an example, If you lend to someone 50$ and he returns them back to you after a week, you still have 50$. It doesn’t matter if you get them in x5 10$ notes or coins because the amount you received is still 50$.
Non-Fungible Tokens
The era of non-fungible tokens started with Ethereum Cryptocurrency and nowadays it’s a hot trend among collectors and blockchain games. Introduced to the public as EIP-721 and later accepted as ERC-721, Non-Fungible tokens are verifiably unique and can be fully owned by one user and only. Each NFT can have special attributes attached such as rarity, as part of rich meta data including but not limited to ownership etc. NFTs inspired a huge movement of crypto games, decentralized applications and thousands of other uses cases among industries.
NFTs have collectible value as they come in limited quantity and no one can alter or fake them. In blockchain games, items, heroes and other in-game assets are Non-Fungible tokens. Nowadays, the ERC-1155 Token standard by Enjin Coin is the most innovative protocol to create NFTs and anyone can mint their own tokens using the Mintshop.
What is Metamask / TronLink etc & How to Use Them
MetaMask is a chrome extension that allows you to run web 3 applications (dapps). It’s the most popular and essential program needed to play Ethereum based games and it also serves as an Ethereum cryptocurrency wallet. Remember what we said above, Ethereum has a lot of other cryptocurrencies built upon it, so all the ERC-20 tokens such as ENJ, MANA, LOOM etc can be stored in an Ethereum address (wallet).
Before we dive into more information about Metamask, let’s explain how cryptocurrency addresses work. When you download Metamask, it will ask you either to create a new Ethereum wallet or import your existing one. Just like what Enjin Wallet asks you to do. So, you can export your ethereum wallet (private key) from metamask and import it into the Enjin Wallet Application and vice versa.
A cryptocurrency wallet, such as Ethereum, comes in the form of one or more private keys and a public key. The private key can be 12 words or a string of characters such as this:
21650331D1D5D80671E3BBA266D6D70D1A3B8C275078E192EFF57B67D7E3D5DF
The above is a real private key of an Ethereum wallet created using Metamask, you might want to import it into your metamask and try it out. Keep in mind that the private key is your wallet, you can’t change it, so if anyone else has access to it, he can steal your tokens. So, the wallet we created for this article is publicly accessible by anyone, don’t attempt to store any of your items in there.
The public key of this wallet is the address you give out to someone in order to send you tokens. The public key, or else, Ethereum wallet address of the private key we mentioned above is this:
0x274FDa4480498430613ce0f27d7412abb2E10Db2
Let’s recap, your private key should stay private and only you should have access while the public key (your wallet/address) is the one you share with others in order to receive crypto and assets.
Make sure you read out tutorial on how to protect yourself and your crypto assets.
Now let’s get back to Metamask.
Metamask uses your private key to access your wallet and in order to open Metamask it requires a password that it’s saved locally in your computer with no option to recover. You can import your wallet in your laptop and desktop, for example, using different passwords to open. If you forget the password and you haven’t back up your private key, consider your assets lost.
TronLink for TRON Crypto Games
TronLink is another application which acts as a browser wallet but it is to store TRC20 and TRC10 tokens(tokens under the Tron blockchain). If you import your Enjin wallet/Metamask to Tronlink and vice-versa you will not be able to see your items as they do not support each other. It’s not meant to work because it’s on a different blockchain.
Note: If you send any TRON Token to an Ethereum wallet, consider the token lost. Be extra careful when using different blockchains. TRON is blockchain on its own, a coin, and it supports only TRON based tokens. Ethereum is another blockchain. You can’t send assets from different blockchains in non-compatible wallets. They will get lost forever. If you send for example TRX (TRONs cryptocurrency) to an Ethereum wallet, the TRX will get lost and vice versa.
To put it simply Metamask and TronLink act like a save and load function like in a game and also an inventory to store, deposit and withdraw items or cryptocurrencies. You will automatically log out from Metamask or TronLink once you close your browser and will need to log in each time through your Metamask or Tronlink whenever you open your browser again.
The Famous GAS Fee
GAS is a token used to cover Ethereum blockchain transaction fees. transaction fee incurred whenever you use the Ethereum blockchain. the fee is something crypto gamers used to pay with every action in
Smart Contracts in Crypto Games
Smart contracts are an exchange of anything with value without the engagement of a middleman. Take for example you want to purchase a drink from a vending machine, you put in your loose change select the drink you want and the machine automatically dispenses your beverage. There is no 3rd party involved in your exchange of money for a drink. Smart contracts are used in gaming to carry out purchases of items, trading of items or any form of action in the game that might be an exchange of value. A smart contract cannot be altered once engaged to ensure the fairness of the transaction. Moreover, smart contracts can also be monitored on blockchain explorers so as to justify the transparency of a platform. For example, if someone posts a trade in the game and you agree to the trade, A smart contract will automatically be executed and the trade can’t be reversed or be disrupted. Both items will then be sent to the respective wallets. This prevents scamming/or any form of cheating the opposite party or platform can carry out. Many gamers have definitely been scammed before by numerous methods but with blockchain gaming, we can eliminate all those threats. Think of the smart contracts as an automated & decentralized governance system.
How to Sell NFTs (Items)
If you have a tradable item you acquired from a crypto game, you will be able to sell them on digital assets marketplaces. You will need to log in to your Metamask and access one of the digital asset marketplaces available. Once you are in, you will be able to access your whole inventory of items and sell them to the open market. Ensure you have some ETH in your Metamask wallet to pay for gas fees for listing and other miscellaneous if required. You will also be able to buy items if you have enough ETH for the purchase price. Markets are also used to have a complete view of your inventory and all the items in it.
Here are some of the digital assets marketplaces you can use :
The image below is a screenshot from OpenSea featuring in-game items inside an Ethereum Wallet.
How to play Blockchain Games From Mobile Devices
Some games are playable using your smartphone but they don’t have yet a mobile version out. In order to access those crypto games from your Android or iOS device, you will need a compatible dapp browser. In order for the browser to access the game, you will have to import your private key in the app.
Here is a list of cryptocurrency mobile applications that have a dapp browser embedded to play your favorite crypto games.
Hope you like our beginners guide to crypto games, we believe we have said a number of important things you should know about how to start playing blockchain games. While there are other things you should know, these are the basics.
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Further Reading: