Play-to-earn games continue to grow in popularity. NFT Games, in particular, have been steadily growing in popularity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has even reached an exponential explosion in the digital market over the past few months. Let’s take a look at some of the best free crypto games you can get your hands on with zero upfront costs. Along the way, let me explain what these NFT games are and how they work.
Axie Infinity
We’re starting this list with something fun and cute yet “fierce” characters—Axie Infinity. If you’re familiar with the massively popular Pokémon series, there’s a good chance you’ll feel right at home with this one. This game is clearly inspired by Pokémon but has its own fun tweaks and changes.
Axie Infinity is a mobile digital pet community game created by the Vietnamese company Sky Mavis. It has taken the crypto-industry by storm since its release. In this game, players collect, raise, battle, breed, and trade in-game creatures called Axies for real money using the Ethereum blockchain. As non-fungible tokens or NFTs, each Axie possesses distinct traits that make each of them inherently unique.
What are the mechanics?
The basic mechanics of this game are simple. You start by purchasing three Axies on the Axie Marketplace. These cute little fellas require love and attention from their owners to grow up into much stronger characters that will earn a lot of experience points (XP).
How do you gain experience points?
You simply take care of them and earn XP by completing daily activities and battling your digital pets against others. You can use the points you’ve acquired to level up your Axies and unlock new abilities that can be used in battles.
How exactly do you earn money from this game?
Besides selling the Axies themselves, you can instantly sell items required to level up, such as Smooth Love Potion or SLP and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). Both of these are Ethereum based cryptocurrencies that you can convert into fiat money. As for how you earn them, you can gain SLP from playing against computer-controlled opponents or other players and AXS from certain events.
But how is this a free NFT game?
As this game garnered a lot of attention over time, the price tags of these small creatures have also increased considerably. But that didn’t stop players from going on with this famed mobile game. Now, you can find Axie Infinity Scholarship Programs that allow long-time Axie players (known as Managers) to lend you (Scholar) out their Axies. And that’s when you start earning money for free.
You can find these scholarships in social media groups like Facebook. Usually, you’ll find a long list of applications. Each one of them requires a brief introduction and your reasons for applying. Once you’re in, you will receive your very first three Axies. In return, the lender earns a cut from your earnings.
It’s important to note that since Axie Infinity is currently one of the most popular NFT games, these scholarships can be hard to come by. But if you already have the means to buy Axies, do it now before the prices go up. Once you get your hands on three of these little creatures, you’re all set! Simply download the app and start playing.
You can visit the official Axie Infinity publication, The Lunacian, for more info on how to get started.
Chainmonsters
Another Pokémon-inspired NFT game is the MMORPG Chainmonsters created by the German studio Bside Games. It’s a fun multiplayer NFT game that allows you to catch and combine different types of Chainmons, battle, trade, and collect items that can be sold in the marketplace. It’s very much like the Pokémon franchise but with its own MMORPG twists and a high-bit Studio Ghibli inspired art style.
The game has a variety of impressive feats. One is that it runs on Flow blockchain, which allows the players to trade every Chainmon, item, reward, and cosmetic they earn with other players both inside and outside the game. Perhaps its biggest advantage over other NFT games is its availability on various gaming platforms, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and even Steam.
How exactly do you earn from this crypto game?
Short answer: spend hours in the game finding resources. You could eventually turn them into higher-grade ones that you can mint as NFTs and sell on the open market.
Although this game is solely based on NFTs, that doesn’t mean all the Chainmon you find are. You can upgrade the Mons you catch using various resources you can also find in the game world, such as flowers, materials, and Gemstones.
You can find common and rare gemstones as you scour through the whole area. Upgrade them into epic or legendary (NFTs), then store, sell, use, or trade them.
With the mint tokens included in your season pass, you can mint these NFT gemstones and sell them in the marketplace. Similarly, among the rewards you get from dungeons and boss challenges, only the epic and legendary ones are actual NFTs.
Is playing Chainmonsters worth the time and effort?
Unless you are dead set on earning real money in this virtual NFT game, you don’t need to invest much time and effort into it. This game is basically like looking for gold without the dowsers. You would have to make an effort and spend enough time in-game.
If you simply want to have a good time, even better. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to discover one day that you’re earning effortlessly while merely having fun.
Chainsmonsters, as of this writing, is still in its Alpha phase. With over 10,000 players currently having access to the game, the Chainmonsters team plans to fully release it in 2022.
Splinterlands
Previously known as Steem Monsters, Splinterlands is one of the most prominent free-to-play NFT games that operate on the Hive blockchain. This trading card game allows you to fight against monsters to get in-game rewards and trade them—all from your desktop or mobile phone.
In the game, you can combine your cards to increase your character abilities and become stronger, then participate in various in-game activities and earn rewards. Some of these items are card packs, magic potions, rarity, and Dark Energy, a digital currency you can use to buy items from the in-game shop. You have to participate in the game on many different levels to earn these items.
How do you earn from Splinterlands?
The primary currency in the Splinterlands game is called Splintershards (SPS). Its purpose includes decision-making ability and control over stakeholders, asset owners, and player-base. But you can sell them as NFTs on the market very easily as the game is compatible with other blockchains, including Ethereum, WAX, and Tron. You can also rent your cards to other players or convert them into various cryptocurrencies.
This game is absolutely free-to-play, but you would need to purchase a Summoner’s Spellbook for $10 to trade your in-game assets. As of October 18, 2021, Splintershards (SPS) is trading at $0.8398.
Gods Unchained
Another trading card game on the list is Gods Unchained. This is one of the free-to-play NFT games founded by brothers James and Robbie Ferguson. The same ones who built Immutable X, the world’s first multiplayer blockchain-based game and trading card game.
In this blockchain game, you get to build a deck that will win matches—gaining more cards as you win. You can then buy and sell your cards through the game’s marketplace.
How do you play this game?
As you start the game, you will be granted a Welcome Set of 140 cards. You can use these to battle and unlock higher-quality cards, particularly Common Core card packs, along the way. As you win ranked matches, you earn Flux, a tool you can use in the Forge to fuse duplicate Common Core cards together. All of these, except the cards created via fusion, aren’t mintable on the blockchain.
The forged cards sit on the Etherium blockchain and therefore can be sold in the marketplace. The rare cards you earn can also be sold for GODS, which can be transferred to fiat money. Gods Unchained is a fun NFT game attracting many investors for its potential as an E-sport.
Binamon
The last on our list is Binamon—another free-to-play NFT game that’s similar to Pokémon. This game operates in Binance Smart Chain and was launched on August 28, 2021, so it’s only a few months old and is therefore not as popular as Axie Infinity (yet).
Binamon, as of this writing, is only available to play on the computer. The mechanics are not so different from Axie. You only need to take care of your Binamon and eventually battle with other players’ Binamons. Reach the following levels by beating certain enemies as you progress.
How is Binamon a free-to-play NFT game?
Like Axie Infinity, you will need to buy your first Binamon pets to start playing. You would have to use BMON and Z1 to buy a booster pack with random pets. But you can always buy a specific and distinct one on the Discord page if you want to.
And, of course, you don’t have the means for that; there’s a scholarship system, especially for this game. Similar to Axie Infinity, Binamon players can also lend their pets, and in turn, get a cut from their borrowers’ earnings. It’s a win-win situation.
This game has the potential to boom in the crypto market like Axie, so if you want to invest in NFTs, you can choose this one while the prices are still affordable.
Excited about your first free NFT game yet?
Whether or not you already have a choice in mind to play, it’s always important to understand the framework before you register for any kind of NFT game.
Cryptocurrencies are known for their high volatility. Their prices go up and down swiftly and drastically—it would always throw anyone off no matter how long they’ve already been in the crypto world. That makes the profits you gain from free NFT games unstable. You can never precisely tell if your ETH today converts into the same amount of fiat money tomorrow.
That said, educating yourself more about NFTs is very helpful for you to steer through the digital market. Wait until the prices go up before converting your cryptocurrency. Lastly, enjoy playing your NFT games. Have fun while earning money at the same time.
These are just a few of the games available to play right now with a tidal wave of others coming into the market soon. This space is poised to explode with games, collectibles, and other undiscovered NFT based ventures. Are you ready to get in on this action while it early?
Do you have another game you want us to write about? Contact us and let us know what you’re working on so we can find and write about all the new projects in this space.
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