Complete Beginners Guide To GameFi And Play to Earn Tokens

Play to Earn games have become quite common with each passing day, as more people are intrigued with the concept of enjoying the gameplay and earning in the process. This type of blockchain-based game offers players a form of earning via cryptocurrencies or NFTs. They are structured to permit gamers to earn these benefits when they carry out activities like breeding animals, finishing quests, exploring the environment, and much more. Play-to-Earn games usually come with the option to use the winnings- NFTs and cryptocurrencies- inside the game or trade them for other cryptocurrencies in a marketplace or exchange.

Different games have varying requirements to begin. Some are free, with the option to explore the incredible features without making any form of initial investment, while others are the opposite.

In most games, the NFTs are owned by the user, and they can be avatars, weapons, and other types of collectibles. They can be used in the game or traded for cryptocurrencies.

With the incentives attached to this type of blockchain game, people have grown intense interest in navigating through the virtual world. Some people in developing countries like the Philippines and Ghana are currently playing games like Axie Infinity full time, as it offers them a source of income, which is higher than the minimum wage in their countries. Play-to-Earn platforms fall under the term called, GameFi.

Axie Infinity is a notable play to earn ecosystem that is based on the Ethereum chain. It comes with different modes like tournaments, PvP, and adventure, which can be accessed on multiple devices.

How do play to earn games function?

Play to earn games provide financial rewards to those that are active and progressing. Some reward players for actively scaling through obstacles or getting involved in daily activities.

There are different ways that a gamer can earn in a play to earn gaming platform.

Staking

Some ecosystems permit users to earn via staking. In this game, there is lock up feature that permits users to lock up their NFTs or even tokens to earn passive rewards. When a gamer stakes their MBOX tokens, they get MOMO NFT Mystery Boxes in return. The Mystery Boxes tend to contain NFTs of varying levels of rarity. Holders may decide to sell their NFTs in a marketplace. It is advisable to stake a large volume of NFTs or cryptocurrencies to earn.

Trading NFTs

Different play to earn games come with unique in-game NFTs which may be weapons, avatars, and other collectibles. These NFTs can either be used in the game or sold to others in internal and secondary NFT marketplaces.

Cryptocurrencies

Some play to earn platforms offer in-game cryptocurrencies that can be sold on exchanges. They are normally earned by fulfilling different quests based on the gameplay. An example is Smooth Love Potion from Axie Infinity.

How to begin?

The guidelines vary for different play to earn games, as many have basic requirements. Usually, the gamer needs a crypto wallet that they can link to the platform. The crypto wallet accepted may differ based on the blockchain utilized.  If the game requires a minimum initial investment, the player has to possess the required NFT or crypto in the wallet that they connect to the platform. Most games require the player to possess NFTs, and an example is Axie Infinity.

Most times, the average gaming enthusiast may not have the capacity to afford the minimum requirements. This created the need for scholarships from gaming guilds. Usually, these guilds are financed by those with the necessary in-game items like Axies. They give the Axies to gamers free of charge, allowing them to utilize them in the game. By offering them this opportunity, the gaming guild earns a percentage of the rewards from the activities of the gamers, while the players get the rest.

Another option is to look for the so-called scholarships, where you can basically borrow Axies from another player for free and then share the income you get with that player (referred to as the manager). In other words, a custom percentage of your income is given to the player providing the scholarship. Once you’ve created your starter team and have completed daily tasks and challenges, you’ll begin to steadily earn SLP, an ERC-20 token tradeable on Binance and other crypto exchanges.

Common Examples of Play to Earn Games and their Tokens

Regularly, new play to earn gaming platforms are being released with different gameplays. Some are designed to allow people to breed in-game animals, explore the environment, battle it out with the environment, and other players. This section will analyze the common examples of Play to Earn games.

Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity is a blockchain gaming ecosystem that involves players buying Axies- creatures- and breeding them. They can be utilized in the game to battle it out with others, explore the incredible features on terrain, and carry out different tasks. Axie Infinity was developed by Sky Mavis, and it is based on the Ethereum blockchain.

To participate in the game, three Axies are required. The value of the initial minimum requirements changes with time. At the moment, the value of the three Axies runs into thousands of dollars, which is quite expensive for many. This is why gamers prefer to obtain scholarships from gaming guilds to participate in the play to earn platform.

It is believed that Axie Infinity will create a more affordable version in the future. 

Gamers need the unique wallet made for Axie Infinity called Ronin, before they can begin the game. In the ecosystem, users can have access to two different assets like Smooth Love Potion and AXS tokens.

Smooth Love Potion or SLP is a cryptocurrency that can be sold on exchanges and earned by playing different objectives such as daily tasks. This token is necessary to breed the Axies.

AXS tokens are the native tokens of the Axie Infinity ecosystem. It is an Ethereum-based crypto and can be used for governance purposes.

Axies are NFTs that are used to navigate through the game, and belong to their owners, meaning that they can be sold in Marketplaces.

Different Activities on Axie Infinity

Axie Infinity comes with different activities tailored to keep the gamer glued to the seat, and they will be discussed below.

Daily tasks

Players can get involved in daily tasks. By doing this, they earn additional SLP tokens.

PvP

Player vs Player setting is a battle in arena feature that allows people to earn rewards when they play the game. This gaming scenario means that players are matched with others randomly. Based on the MMR level of the player, the user can earn SLP rewards. Eligible gamers are those with an MMR of more than 800.

PvE

Player vs Environment mode is an adventure setting where the players navigate through the environment. It is a single-player option that is made up of thirty six levels with varying difficulty levels and potential rewards.

Smooth Love Potion (SLP)

SLP is an ERC-20 token and another token that is linked to the Axie Infinity game. Gamers earn the SLP when they play the game, and it has an unlimited supply.

The aim of the Smooth Love Potion is to breed Axies, which allows people to sell them on different Marketplaces. Once it is used in breeding the Axies, the SLP tokens will be burnt. Immediately it is burnt, the tokens can’t be accessed again. Players can also decide to trade them on crypto exchanges.

SLP is earned when players fulfill the daily quests, participate in the adventure mode or Player vs Environment setting, and the Arena event, which is the Player vs Player setting. There is a cap on the number of tokens that can be earned.

Below are some of the use cases of SLP tokens:

• They can be used to breed the digital pets or Axies. 
• SLP is a game currency that acts as a reward token, which may be traded on exchanges. 
• Another use case of SLP is its usage on Uniswap liquidity pools.

UFO Gaming (UFO Token)

UFO Gaming is a decentralized gaming platform that is also called the Dark Metaverse. It has a play to earn gaming platform, Super Galactic, which is an ecosystem that breeds human interaction, allowing people to own lands, NFTs and much more.

By getting involved in the different competitions and battles, the user can earn rewards. Breeding of collectible soldiers is common and necessary to improve the gaming experience and resultant income. Apart from being a play to earn gaming platform, it also possesses a crypto gaming launchpad.

Super Galactic is a decentralized inter-galactic social gaming platform that combines the Alternate Reality Game and Role Playing Game. People can breed their soldiers to use in the battle. Rating system is important in the UFO gaming platform. Based on the rating of the user, the gamer can access different perks. Those with high rates have access to more UAP rewards, missions, and quests. This means the longer the person plays, the higher the rating.

The UFO Token

UFO gaming ecosystem has three tokens, which are the UFO token, UAP token, and Plasma Points. UFO token is the native token of this ecosystem, and it is necessary to earn both UAP and Plasma Points. People can use the UFO token to trade different collectibles like weapons, characters, and much more. It can also be used in breeding the NFTs.

The second type of token in the UFO ecosystem is the UAP token. UAP is earned after fulfilling the daily quests and missions when they participate in the gaming platform. UAP tokens are used in breeding the soldiers, improving the clan, or exchanging them in Marketplaces.

Another currency is the Plasma Point. This set is necessary for minting the rare level of NFTs in the ecosystem such as the Origin UFOeps. Players can earn this set of currency by staking the UFO tokens or UFO-ETH LP tokens in a Super Galactic staking pool.