We usually play games to unwind and have fun but it seems the experience is not yet complete or is a bit ridiculous. Many games today require money to play or at least require us to make in-game purchases for assets that enliven the game.
The major downside to it all is that whatever valuable items we acquire in the game are not owned by the player but rather by the game corporation so they can be taken back from us. You can pour in money to climb ranks but not to cash out.
With the advent of cryptocurrency games, however, things are shaping up in the best interests of the gamer. Cryptocurrency games run on the blockchain network and empower players to create assets that are completely theirs, verifiable and tradable on the blockchain.
That means close to absolute control over the game for the player and then—every gamer’s dream—to earn while you play.
Thankfully, there are a lot of such games out there and in this post, I’ve handpicked ten of the top cryptocurrency games that can earn you real cash. Keep reading.
Top 10 Cryptocurrency NFT Games in 2021
1. Axie Infinity
This is the first game on our list and for good reason. It has the highest sales volume of any cryptocurrency game.
Gameplay is pretty similar to Pokémon Go. Players rear Pokémon-like characters known as Axies, breed them to raise more pets or to sell for more land.
Unlike Pokémon Go, however, gamers play to earn rewards that can be converted into real cash. As such, you need money to purchase your first three pets. Currently, they can be gotten for $400 and can even be resold to earn profit.
With that bit of background, let’s dive into the game proper.
Axie Infinity falls in the category of NFT (non-fungible token) based cryptocurrency role-playing games. NFTs are digital goods that can be tracked through the blockchain network with proof of purchase and ownership. The creatures in the game, Axies are user-generated as they are purchased by owners who have verified identities.
Players purchase, collect, breed, and train Axies to battle with those of other players in online tournaments or single-player games against enemy NFT characters. They also have the choice to sell their Axies on the marketplace for profits
For doing the above, players earn rewards in the form of Ethereum based tokens, SLP (Small Love Potions) and AXS (Axie Infinity Shards).
Players can use these rewards to buy more Axies to breed and battle with or they can sell them for Ethereum on the platform which can then be converted into fiat currency on cryptocurrency exchange platforms like Uniswap, Binance e.t.c.
As in Pokemon, Axie breeding is interesting. Two Axies can only be bred up to seven times max. The resultant Axie inherits abilities from both parents similar to the way genes work in real living creatures to impart features to offspring.
Players can thus choose certain kinds of Axies to breed Axies with a special set of abilities needed to win crucial battles against other players.
As it is a play to earn game, it would be helpful to summarize how players can earn from it.
Axie Infinity players earn money by
- Exchanging their Axies for Ethereum ( Axie Infinity is based on Ethereum) and converting to fiat currency.
- Farming for SLP (Small Love Potions) to sell on crypto exchange platforms.
- Use in-game AXS (Axie Infinity Shards) tokens to buy digital goods and assets within the world of Axie Infinity.
- Competing in PVP battles to win leaderboard prizes.
It’s now time to talk about how to get started with Axie Infinity. As you should know, Axie Infinity is backed up by Ethereum so you must create an Ethereum wallet or use their existing wallet to buy Ethereum.
The next step is to create an Axie Infinity account on Axie Infinity’s marketplace.
After that, download the Ronin wallet browser extension either through Chrome or Firefox then click on “Attach Ronin to Account” under the Activate Ronin Wallet box, in the middle of the dashboard.
Deposit your ETH from your main wallet to Ronin, using Ronin bridge, and acquire three Axies from the Axies Infinity marketplace.
Finally, download the game app on either Android, iOS, or Windows and get into action!
2. Gala Games
Gala games is a cryptocurrency gaming company that has been around only since 2019 but has earned a prominent place in the world of cryptocurrency gaming. Its creator and CEO, Eric Schiermeyer is well known in the gaming sector.
Gala Games chief mission is to make gaming more meaningful—to be not just not profit-less fun, but a real source of income.
The games developed by Gala games are built around their native NFT cryptocurrency—the Gala coin. Gala coins in turn are linked to numerous other assets within the games.
Gala games players have full control of the game’s assets which is why it’s quite different from other games. Players create these assets by engaging in specific activities directly related to Gala games NFT cryptocurrency coin (Gala coins) and that contribute to the Gala network
The NFT Gala coin spawns Ethereum based tokens that are verifiable and non-replicable. These tokens are also in a very limited number.
Gamers play to create these assets which are uniquely theirs and can be traded to other people or used to purchase other NFTs. Players can also win Gala coins if they know what they are doing.
Gala coins and their associated assets can be exchanged for Ethereum which can then be converted into fiat currency on any supported exchange.
Gala coins are very cheap and can be bought in hundreds or even thousands in merchant exchanges
A backbone of the Gala games mission is the node ecosystem. In simple terms, nodes are existing operations through which Gala games players contribute to the Gala games network.
Gamers get rewards like NFTs and Gala coins by setting up and running their nodes for at least 6 hours.
Nodes are very high in value due to their scarcity. There were just 50,000 nodes created and the number is not changing. The price of a node is eyeing $8,000 and the price increases by $100 for every 100 nodes sold.
What all of that means is that a time will come when all the nodes will be exhausted and it will no longer be possible to set up nodes.
Nevertheless, nodes are expected to eventually become NFTs and it will then be possible to sell them and make huge profits but we assume huge profits with a bit of caution and that’s because it is impossible to predict the price of nodes once they become NFTs.
You can also get node licenses. It costs a lot to them but the rewards are significant, you could get several hundred or even thousands of Gala coins along with other rewards such as
- daily Gala coins
- random NFT drops
- voting rights
- In-game coins (soon each game will have its coin that will also be dropped to node owners)
Games produced by Gala games include Town Star (fully live) and Mirandus (still in development) with several others on the way.
Click this link to register and start earning while playing games.
Use this referral code to get some bonus:
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3. Crypto Kitties
Crypto Kitties has the reputation of being the first game developed on the blockchain network. It is the first cryptocurrency game.
It arrived at a time when crypto experts were envisaging a future where cryptocurrency would become your day to day means of exchange, a future where you could get some sausages and pay crypto for them.
The game was founded on the Ethereum blockchain. Its characters represent Ethereum tokens that can be converted into eththe and then converted to fiat currency.
How does the game look like? As the name suggests, the avatars are virtual pet cats called crypto kitties. It’s not free to play though, because you would have to use the money to purchase at least one crypto kittiese.
Gameplay involves breeding, raising and selling the crypto kitties to earn real cash. The crypto kitties are completely owned by you.
So after buying some crypto kitties with your own money for a start, you can start breeding. The breeding pairs are known as the sire and the dame. The dame cannot be used for breeding when incubating your kittens.
The breeding mimics real real-life pretty well. Each cat has it’s number and 256-bit genome and DNA. Their mouth, shapes, fur, colors, and characteristics are passed down from parent to child cat.
As with Axie Infinity, players have full sway over which cats breed allowing them to have new breeds that will have new characteristics that might be ultimately good or bad.
One important thing to note is that when building up your feline family, the breeds that make it up should be of high quality. Higher quality breeds are more valuable than others. Some breeds go as much as $100000 in value when sold out. The costliest crypto kitty and also the first ever, sold for nearly 247 ether, $117, 712 at the time!
Crypto Kitties has experienced a surge in popularity.
To play Crypto Kitties, you’d need a Mac, PC or Linux computer with the full version of Chrome or Firefox installed. Next, you need the Metamask Wallet app.
You cannot buy cryptokitties directly from your Ethereum or Bitcoin Wallet. Instead, you send crypto from your wallet to your metamask wallet then use the funds in your metamask wallet to purchase crypto kitties.
To buy a cryptokitty or -ies, you’ll need to head to the Marketplace inside CryptoKitties. There, you’ll see a variety of CryptoKitties for sale. Here, rather than having a fixed price, the kittens are sold to the highest bidder (it’s done the auction way). so prepare to spend as much as possible on your preferred breeds.
4. Gods Unchained
Gods Unchained has risen in its popularity as a crypto-infused game. It has the style of another immensely popular game: Hearthstone. Fantasy-themed characters and unit cards are played turn by turn in a tot your enemy.
Unlike the three crypto cryptocurrency games we’ve discussed above, Gods Unchained itself is not based on block chain technology, it is the cards themselves that are so.
As expected, the cards are non-fungible tokens (NFT) i.e. they are tradable and verifiable on the blockchain network and so can be bought and sold with and for real money.
Before going far, the cards in Gods Unchained are based on the Ethereum blockchain network. So everything within the game that can be bought and sold is tagged to Ethereum.
Gods Unchained is a strategic battle game. You start a battle with a 30-card deck that fits the theme of one of six gods either a pre-made deck or your own and take turns back and forth with your opponent.
Cards turned are regulated by the amount of mana provided to the players i.e. players spend mana to turn cards from their hands or using god abilities. More powerful cards require more mana and thankfully this virtual substance increases with each turn of the cards.
Each player’s god has 30 health bars and you need to kill your opponent before he does that to you.
As is the case with the aforementioned cryptocurrency games, you need a metamask wallet which can be funded with ether and through which you can make purchases in Gods Unchained.
The game is currently limited to desktop although plans are underway for it to mobile as well.
5. Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a popular cryptocurrency game that launched in 2018. Like all other games of its kind, it is based on its own block chain, the Hive blockchain.
The nature of the game is that of a digital trading card game. The cards are NFT meaning that they are tradable and exchangeable.
The structure of the game goes this way: the cards are played in one of several virtual lands that represent one of the following seven elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Life, Death, Dragon and Neutral. The cards that players use against themselves are emblems of each of the lands.
Then there are the summoners, characters that are used to collect each of the cards until they make a complete deck. The Neutral cards though have no summoners, they act as mercenaries for any player.
To start playing, you’ll match with an opponent of similar ranking. Then each player will be provided with battle objectives. These objectives are randomly chosen and change with every game.
The stage is now almost set. To draw the battle line, players will need to create their deck of cards. Then the battle starts automatically and plays according to the predefined game rules.
To play your cards, virtual substances known as mana are provided. The more powerful cards will draw up more mana and vice-versa.
A lot of digital goods can be bought in the Splinterlands universe such as cards, potions, lands, dice, even skins for customization. Each of these items has ahase in the gameplay and can be bought, sold, and even rented to other players.
The cards are compatible with third-party market platforms such as Open Sea, PeakMonsters, Monster Market among others.
In addition, Splinterlands makes getting involved with cryptocurrencies simple because when registering on the website a Hive wallet is automatically generated for the user to store the coins.
6. Spells of Genesis
Spells of Genesis is a magic card game with arcade elements. It is the first cryptocurrency game released and is based on the bitcoin blockchain.
The characters are featured on digital cards meaning it can also be termed as a card collectible game (CCG). With each card turn, a different character is revealed that can be used to attack the name.
Cards are powered by the blockchain technology and can be verified on it. They can also be traded and exchanged.
The game consists of various levels that represent territories on the mountain map. To start playing, click on an unlocked level. This action opens up the area you’ll be playing in and shows your character at the bottom of your screen no matter the device you may be playing on.
Your character image is armed with a magical light beam. To use it, click and hold on the beam to point it at anything you need to damage. The light beam once unleashed is capable of causing damage to the enemy or bounce off the wall and strike the enemy again.
Once the first character is used, the next card turns to reveal another character. Although you can turn cards to select the preferred character, the enemy has a counter that limits how many turns you can make. That’s definitely something to take note of.
With each strike of your character’s light beam, a level of damage is inflicted that reflects in a green health bar. Once the health bar runs out, the enemy character is defeated.
To win the game, you must kill all of the enemy’s characters before he does the same to you. Vice versa and you lose.
As it’s a game of levels more maps will be unlocked after completing each mission.
We have now come to the profit part.
Virtual money in the game is in the form of coins. There are three kinds of coins, coins, crystals and gems. Crystals are used to upgrade the powers of the character displayed on any card.
New cards can be purchased with the three cards. Once purchased, these cards can be used to replace the existing characters. If you don’t want to swap cards, upgrade instead.
Players can create new and more powerful cards simply by fusing cards. The highest cards can be fused with other cards at the same level to create an entirely new card with more powers.
This new card can then be upgraded to its highest powers.
A new card can be fused up to four times and then be upgraded to its maximum gain. This creates the highest level card type in the game.
It is here that the profit part comes in. The cards that you create including the ones you had initially can be converted into decentralized blockchain assets which you can then exchange for crypto tokens that can be converted into fiat currency.
7. My Crypto Heroes
Also known as Mikuri in Japan, My Crypto Heroes is one of the most popular RPG games on the Ethereum blockchain.
Gameplay occurs in a virtual universe with characters that mimic real historical ones. Many of the characters are NFT but others are not. It depends on which category they fall into.
Novice Heroes cannot be transferred and sold on the Ethereum network. They are restricted to the game’s environment.
Replica Heroes have a limited lifespan—seven days after the first use.
The most valuable characters are the Historical Heroes. They are the ones that can be traded or sold on the Ethereum network and they come in different levels: common, uncommon, rare, epic and legendary. The levels are listed in their order of value.
The game is organized this way: You start with what is called a demo game wherein you are provided free generic heroes to use to understand the actual game. If you like the game, you can purchase a historical hero.
The objective of the game is to level up your heroes through various quests and assemble them to conquer the MCH (short for My Crypto Heroes) world. You will need to purchase three teams of heroes to start with.
Once you have assembled your team of heroes, you can then head on to the Quest tab. From there, you’ll dispatch your heroes to various battlefields called nodes.
These nodes have different monsters, loot and a difficulty level that corresponds to the amount of stamina it will drain from your heroes. More difficult nodes reward your heroes better items and Crypto Energy (CE) which level them up for tougher nodes.
All the above processes are what need to be done by you. The rest of the gameplay happens automatically and unfolds based on your heroes attributes and extensions. The final battle has a powerful boss monster that will drop the loot when you kill it.
Players earn money from the game by exchanging historical heroes and extensions for GUM—MCH’s in-game currency that can be exchanged for cryptocurrency
Another way is by exchanging heroes and other extensions for Ethereum on external platforms like OpenSea.
8. OxUniverse
OxUniverse is a cryptocurrency game based on the ETH blockchain and developed by the OxGames team.
The game’s theme is that of a virtual galaxy with all kinds of planets from low key to exotic. These planets and other in-game assets as well as assets from other crypto games like Axie Infinity and Crypto Kitties are NFTs.
That means they are blockchain tokens that have different rarity levels and market value set by other players. You can earn ETH by purchasing and selling different worlds at in-game auctions.
The player’s objective is to conquer the game’s universe by undertaking exploratory quests involving spaceships that are launched to the farthest part of the universe to discover new worlds, civilize them and unlock the secrets of the universe.
There is more to the gameplay than that though. To start playing, you need to purchase a planet. The planet has resources that you take control of to set your purposes
These resources are then used to build spaceships that are sent out to discover other planets. You then exploit its resources to build more sophisticated spaceships that can handle more complex missions. You own the planets you discover. More planets mean more assets to trade with.
The resources are inhabitants and minerals. Not all planets have inhabitants. The inhabitants or population yield knowledge for inventing spaceships while minerals are used to build the spaceships.
You cannot discover new planets without building spaceships and if your spaceship does not discover a new planet, it is lost. You’ll have to build another.
The planets you discover are not created equal. They range in value from common to rare to epic and then legendary. To discover the higher ranking ones, you’ll need better, more advanced spaceships and for that, you must have already had planets with many inhabitants and rare minerals.
Why many inhabitants are needed on your planets is so that knowledge will be generated fast to invent your spaceships. Legendary planets once discovered, are usually a booster as they’ll have a whooping lot of inhabitants. So knowledge will be generated really plus they will contain premium minerals.
All of that combined will enable you to invent and build high-grade spaceships for more insane quests.
9. Reality Clash
Designed by the Reality Gaming Group and launched 2019, this is the first blockchain combat game to couple blockchain technology with augmented reality (AR).
The game is a first-shooter game like Call of Duty and Striker only that AR is missing in the latter.
The game environment is a 3D city wherein players fight against other players with sophisticated weapons
Reality Clash itself has its native cryptocurrency token, Reality Clash Coin for making in-game purchases like weapons for example. The coin is an ERC-20 token based on the Ethereum blockchain.
Players can also build unique weapons by utilizing the resources they are provided. The resources are the blocks, contracts and keys, blueprints and silver they are awarded by completing various tasks within the game.
Blocks, contracts, and keys are usually mined in specific nodes (strategic points on their city map). Silver is the in-game currency purchasable from the Play Store or via game rewards.
10. Lost Relics
Lost Relics is the blockchain-based RPG game built solely by Cliff Cawley.
As the name suggests, gameplay involves surmounting hurdles to collect treasures and other valuable items. These items are located in hidden places called dungeons.
As a beginner in the game, you’ll have to get acquainted with a special land above the dungeon called Talmuth. This land includes other locations such as the Royal Emporium, Tavern, General Stone and more.
Once that is done, it’s now time for the adventures to begin. You’ll finally get to enter the dungeon for the first time in hunt of loot and, if premium luck is on your side, you might find a blockchain item. Blockchain items are transferable and sellable between players.
Caution can never be overemphasized while you’re in any dungeon because different dangerous elements are lurking in it. There is fire to avoid, enemies to slay, barriers to overcome, and so on. You risk losing all the precious items you’ve gathered plus any that you brought with you.
The in-game currency is Enjin and before you start playing, you must create your Enjin wallet and link it to the game.
Valuable items recovered in the dungeon can be worth many units of Enjin. The void ripper bow, for instance, is worth over ENJ 9000 ($24,809).
There are two major marketplaces in Lost Relics, the Enjin marketplace, and the Royal Emporium. The former is where you purchase and sell blockchain items either to other players or for Ethereum which you then exchange into fiat currency.
The Royal Emporium is where you trade in items that you got in the course of your adventure.
To Wrap Up
It’s no longer news that gaming is now big business. In the crypto universe, it’s no longer all about mining cryptocurrencies or trading coins. You can now earn them by doing what you enjoy.
Which of the above-mentioned games are you already familiar with or thinking of trying out? Let’s talk about it in the comment box below.