Crypto And Blockchain Games

Virtual but Real

Crypto and Blockchain games blur the distinction between real-world money or possessions and their in-game versions. They’re a relatively new type of game and are developing really quickly. If you want to say you participated in the history of gaming, then crypto or blockchain games could be for you!

Game Economics

Many games let you buy, sell and trade in-world items. What RPG would be complete these days without some sort of in-game economy? It can be as simple as using experience points on an upgrade tree, or a complete system of commerce, with an in-world currency, shops, traders and fluctuating prices. It’s such a normal part of so many games that you may not even think about it. We buy and sell in games as naturally as we do it in real life.

Nothing really changes hands, of course! The buying and selling in-game doesn’t affect your wallet. The profits you make there can’t help you in the real world, neither will investing money here help you in there.

Pay to Play

Except sometimes it will. If you follow games news you know that there are lots of ways that developers do get their players to pay real money for virtual items. It’s tempting to think of a transaction like that as “money for nothing”, but then entertainment is a strange business — one of very few where you can pay a lot of money, walk away empty-handed and not feel short-changed at all!

Those of you that do sometimes buy skins for your favorite battle royale character know that you don’t really own the skin that you buy. It’s unlocked for you to use but it doesn’t belong to you. It only exists in the game world and will disappear when the game does. And it’s not even just yours. In any given multiplayer match, there’s a good chance you’ll see another player in exactly the same skin, both feeling like you wore the same dress to a wedding!

The Shadow Game Economy

There are also many games where players find ways to sell in-game property for real money. World of Warcraft and other massively popular online games have a long history of hardcore players “grinding for pay”— putting in long hours in-game to then sell the fruits of their labor to other players for real money.

Blockchain Games

Blockchain-based gaming is different. It uses a form of unique, digital ownership made possible by the blockchain. How that ownership works varies widely from game to game, but it all amounts to the same thing — games where the players literally own parts of the experience, and can usually buy and sell them.

In crypto-gaming, the in-game economy interfaces with the crypto-economy to let you do things like;

transfer your rewards to other players;
purchase in-game characters and resources.
Own unique versions of in-game items that only you own, in the form of an NFT
buy, sell, or trade skins, characters, and weapons
exchange the game currency for real-world money.

Blockchain Technology and Blockchain Currencies

You may well be wondering what the blockchain is. Well, the blockchain is the technology that lies at the center of digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It’s an online record of every transaction that’s ever taken place in the currency, and it can’t be faked or altered. This protection from theft and forgery is what makes many people think of blockchain currencies as possible currencies of the future. They allow people to buy and trade digital ownership of pretty much anything online without needing to go through complicated international trade systems.

Types of Crypto and Blockchain Games

As gaming and blockchain technology continue to influence each other, you can expect to see new blends of the two worlds appearing constantly. There are already games in every genre you can think of, each with a slightly different structure of crypto and game elements;

NFT Games — NFTs, usually existing on the Ethereum blockchain, are attached to unique assets. It could be an in-game item, artwork, rare skin, character, or anything else. These create unique digital possessions that you can buy, sell and trade.
Collectible Games — Also called trading card games (TCG), they’re at the center of the blockchain and crypto gaming world. In these, the game is mostly the creation, collection and “breeding” of “cryptocollectibles”, art assets that you own on the blockchain. In this genre, CryptoKitties is the most well-known game.
Play2earn Games — Some games have an in-game currency, awarded for playing, which is tradable as a cryptocurrency in real life. These are usually lesser crypto coins but will still be tradable against major coins on certain exchanges.
Open-world Games — Games looking toward the metaverse or other virtual worlds can use crypto-currencies, crypto-based assets and blockchain technology to allow you to buy land for real money and then upgrade your land, just as you would in the real world.
Crypto-themed games — Finally, there’s the more playful games that reference crypto but don’t take themselves too seriously! With blockchain and all things crypto being such hot topics, it’s no surprise that many games use crypto terminology just for the fun of it!

Crypto and Blockchain Games on GamePix

We have a fantastic range of engaging online crypto games here on GamePix. All of them are completely free and play straight from your browser, with nothing to download or install. They are ready to go whenever you are, on any device. Here on the site, you’ll find crypto games such as;

Crypto Crush — This crypto-themed version of everybody’s favorite confectionary-crushing tile-matcher has you flipping crypto symbols looking for a match. Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Tether are all there!
Crypto Ninja — A fun spin on popular fruit-slicing games where you’re chopping your way through crypto symbols instead. If you’ve lost a little money on a crypto winter, you might find this one extra satisfying!
Crypto Master — Collect notes and decide whether to hold or sell as you work your way along the courses and try to avoid getting swiped by the moving credit cards.
Crypto Plinko — Classic plinko action, with crypto tokens as your chips. As fascinating now as it’s always been.
Find the Crypto —A matching game that will test how well you know your crypto coin symbols. Easy controls and smooth, bright graphics make this one a lot of fun!

FAQs

What are blockchain-based games?

A blockchain-based game, or blockchain game, is any game that uses a blockchain technology to give players some form of ownership over some aspects of the game. Some blockchain games might let you own NFTs of in-game items, making you the sole owner of what you buy, craft or trade. Others might have you earning an in-game crypto-currency as you play, currency you can use in the game economy or trade as a real-world crypto coin.

Are blockchain games fun?

Yes! As complicated as some of the ideas in blockchain gaming can be, the technology that makes them blockchain games isn’t usually something you notice when you’re playing! Blockchain games can play just like any other game, delivering the same excitement, thrills and moment-to-moment fun.