Monetized Digital Gaming Has Taken Over the Ethereum Blockchain

Many applications have been developed in the past year to work on the blockchains of the world. Cryptocurrencies have seen huge advances in 2017 with Ethereum making a significant splash on the crypto stage. Applications have been built to run on the Ethereum blockchain that allows individuals to buy, sell, trade, collect and gamble digital assets.

The users of the top four ETH Dapps have transacted almost 5,000 ETH in the past 24 hours. Many new games in the forms of Dapps have entered the digital collectible space with early entrants reaping huge rewards.

What Do You Do with all Your Ether?

Ether has gone from $20 in February 2017, to $950 as of February 20, 2018. Those who were invested in Ethereum’s cryptocurrency have made significant returns over the past 12 months. Consequently, many crypto investors have spare ether laying around for the next hottest thing. In early December CryptoKitties took the blockchain world by storm. Digital cats were being bred, bought and sold for staggering numbers. Multiple cats sold for more than $100,000, with more than 300 ETH being transacted on a daily basis still.

CryptoKitties was the first entrant into the digital collectible space on the Ethereum blockchain. However, there were major issues with CryptoKitties regarding scalability, scarcity, and value that the next generation of games looked to improve on. What game or Dapp will follow in CryptoKitties footsteps? There are a few options for the next hot cryptocurrency blockchain game! The leading candidates for total volume on the ETH network are:

• Etheroll.com – An Online Gambling Platform,
• Cryptocities.net – A CryptoKitties Meets the Sims (solving the scarcity issue of CryptoKitties),
• https://cryptocountries.io/dapp/ – Conquering the World Through Buying Countries,
• Cryptocelebrities.io – Celebrity Trading Cards on the Blockchain,
• Etherbots.io – Game Begins on February 21, 2018; Collect, Battle, Build, Sell, and Trade.

These Dapps running on the Ethereum network are the largest transactors of volume on a daily basis. Besides Etheroll.com, an online dice game for ETH, all four other online games have a similar allure as CryptoKitties had. These games are not only addictive but fairly expensive and should be thoroughly considered before attempting to start playing. There is a learning curve that comes with them all, and when ETH is the currency being used, that learning curve can become fairly expensive.

However, if you can successfully predict which Dapp will rival what CryptoKitties did in early December, you will have made a huge percentage on your investment playing an online game. Which Dapp will be most likely to follow in CryptoKitties’ footsteps? Cryptocities.net!

Etheroll.com: Take Your Chance, Roll the Dice

As the name suggests, Etheroll.com is an online gambling platform where the main form of currency is ETH. They also have maintained the second spot on the total volume of ETH transacted for multiple days running. Etheroll’s seven-day volume is over 10,000 ETH with the daily volume being over 2,000 ETH.

The King does not personally recommend gambling any more than being involved in cryptocurrencies are already considered. However, if the volume is an indicator of anything, many individuals around the world are flocking to Etheroll to try their chances at gambling their ether. They have the second highest daily volume of any Dapp on the Ethereum network.

Etheroll is based on a dice game where the user can place a wager by setting the bet amount to a specific number of ETH. Following this step, they adjust the slider to alter the percentage chance of winning, which correlates to the payout you can expect to win. If you increase your chances of winning to 80 percent, you decrease your payout by a similar 80 percent. The house has a one percent commission they take on all rolls.

To “win” the dice result must be lower than the number displayed. To begin the wagering process click the “Roll” button. If the numerical result is lower than the number you are supposed to be rolling under, the bettor wins! Very simple, and clearly addictive, landing it the number one spot on total volume for the last 24-hour period.

CryptoCities: Conquer the Cities of the World

If there was a game on this list that would explode in popularity, it is highly likely to be CryptoCities. The premise is fairly simple; they have mapped the major cities of many countries and gave them a ranking 1-50 based on their population and other factors. By owning more than one city, the user can “Discover” a new city. The discovery process creates a new city with a ranking 1 level above the Discover level of the user. The game may seem complicated at first, but it is relatively simple when broken into steps.

1. Buy Your First City – Pick a location and approve the transaction in Metamask,
2. Start a Discovery – Click the “Discovery” tab and start for 0.005 ETH,
3. Race to 50 – Remember cities are ranked 1-50, collect the ones closest to 50!,
4. Trade, Buy, and Sell – The game allows you to capitalize on the growth of the community,
5. Phase 2: Game Integration – The locations will be used in games where the city owner will profit based on players who need them for specific tasks.

CryptoCities seems like it took notes about what CryptoKitties did incorrectly. CryptoKitties failed by flooding the market by allowing kitties to breed and create new cats every few hours. The breeding process only required two cats. Therefore, if you had 30 cats, you could be breeding them all simultaneously to produce 15 new offspring – which created a soaring supply of kitties eventually outpacing demand and crashing the market.

CryptoCities is vastly different in the total number of cities has been capped at one million. Each city is a real geographic location which is why there cannot be any duplicates (that and the smart contract system will not allow it). Not to mention each time you “Discover” a new city every city you are holding automatically goes into a 12-16 hour cooldown period. During this time new cities cannot be discovered, and the cities that the user owns cannot be sold. This freezes the user’s supply so as new players join the site the supply is kept very low while only one new city can be discovered per user daily.

Buying your first city is an easy task, pick one that is price appropriate for your budget. The 10+ is going to be your most expensive, expect to see cities start at over 1.5 ETH in this category. The 1’s do not provide any of the resources that will be collectible in the long run. There is a tradeoff here but let your budget determine which city you wish to start with. After you have purchased a few cities begin the “Discovery” process. Relax, there is nothing to do for approximately 14 hours. When it is time return to see your newly discovered city and determine if it is time to sell some cities or begin the discovery process again.

CryptoCities is addictive, fun, can make the user significant amounts of money and fixes many of the issues that existed with CryptoKitties. If there was a game or Dapp on this list that would be trending in the next few days, the King expects it to be this one.

CryptoCountries: Conquer the Blockchain World

CryptoCountries claims the top spot for most volume transacted over a seven-day period. 45,000 ETH have been traded this past week buying and selling digital countries on CryptoCountries. That amount is almost $45 million in one week.

CryptoCountries and CryptoCities have many similarities, with CryptoCities having a much lower price point to begin playing. However, it is definitely worth checking out CryptoCountries. Each time you purchase a country it automatically goes up in value a certain varying percentage. The cheapest countries are some of the minor islands around the world, and they start at 4.5 ETH. This is an extremely high point of entry as the minimum purchase price is almost $4,500.

However, if you do have the ETH to “Play” the game, it is exceptionally simple. There is no discovering, no real technique besides buying a country you like. No two people can own the same country, but you also cannot delist your nation for sale. This creates an interesting bidding situation where multiple individuals can continue to buy a country from one another even if the seller was not interested in selling.

In the past week, 45,000 ETH have been transacted on the CryptoCountries platform. Currently, the most expensive countries are;

1. Japan (709 ETH),
2. Hong Kong (653 ETH),
3. China (639 ETH),
4. Korea (616 ETH),
5. North Korea (604 ETH),
6. Australia (479 ETH).

Many countries are still locked (United States, Canada, and Russia) to be unlocked at a future date. It is truly astounding that five digital country collectibles are going for over 600 ETH a piece. However, each time one is purchased the price increases for the next person to buy so if they want the country you just purchased all they have to do is snatch it from you!

With a minimum buy-in of 4.36 ETH and the most expensive countries costing well over 600 ETH, this game seems to be a bit expensive for most people’s tastes. However, with the total number of locations capped at the number of countries in the world, this is a very finite resource while the game remains popular. Supply is exceptionally small, so even a small uptick in demand will drive the price of these countries through the roof.

CryptoCities provides more opportunities for the smaller investor to begin playing, while CryptoCountries provides much higher costs digital assets to be purchased and sold. For the high rollers who want to own one or two countries, CryptoCountries is the location. For the blockchain explorer looking for a new game, check out CryptoCities for a fraction of the cost.

Crypto Celebrities: Celebrity Trading Cards on the Blockchain

Well, many of the world’s celebrities are listed here as digital trading cards to be bought and sold. Each time a card is purchased it automatically goes up in value; similarly to how the countries in CryptoCountries, go up a certain percentage each time a transaction occurs. The 24-hour volume was only 60 ETH with seven-day volume hovering around 850 ETH. Crypto Celebrities would be the King’s least recommended game and platform of the ones reviewed (not including Etheroll).

With the list of celebrities added to the site growing daily and a minimum buy-in at over one ETH, it doesn’t seem like Crypto Celebrities will continue to build and sustain momentum when compared to its counterparts. The celebrities cannot be bred, although that would create a very funny spin on things. Their prices cannot be set in an auction format; they are predetermined automatically. The user has very little control over gameplay. It seems the majority of the “game” is finding a celebrity you like to “own” on the digital blockchain. The author is of the opinion that he does not need to own a celebrity’s digital trading card for over 1 ETH. The King will stick to world domination and building cities!

Etherbots: Battle, Build, Trade, Buy, Sell, and Collect

This game is CryptoKitties on steroids. The problem is this game does not come out until February 21, 2018. Another major issue is the first 3900 bots have all been sold in an ICO auction format, with the last one selling for 0.4 ETH ($389.20). This means when the game begins the cheapest available bot will be 0.4 ETH and likely much higher. Etherbots seems to have a very high buy-in for those of us who would like to be early entrants but missed the ICO and is not available for another full day.

Etherbots may end up having the best gameplay of the games on this current Dapp list, but we, unfortunately, will not know for another few days. The ability to not only buy and trade but to battle and build gives Etherbots a unique twist the other games do not have. CryptoCities allows the user to create new cities daily, CryptoKitties enables the user to breed two cats together, both increases the player’s holdings in the virtual world. Etherbots does not have a similar function, but the battling or building may make up enough of the lost appeal on the lack of “breeding.” The breeding aspect of CryptoKitties and the discovery aspect of CryptoCities make them games that can generate regular dividends for the player. Etherbots does not have this dividend-generating aspect but has much more game-like features such as battling and customization.

Conclusion: All Games on the ETH network are a Blast!

Yes, all games on the ETH blockchain happen to be very exciting. However, with multiple price points to begin playing the player must carefully determine their options as not to become committed for more than they can spare.

• CryptoCities has the lowest cost of entry and has only recently started to build significant traction in the last 48 hours. Those who start playing this today can still take advantage of the early adopter benefits prior to when city values will skyrocket as individuals try to “Discover” new locations and freeze their entire salable supply of cities,
• The Crypto Celebrities platform seems to be inferior to the other Dapps on this list, and most photographs of the celebrities are truly not flattering.
• Etheroll is a strictly a gambling based dice game and is not an interest of the King’s,
• CryptoCountries is a great game for the high roller looking to conquer the globe. The cheapest country is pushing 5 ETH so make sure you come prepared to play!
• Etherbots is coming out very soon, and unfortunately, we will not know about the gameplay until later in the week. What we do know is the cost of a bot will likely be in excess of 0.5 ETH making this another expensive game to start playing.

The best advice the King can provide is to pick the game that fits your budget or enjoy one like CryptoCities that can work with a small or high roller budget. The sheer amount of volume of ETH moving around in these Dapps demonstrates the opportunity to make ETH while playing blockchain based games. Gaming while profiting is a very exciting concept.

To read the King’s prior articles, to find out which ICOs he currently recommends, or to get in contact directly with the King, you can on Twitter (@JbtheCryptoKing) or Reddit (ICO updates and Daily Reports).