Splinterlands is a play-to-earn trading card game that plays in a browser.
It started on the Steem blockchain as Steemmonsters but eventually switched to the Hive blockchain. Thanks to cross-chain functionality, cards and tokens can also be traded on the Ethereum blockchain and on Wax. Splinterlands now has a governance token called SPS.
About Splinterlands
Splinterlands is a unique digital trading card game that allows players to truly own their cards and other in-game assets. Thanks to web 3.0 technology powered by the HIVE blockchain, each card in Splinterlands is a non-fungible token (NFT) owned by a player. That means players can do anything they want with their cards, including battling for rewards, holding them as collectibles, trading on the peer-to-peer market, combining to level up, or even burning to obtain Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), which is the official in-game cryptocurrency of Splinterlands.
The game was founded by blockchain innovators who shared a mutual frustration with mainstream digital trading card games that stemmed from players losing ownership of their assets when trading card games went digital. The companies who actually own the cards that players are supposed to “own” themselves can withhold information, reprint cards as often as they’d like, or even wholly delete a player’s collection based on inactivity or a violation of terms. Through the power of blockchain, Splinterlands solves these problems by making digital trading cards transparent, scarce, and actually owned by the players who own them.
With hundreds of unique cards, Splinterlands is a brilliantly designed and fast-paced trading card game that allows its players to earn by playing (P2E). Unlike more traditional TCGs like Magic: The Gathering, and Pokemon, Splinterlands battles are fast, with each match taking only 2-3 minutes. Rather than turn-based action in which every move is carefully and slowly controlled, Splinterlands’ main mechanic is a drafting style. Once an opponent is found, each player assembles a team of up to 6 cards from their Splinterlands collection. Then according to a unique set of rules that make every match different, the battle is played out automatically in a quick, action-packed format that allows players to learn from both victory and defeat.
Splinterlands is a strategist’s dream, beloved by one of the largest and most loyal followings in the play-to-earn industry. It is translated into nearly a dozen languages and played in over 100 countries worldwide. Each day, thousands of cards are traded for thousands of dollars on the peer 2 peer monster market. Join the fight at Splinterlands.com
Splinterlands is a cross between a deck-building game and an auto-battler. Players use their cards to create a combat lineup based on the rules of the match. Then, once both sides submit their teams, the cards battle it out until only one team remains. Players earn Dark Energy Crystals when winning matches and can also earn additional cards and other rewards through Daily Quests and a recurring, two-week leaderboard contest.
Players combine cards to level them up for better stats and additional abilities. Cards come in both regular versions and rarer, gold foil versions. Splinterlands features its own in-game market and allows for buying, selling, and even leasing cards!
Learn to Play
While it’s easy enough at first to jump right in and give Splinterlands a try, the strategy runs deep, and equipping yourself with the skills to win will take at least a small amount of basic learning.
Official Tutorial
You’ll find the game’s detailed explanation, as well as the playable tutorial experience in the HOW TO PLAY section of the Splinterlands website.
Challenging and Practice Matches
Another great way to put your skills to the test is by extending a challenge to a specific player, by selecting the Challenge option on the battle screen. Here you will be able to select the player whom you would like to challenge as well as set the level limits and cards to be used for the challenge.
By selecting the Practice option from the main battle screen you will be able to practice your skillset in unranked matches. This will help you to familiarise yourself with the battle selection process as well as experiment with battle strategies in a neutral environment that does not affect your rank.
Note that both Challenge and Practice matches will be considered Wild battles.
Watching Battles
One of the best ways to learn to play is by watching the battles of other more experienced players.
You can easily watch the battles of any player from the BATTLE page. By clicking the TOP BATTLES tab, you’ll be able to see the highest-ranked battles in the currently selected League of play. You can also enter the name of a specific player in the search bar to check out their most recent battles.
Top battles can be viewed in either Wild or Modern battle formats by selecting either format on the top of the Battle Screen.
Additionally, you can click on any player’s name on this page to see their profile and individual statistics. By clicking on the scroll circled in the image below, you’ll be able to watch that player’s battles.
Strategy Posts
On Splintertalk.io you’ll find all the latest Splinterlands-related content from the entire Hive Splinterlands tribe. Check this regularly and you’ll find valuable strategy posts, in-depth analyses of seasons, tournament rundowns, and more.
Splinterlands Discord
The official Splinterlands community can always be found in Discord. There is almost always someone in the community or one of the helpful moderators ready to answer your questions, and if you have technical issues, you can bring them up in the #tech-support channel of the Discord server.