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A few years ago, I started researching cryptocurrency. I don't understand the ins and outs, so I didn't invest any money in tokens. However, during my research, I found a game called Splinterlands on the Internet.

This is a card-based strategy game involving hundreds of monsters, including vampires, maggots, dragons, giant eyeballs, pirates, robots, sharks, ghosts, ice soldiers and more. I started to play for free. 

After a while, I paid $10 to access the entire monster library. This also means that I can win cards.

These cards are non-fungible tokens (NFT) that reside on the Hive blockchain. The really cool thing is that you won't lose your card. If you don't want to, you don't have to spend any cash in the game. Therefore, "Split the Continent" is a risk-free and fun way to learn about cryptocurrency and blockchain while earning NFT assets.

My cost base is still $10. The value of my monster card has greatly appreciated.

I have been playing for almost two years, and in the past few months, I started to pay attention to the value of my crypto assets in the game. This is the outline:

(Actually, my card is now worth about $16,000. The total value of my in-game assets is $17,000 because I have added about $1,000 in crypto bonuses.)

Splinterlands recently launched its own cryptocurrency, Splintershards (CRYPTO:SPS). The current trading price of an SPS token is approximately US$0.57. Based on my assets in the game, I received more than 2,000 coins. The company has 3 billion coins and will release many of them to players every day for the next five years.  

So now I am a cryptocurrency owner, despite myself. I will actually have more SPS, except that I constantly exchange tokens for the game currency Dark Energy Crystal, so that I can buy more cards. I think this is the true value of Splinterlands.

The game itself is attracting more players, which in turn increases the demand for its assets. So these NFT cards are useful. You don't just look at them or think about them. You can use them to fight other players. By doing this, you can win more assets. The more assets you have, the more assets you win. This is a virtuous circle.

Of course, you may also lose. So far, I have fought more than 24,000 battles, and I have lost at least 10,000 times. But the cool thing is that you will only lose your pride. The card is yours. 

I suspect that part of the reason why the value of my card cache has grown so fast is that it is in the early stages of the game's life cycle. Splinterlands started in 2018 and most people have never heard of it. Almost all its marketing is spread by word of mouth.

In the past week, I mentioned Splinterlands on Facebook, told family and friends, told my bartender about the game, and mentioned a waitress. I haven't told it to anyone who has heard of it. 

As more and more people start to play games, the demand for cards continues to increase. The website will be closed regularly for maintenance, because many people join and play. Splinterlands already has players from all over the world, although most of them are now cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiasts. 

In addition, the game mechanics led to a reduction in the supply of cards. When Splinterlands launches a card, it will only receive a digital "print version." (This is all electronic, so no real ink is involved.) When you win a card, it is a level 1 monster. Players combine multiple cards to upgrade them and make their creatures stronger. This has the effect of removing cards from circulation and making those remaining cards more valuable.

Do you see the ugly beast with tentacles in the picture above-the giant beast about to eat the shark? That is "The Gorlodon", an epic monster of death. To upgrade it to level 2, I must obtain three additional cards and then combine them. Therefore, the total number of available Gorlodon cards will decrease over time. Currently, only 6,861 Gorlodon cards are in circulation. On a third-party website, a Gorlodon card is now priced at $17.    

According to data from PeakMonsters, Splinterlands now has an average of 3 million transactions and nearly 10 million battles per day, with 400,000 players from all over the world. 13,000 new players join every day.  

In order to meet the growing demand brought about by the sharp increase in the number of players, "Split the Continent" will regularly introduce new monsters. A new deck, Chaos Legion, will be launched next month. This will add 80 monsters to the arena and increase the total number of cards by 75 million. These cards will be very cheap at first, giving novices a chance to acquire many monsters and upgrade them. Over time, as these cards become scarce, their value should increase.

There are currently about 400 different monsters in the game. How big can this universe be? At some point, too many monsters may make the gameplay clumsy. So far, this is not a problem. 

Splinterlands is very interesting and difficult to put down. Last Christmas, I bought a new Sony PlayStation. I haven't got it out of the box, partly because this cheap online game takes up most of my time playing video games. In addition to its fun, the potentially profitable aspect is what makes Splinterlands truly vibrant.  

I should note that I haven't sold any of my cards in U.S. dollars, so I don't know how much liquidity is actually available in this market. Demand will certainly surge, but whether some of these ultra-rare cards will actually change hands on third-party websites at high asking prices is a question. Nevertheless, my cost basis for this "investment" is still only $10. This is a fun way to waste time, and you may not waste time at all.

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