"Newbies Initiative Task 6" - Blockchain Games And Splinterlands.

Blockchain is known to be a big database that stores information but the difference with it is that uncensored and immutable data cannot be changed. It is decentralized and owned by nobody. We have our online wallets, banks, and third-party applications which we make transactions with, but have you ever wondered if there was an easy way to do these transactions without having to deal with these other means of doing transactions which can sometimes be stressful because we are not the one in charge of them? This is where blockchain comes in.

We no longer need to go to the bank to queue just to complain about a failed transaction or every other issue with the bank or a third-party app. From my findings, this is where cryptocurrency and blockchain come in as a savior for us all.

PS - Remember that cryptocurrencies are a form of digital or virtual currency and thanks to blockchain, we can safely do our transactions because it doesn't require a central authority, it is immune to counterfeiting and it is protected by strong and complex encryption algorithms.

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That being said, let's talk about blockchain games.

Blockchain games

Like our traditional games, you buy the game and play the game. As you play the games, you discover items that are usually unlocked when you get to certain levels. When you get these items, you continue playing your game with them. The fun part is that these items make the game more interesting for the players, however, over time, those items become useless to you. Let's say you get tired of playing the game, those items you've collected become useless because you can't use them for anything.

The explanation is the same with blockchain games, you buy the game, play, and discover items, weapons, and so on to equip the game but the difference between the traditional and blockchain game is that the items or weapon you discovered exists outside the game, they don't become useless because you could exchange them in the external market or sell them for another cryptocurrency. I hope this is clear enough for you to understand the difference between traditional games and blockchain games.

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SPLINTERLANDS.

Splinterlands is a digital collectible card game built on blockchain technology. Think of it this way, there was once a time when players played with physical cards they owned which could also be traded with other players and used in various battles and also to build their collections. But now with the new kinds of games coming up, everything is going digital, and players with physical cards lose the ability to truly own their assets. Now with splinterlands and its blockchain technology, players have control over their assets, they can see what they have and what exists and they can also see the historical records of each card. The technology in the blockchain which makes this possible is NFT (Non- fungible token)

Blockchain games and their in-game currencies.

• Splinterlands - The in-game currency of splinterlands is the DARK ENERGY CRYSTALS (DEC)

• Axie Affinity - The in-game currency of axie affinity is SMOOTH LOVE PORTION (SLP)

• God's Unchained - The in-game currency of God's unchanged is GODS

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_{[Bjorn Pierre](https://unsplash.com/photos/WhRGvt7USX4)}

What is NFT????

I got confused at first when I heard these three letters that are usually thrown around not, and I'm like, what is NFT??

OKAY…

It stands for Non-Fungible Token.

But what's a non-fungible token?

Let's start by simplifying it this way. Another word similar to the word fungible is 'replaceable', so If we are saying non-fungible, we are also saying, 'non-replace'. This makes sense right??

When we are talking about non-fungible tokens, always remember that we are talking about assets that are original and CAN NOT be replaced.

Here is an example; you can place an order for a sack of rice and can get anyone because there are many sacks of rice, you don't care which one you get, it is rice but when it comes to the Monalisa image, there is only one original Monalisa. In summary, non-fungible things are more valuable than fungible things.

In the NFT world, each token is a unique asset that exists on the network only. If there's anything that gets human psychology to value something, it has to be when that thing has been proven to be the only one that exists and that's what we mean by the 'Token' after the word 'fungible'. For instance, I record a video of myself singing a particular song in a particular place, with a particular dress on. Now let's say that it's the only video of me singing that particular song in that particular place with that particular dress that exists and I put that out as an NFT for a particular amount and a buyer shows interest and is willing to pay the amount I put it out for. The video which is the only one that exists in the world, is the token, therefore a non-fungible token. Is it clear now?

…Of what use are NFTs???

They give you something that can't be copied even though the artist maintains the copyright, Yes! It's as simple as that.

How do you acquire or sell them?

There's a big marketplace where people buy and sell Nfts, one of which is eBay. On eBay, you can browse different NFTs and buy the one you want with USD. There is always an option to 'buy now or 'make an offer. There is also a platform called Opensea.io, and on this platform, you can also buy and sell NFTs not with US dollars but with crypto-currency. To buy from there, you would need to convert your US dollar to a crypto-currency and the popular currency used is Ethereum.

The 7 Elements of the splinterlands game are;

• Fire

• Water

• Earth

• Life

• Death

• Dragon

• Neutral (Mercenaries)

Splinterlands has 4 levels of Rarity which are;

• Common

• Rare

• Epic

• Legendary.

Appreciation

I am thankful for this opportunity to be among the Newbies who join this session of the newbies initiative program. Special appreciate also to @theycallmedan and the @aliento team. Being a part of this initiative has given a chance to consciously learn more about hive and what I need to be a good hivian. I wouldn't fail to appreciate my fellow newbies who joined the newbies initiative program.