The worlds biggest banking mistake in funding property became a popular board game in 1935. The game was used as a way for players young and old to understand the concept of real estate and how it can generate revenue and return on investment.
The game has always influenced pop culture, and many still play it to this day. Fast forward a few years, and we had the hit game The Sims. Where users could live out simulated lives build homes, have jobs, raise families and more.
But these were just games, fun ways to pass the time. Now with blockchain, these games could become much more than that, which is what MegaCryptoPolis is trying to do, or instead, I assume they are trying to do.
The game draws inspirations from Monopoly and the Sims and gives you a three-dimensional city you can explore, purchase land, develop it and earn resources while competing with other players.
The kicker here is that instead of being an in-game currency, you're using, spending and earning Ethereium, which you could sell for fiat and earn from playing a game.
MegaCryptoPolis is available in 4 languages
- English
- Italian
- Mandarin
- Japanese
Which I do like because as a blockchain-based game, it's' essential to lower the barrier for players in all areas of the world if you want to reach more users and gain adoption.
How to get started with MegaCryptoPolis?
MegaCryptoPolis is not a free to play game, and you will need Ethereum to get started buying a property. To play the game, you will need a Metamask account.
Once you authenticate your wallet and connect the game to your Metamask account, you can sign in.
How to get started with MegaCryptoPolis?
Once the game loads you're presented with a large map of potential real estate. Most will be undeveloped; others will have construction going; others will already be built.
Checking out the city map
These constructions or buildings are other active players working on building out their real estate empire in the game. You can find unclaimed land or land that is already purchased.
View of purchasing empty land
The aim of the game is to purchase real estate, develop it and earn returns for your investment by owning entire districts and flipping property.
As you buy property, you increase the value of the land and the land around you, making it more attractive for investors, and if they invest, you can make a return on your property.
Just like the real estate in real life, there is a lot of strategies involved in making money, but in terms of fun, it offers very little for the average player.
The game is a pretty cool concept, and I can see why people would find value in the novelty of owning a piece of digital real estate.
View of purchasing developed from an owner
Cost of play
The biggest downside of the game would be the cost; you cannot do anything if you do not invest in the game. Its pay to play and it's pretty costly with property costs starting at around 0.63713 ETH or $100 at the current price.
The user is also expected to pay the various gas cost to push through a transaction, and if not, you could lose your bid as others pay to bid and have their purchase pushed through quicker.
Orders are locked on the blockchain, so once you own the piece of land, it's yours, and no one can dispute that.
As you improve your stakes in the game, you'll earn influence which you can use in-game as it is worth a certain amount of ETH.
If you want to get the best out of the game, there are a few Facebook groups you can join to chat with other investors and work together to build districts and improve the value of your investments.
Playability
If you're not money motivated, this game gets pretty dull pretty quickly. The UI doesn't offer much for the user to do other than buy, develop and make transactions.
The gaming instructions also leave much to be desired, and the emphasis is all on the player to understand the dynamics of the game and how to progress correctly.
I think many gamers would not bother reading up on how to play when you have to look for it. Then find themselves disillusioned when their ROI isn't as high as other players.
My rating for MegaCryptoPolis
I'd say it is an average attempt at these builder strategy games but apart from being able to cash out your investment in time and money it doesn't provide anything better compared to the standard centralised competitors.
Since the game uses the ETH blockchain, it does make using the game and switching between meta mask a bit clunky.
Using it on mobile is almost unusable and its a far better experience to use your desktop.
This is a middle of the range game, and I didn't have much fun playing. I can see the appeal, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I don't find collectables a valuable pursuit of my money and time, but others may feel differently.
I would have to give this game a 4 out of 10
More info about MegaCryptoPolis
If you enjoyed the review and would like to find out more about the game, then check out the following resources.
Disclaimer
This is my review for the 
