Hello all readers,
I am very new to Steemit and to the Steem network of apps.
And yes, it is my very first post, so in this one I'll speak from a new steemian perspective (or do we say steemer, or steemier? help me out!! :O).
So what is Steem Monsters?
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Steem Monsters is a digital collectible card game. It has a limited run of cards and is cryptocurrency based.
This means that as cards run out, they will increase in value. There will be no new run of existing cards.
Some tournaments even require you to have previous expansion sets, that way old cards gain even more in value, but you can enter play and win games even with a 10$ starter.
It is a web-based game with no installation required.
It also uses original game mechanics, bringing something new of its own.
And it has lots of active tournaments, season leagues and even daily quests with loot!
Can we earn money?
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The answer to this question is YES. How much is up to you.
Let's go straight to the point.
As a 40-old guy who played thousands of games before I did not expect anything to surprise me, yet it did.
If I speak about Steem Monsters it is because discovering that game actually changed my way of playing games.
I mean, when you play any other game, you usually put some money and/or a lot of time. You can win matches, then you look at your player stats, and that is all. Hopefully you had fun. Playing is a hobby :) ... and you only earned stats. And sometimes frustrating games.
In Steem Monsters, there are numerous live free tournaments, sometimes five in a day. Someone winning nearly all of them would earn 1600+ USD every month in STEEM (I have counted ;) ). And every card is a crypto-token that you have and has real money value. If I earn some loot because I play, I can immediately sell this loot and earn money.
Daily quests can also earn you real cards and money. You can loot some of these legendaries (1% drop rate) that can sell for up to several bucks each. There are Leagues and seasons, and your ranking in a league can give you rewards. Here is my last daily reward for playing just five winning battles. There was a legendary in the upper left!
So, between a few dozen euros every month of dailies, or tournament rewards, or card trading, you discover there is some money to earn. Honestly that should be enough to give it a try ;)
It may not sound like much, but when you play a game that rewards you with immediate money and value, that's new. You begin to wonder why you played any other game at all.
It is really challenging to see how such games really alter your thought-process.
How hard is it?
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Surprinsingly the game has nice matchmaking features that make Novice decks, Bronze decks and Silver decks of new players able to compete with any other old-timer.
Cards have levels, but a max-level card going into a Bronze tournament will only play at Bronze level. So it will not be at an advantage comparing to new players with their bronze cards.
But let's be honest. The old-timer will beat you. They know their cards well, and they took some cards that cost nothing but can be combined well in some situations.
Speaking of competition, you have to understand I am someone who often plays hardcore.
After playing 10 days I am on Diamond League, but there are pretty hard players there able to beat the crap out of you (they are good really!) so I can advise Gold or Silver as very good Leagues already.
These players are also kind men and women - sometimes I saw them even give boosters to new players!
I have an example about the level of difficulty of the game. My 10-year son plays it. I delegated some cards to him (you can gift cards or lend them for a time to your friends). My son made a mistake once and entered a Gold League.
But he only had a 'bronze level deck' with low-level cards. I told him: "You are crazy!!! why did you enter that tournament? don't take this game as a joke!"
And then it happened. Somehow he managed to beat a Gold League guy... and even two times in a row! It was unbelievable. But such episodes will be rare, and earning your money in tournaments will require some investment too.
Why do we speak of investing?
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Cards in Steem Monsters have a value in dollars and you can use your Steem Connect login and your STEEM to purchase them.
Once you have acquired them (by playing or purchasing boosters for 2 dollars) they are definitely yours. You can trade them back at the market, sometimes for a nice increase.
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Over the 10 days I have played, a few legendaries I acquired myself already doubled in value! Yes, I look at you Prince Rennyn!
When you acquire such cards you know the game must continue. It gives value and usage to the STEEM token and only as long as its server runs.
All indications point out that the game will stand; it was a summer 2018 kickstarter funded project, which has quickly been released and is very stable and scalable. It has an API which is so open-ended I am convinced anyone could run a server should anything happen. And good trading sites already such as Peakmonsters.
The game runs fast, has almost no bug and has (and receives) a lot of features. you always find someone in matchmaking. It did not spend anything in ads whereas it made a million sales already - it will grow in users.
Considering the game, the card market websites, the discord and the STEEM token, if you have some STEEM or plan to acquire some it looks like you can invest in cards and earn a nice bonus.
Remember the game is pay-to-play. Thousands of players paid to play it and are still actively playing, which is a good indication.
Can it be or become some sort of scam?
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There are only very few crypto-CCGs and I have scouted some of them after Steem Monsters.
There are crypto-CCGs I can easily qualify as scams; websites of the 2 millionth rank etc, I look at you!
Unlike many others I have seen, Steem Monsters has a real trafic, a real community, it is not "managed by ghosts" and also has a real creative team; and although card illustrations is not its primary objective (and not its strong point) it uses unique art and not one-dollar stock art.
Steem Monsters has 150k real visitors every month, no ads, an active Discord, game developers you can chat with every day and regular updates. These are good points in my book. Also, the Lead Developer has a real name and existence.
Is it a good game?
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As a game it is very different than other card games.
The most common point is that you pick a leader and summon monsters. Your objective is to destroy all opponent monsters. This is a known situation. But everything else differs!
First of all you don't draw cards. So it has no randomness about a luck of draws.
It also does not ask for much of your time. You click on "New Match", you set up your team by placing cards, and then you click BATTLE. Your opponent's team will be revealed and the automated battle will occur, with sounds and animations. But you don't even need to watch it!
You don't need to input any action during a live battle, so I can say that yes, you can play Steem Monsters even if you feel you lack time to play games.
Battles even have a sharing link to distribute it to your friends. And they do not even need the game - or an account! - to see it.
I would love to detail the game mechanics to you; but I feel that I should do that in another post, for you to take some breath.
Thank you for reading this. This is my first post on Steemit, and although I may look quite favorable to Steem Monsters, please rest assured I always want to be honest and share my opinion.
Speaking of honesty, my link above ( this one ) has a referral link.
Feel free to remove the reference if you want. I am a new player and did not want to feel oppressive with that!