Trying to wrap my head around the metaverse and blockchain has been let's say... a challenge. I used to walk to the TG&y and feed my quarters into a new and exciting game called Pac-Man. What fun. What awesome graphics! Needless to say, gaming has come a long way, as well as, ways to access games and even make money from them. A long time has passed since those days. A long long time, but my love for gaming never wavered. While researching crypto coins and play-to-earn gaming, I came across #splinterlands. I was hooked from the beginning, From the creative and colorful artwork of the cards to the exhilaration of playing a devesting combo of cards, splinterlands drew me in. Truth be told, I am a novice at the game and I am currently trying to work through the bronze leagues. I have bought a few cards from the shop, opened a few packs, won my fair share of matches. Here I will chronicle my journey through the splinterlands, what I have learned, mistakes I have made, and the path I take to the diamond league so that someone out there can maybe find a little enjoyment in a great game, or a least a laugh at an old gamer trying to recapture that feeling of those first quarters falling the inside of the Pac-Man machine.