Up until a week ago, I had never heard of Splinterlands and had only a vague idea of what blockchain gaming is. However, I stumbled upon a few videos on the game and since then I have started an account and invested in learning more about the game and community.
What is Splinterlands?
Put simply, Splinterlands is a play to earn trading card game built on the Hive blockchain. This means that all the in game assets (cards and in-game currency) have real monetary value that fluctuates with the market.
The play to earn aspect means that you can earn NFTs through just playing the game. While it does allow you to try out the game for free, you will have to make a one time investment of $10 for the Summoner's spellbook in order to unlock the ability to earn rewards.
First few days
After the first few days I have found the gameplay to be easy to learn and understand after you gain a basic idea of how the game works. If you still don't understand how the game works after playing the tutorial, I would recommend watching some beginner videos by youtuber 
Another great resource is joining the official Splinterlands discord where you can talk and learn from people who are more experienced with this game, as well as learn about updates, tournaments, and more.
I have not been able to invest extra money for buying or renting cards, and therefore have not been able to proceed past the bronze III league. The rewards at bronze III are slow, however, I can see them slowly building up overtime. If you are able to invest in renting cards and climbing the ranks, there is a greater opportunity to gain more rewards.
My account after about 5 days of playing everyday has about 50 DEC and a few reward cards. I am interested to see how this will grow overtime and how this next week pans out.
New Goals
This next week I hope to learn more about renting and possibly use the few DEC I've earned so far to try to climb to bronze II, and if that goes well, bronze I.
I'm a believer that you should never stop learning, so I plan to continue researching and learning more about this game in the coming weeks
Wrap-up
If you are interested in starting this gaming and investing journey with me, here is my affiliate link to get signed up and start exploring the world of Splinterlands.
https://splinterlands.com?ref=blueleader03
If you have any questions or comments for me about learning more about the game, please leave a comment below. I would appreciate any advice you have for me about progressing more in the game.
I am not a financial advisor, do not take any of this as investing advice.