How to play and earn in CryptoKitties

Reminiscent of Tamagotchi and Pokémon, the wildly popular digital pets and creatures of the 1990s, CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based game where players can collect, trade and breed digital virtual cats. CryptoKitties was the first Ethereum-based game, and its popularity underscored many of the network’s scaling issues.

This digital cat breeding blockchain game caused quite a bit of congestion on the Ethereum blockchain, peaking in 2020. However, the game’s creators were able to resolve these issues.

What is CryptoKitties?

Launched in 2017, CryptoKitties was built by Dapper Labs, the company that uses blockchain technology to bring non-fungible tokens (NFT) and new forms of digital engagement to fans worldwide. CryptoKitties is also considered one of the world’s first ever blockchain games.

In the game, each of the digital collectible cats has a unique genome that determines its physical characteristics. Cats can be bred to create new virtual kittens and unlock rare “attributes” or cat features in the game.

Is CryptoKitties an NFT game? Yes, CryptoKitties are unique, unique assets backed by NFTs, making them rare and valuable. They were built on Ethereum using the ERC-721 token standard, which made it possible to create unique NFTs.

CryptoKitties can be sold and traded, and cats with rare traits can fetch high prices. The rarest CryptoKitty of all time is the genesis cat, aptly named “Genesis” because it was the very first CryptoKitty hatched by the game’s creators. Genesis was sold in 2017 for 246,926 Ether (ETH), or about $119,328 at the time of sale. Ether has since appreciated, and so has the genesis cat.

How does CryptoKitties work?

Blockchain technology is still at the core of this game, but the unique CryptoKitties game can be credited to its Genetic Algorithm (GA). GA aims to mimic real genetic principles by structuring the smart contract code of each kitten like the DNA of actual living creatures.

Each kitten has its own digital genetic pattern, which in turn determines the type of offspring it will produce, in addition to its unique physical characteristics. This genome is stored in a smart contract, which are self-executing lines of code depending on predetermined conditions.

Any two CryptoKitties can be bred together and produce offspring with their own distinctive characteristics. The immutable genotype stored in the smart contract also determines this new kitty’s phenotype. GA mixes the code from both CryptoKitties to create new kittens, with the split between the parents varying each time they mate. This makes it possible to produce unique kittens every time.

The main premise of the game is that players must breed and sell their cats, which will allow them to earn ETH, especially for rarer cats. Generation and cooldown are two crucial features of the game – both are necessary to understand which cats to buy and breed during the selection process.

First, Generation determines how many generations a kitten is from its original parent. New generation 0 kittens were released every 15 minutes during the first year of CryptoKitties. These kittens have no offspring yet, so if two generation 0 kittens breed, they will produce generation 1 offspring.

The generation of each offspring is always one number higher than the parent from a higher generation. For example, if a generation 3 and a generation 9 breed, their offspring will be generation 10. This information can be found under the picture of each kitty, abbreviated as “Gen.”

Cooldown refers to a cat’s breeding rate, so a cat with a lower cooldown will have a shorter breeding time. Cats from higher generations will also have high cooldown rates. Both Generation and Cooldown affect the price of CryptoKitties, as these will determine how attractive they are on the market.

Can you play CryptoKitties on mobile?

Those looking to explore CryptoKitties gaming on mobile can do so through an HTC mobile phone, which exclusively has the US mobile app for CryptoKitties.

Technically, players looking for information on how to play CryptoKitties on Android or iOS devices can simply access the mobile version of the site via a mobile browser. But serious players looking for a dedicated app can currently only do so via an HTC phone.

How to get started with CryptoKitties

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up a CryptoKitties account to get you started:

1. Create a MetaMask wallet

Players must first have an existing MetaMask wallet or create one. MetaMask will allow users to buy, sell and breed CryptoKitties. Once a wallet is created, new users can proceed to the CyrptoKitties home page, where they will be prompted to connect to their MetaMask wallet by clicking “Start” at the top right of the screen.

2. Buy Ether (ETH)

CryptoKitties can be purchased using Ether, which in turn can be purchased from cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance and Coinbase. Ether can then be transferred to MetaMask to ensure players have enough funds to purchase CryptoKitties.

3. Create a CryptoKitties account

After linking a user’s MetaMask wallet with CryptoKitties, they will be prompted to provide their email address for important updates and enter a nickname they wish to use in the game. Players have the option to go through a basic “Kitten Class” tutorial where they will learn how to breed CryptoKitties.

How to play and earn in CryptoKitties

Once a player has set up their CryptoKitties account, they can start playing the game. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to make money playing CryptoKitties:

1. Buy CryptoKitties

Players can now view CryptoKitties for sale via the website or secondary NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea. Offers can also be made to other players, so that others can bid on cats even if they are not for sale. The owner can choose to decline or accept the offer. Each offer expires after three days.

New players have the option to buy just one kitten to get started or buy a pair right away. If a player decides to buy just one CryptoKitty, they can start breeding it with a father from another player. If they buy two CryptoKitties immediately, they can breed their cats for a much lower fee.

How much do CryptoKitties cost? Prices vary, but kittens can sell for as low as 0.001 ETH or as high as 600 ETH, maybe even more. Factors such as how rare a particular cat is and how desirable its characteristics are can affect the price it will fetch in the market.

2. Breed CryptoKitties

As mentioned, players can breed two of their own kittens together or breed them with a public sire. It is best to breed kittens that come from the same generation to produce a kitten with a relatively low generation as well.

To breed their own kittens together, a player simply needs to click on a kitten they want to assign as their “father” or sire. Then click the “Breed” button and select “Sire with my Kitties.” Then the “Dame” or mother cat can be selected to complete the breeding pair. To continue, click “OK, give them some privacy” to let the kittens breed in peace.

To breed their kitten with a public sire, a player must select a sire from the marketplace and select the “Breed Now” option. They can then select a Lady from their own litter to form a breeding pair and then proceed with the opportunity to give the kittens privacy to breed. As previously mentioned, both options cost minimal fees in ETH, which go towards community-powered bots and smart contracts.

3. Sell or donate CryptoKitties

Once a player has produced new breeds of CryptoKitties, they can be put up for sale or sent to the public. Each kitten in a litter will have “Sell” and “Breed” options, which will lead to auction pages.

Players can create a Siring auction by clicking “Breed”, which will siring their cat via the Siring market. “Sell” also creates an auction, and puts the kitty up for sale on the marketplace. The player can choose the starting price, closing price and auction duration.