Splinterlands is a digital, collectible card game leveraging blockchain technology, inspired by classics such as Magic: The Gathering and Hearthstone. In this game, players curate a collection of cards with various attributes and engage in skill-based matches against other players. Participants can buy, sell, and trade these digital assets similarly to physical trading card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh! The inception of Splinterlands arose from the diminished ability for players to genuinely own their assets, such as trading cards, when such games became digitized. Utilizing blockchain technology, the game reinstates players’ capacity to freely own and trade their digital assets. This innovation also ensures true scarcity and transparency, with every card in Splinterlands possessing a verifiable supply and historical record. Players can challenge others in either ranked or practice battles. Ranked battles offer the opportunity to improve one’s rating, with no penalties for beginners as players with ratings below 100 do not face ranking point deductions. These battles are contested between players of comparable strength. Upon pairing, both participants select a set of six monster cards and one summoner card, aiming to defeat their opponent’s monster cards to secure victory. While the game is free to play, purchasing the summoner’s spellbook for $10 is necessary to fully unlock its features. This purchase provides players with access to their account keys and the ability to earn Dark Energy Crystals, which can be exchanged for real currency. Splinterlands was established in May 2018 and introduced its governance token, Splintershards (SPS), for the SPS decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) at the end of July 2021. This launch followed a $3.6 million private token sale, representing 6.6% of the SPS token supply. After attracting 100,000 players in its initial three years, an additional 50,000 joined in just over a month from June 2021. Plans for expanding the game were slated for the latter half of 2021, with oracle integration anticipated in Q1 2022. For more information, please refer to Eulerpool.

Jesse Reich and Matthew Rosen, known as "aggroed" and "yabapmatt" respectively on the Splinterlands Discord server, are the founders of Splintershards. Both hail from the Pennsylvania area. Reich, a former scientist and chemistry professor, had no professional gaming experience before Splinterlands. On the other hand, Rosen worked as a developer for gaming projects RockYou and Ryzing, although these were not based on blockchain technology. According to their LinkedIn page, the Splinterlands team comprises a total of 12 employees.

Splinterlands seeks to leverage the increasing demand for blockchain-based games that enable the ownership of unique digital assets. In late July 2021, the platform successfully concluded a private funding round, securing $3.6 million in exchange for merely 6.6% of its total token supply. Operating on the Hive blockchain, Splinterlands ensures that all in-game actions are documented on this distributed ledger. This setup allows anyone to participate in the game by creating a Hive blockchain address, thereby making the game permissionless. Additionally, it provides Splinterlands with a transparent and immutable record of all in-game activities, including battle outcomes, which guarantees both fairness and transparency. Players begin with a basic set of cards and have the option to purchase booster packs or specific cards from other participants. These cards can be enhanced and employed in competitive battles against others. During these ranked battles, participants vie for Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), the designated in-game currency of Splinterlands. Players can also acquire DEC by converting redundant cards in their collections. DEC can be utilized to purchase in-game items or trading cards from other players within the Splinterlands marketplace. Furthermore, DEC can be exchanged between players and on external exchanges. The utility of DEC is expected to grow as additional features are introduced into the game. The Splintershards (SPS) token functions as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) on the Binance Smart Chain platform. Serving as a governance token, the SPS token is being incorporated into the Splinterlands game, allowing players to have a voice in decision-making processes concerning the game and its broader ecosystem. Players may also propose their own modifications, such as altering the tournament schedule, adjusting battle configurations, or revising the DEC inflation pools.

The maximum total supply of Splintershards (SPS) tokens is set at 3 billion. According to their token distribution schedule, Splinterlands intends to airdrop 400 million tokens, or 13.33% of their total supply, over the course of a year to players who hold Splinterlands assets. This strategy aims to incentivize players to accumulate and retain Splinterlands assets for an extended period. Players can accumulate airdrop points for various assets, which will determine the amount of SPS they receive. In a private sale conducted in July 2021, 200 million SPS tokens, or 6.66%, were allocated for $3.6 million. Investors in this round include crypto-native funds such as Animoca Brands, Blockchain Founders Fund, Enjin, Polygon, Yield Guild Games, among others. These tokens are set to be unlocked over a period of 10 months. The distribution of the remaining token supply is as follows: 10% will be managed by the DAO, which was planned for Q1 2022; 9% is allocated to the team and will be unlocked over 65 months, with an initial 50 million unlocked immediately; 1% is reserved for advisors, to be unlocked over 24 months; and 60% is allocated for staking and oracle rewards, in addition to play-to-earn rewards for players, to be dispensed over a 65-month schedule.

Splinterlands’ SPS token is established on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) blockchain. The decision to utilize BSC over Ethereum was influenced by Ethereum's prohibitively high gas fees, which restrict user participation. BSC offers rapid transaction times and low transaction fees, alongside the capability to port smart contracts to Ethereum, making future migration feasible. The Binance Smart Chain employs a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism to ensure security. Each day, 21 validators are chosen to validate transactions and uphold blockchain security. To qualify, these validators must stake a specified amount of BNB coins with Binance. SPS token holders can stake their tokens in smart contracts to engage in governance voting. Though the SPS token operates on BSC, the game itself runs on the Hive blockchain. Oracles, who are users or entities elected by SPS holders, are responsible for managing interactions between the two blockchains. Their role involves relaying essential game-related information to the Binance Smart Chain. This approach optimizes the gaming experience by minimizing transaction fees. Actions related to the game are processed on Hive, while conversions to SPS tokens are managed through oracles.

Following its private round in July 2021, Splinterlands is set to initiate its airdrop and liquidity incentives in the third quarter of 2021.

As of August 2021, Splinterlands is trading at approximately $0.40. Achieving a price of $1 would represent a little more than doubling its current value. The platform recently garnered $3.6 million through a private sale, indicating significant interest and backing from investors. With the introduction of new features and a substantial increase in its user base, Splinterlands is gaining attention. Additionally, given that other notable NFT games have achieved more than a tenfold increase in their initial trading value, reaching $1 may not be an unrealistic expectation.

As of August 2021, Splintershards (SPS) is available for purchase on Pancakeswap (V2), Gate.io, BKEX, and Bilaxy. For more information on how to begin purchasing cryptocurrencies, please refer to our guide available here.