One of the first Wax blockchain games was Kolobok, a game that let you breed tiny pixel creatures called Koloboks with each other to create children. You could then send those Koloboks (themselves NFTs) on adventures to win prizes in the form of NFTs.
Early on, the Kolobok and prize NFTs could both be sold on the Simple Market for a modest but worthwhile amount of Wax. This was helped by the fact that the prize NFTs could be staked in the R-Planet game to earn aether. However, over time the sheer number of Kolobok prize NFTs caused R-Planet to nerf their staking value, which in turn hurt the value of the NFTs. Eventually, the RAM and time costs of the game lead many to quit playing.
Since the early days, the game has been tweaked quite a bit. Instead of breeding being successful 100% of the time, it’s only successful 40% of the time unless you purchase Breeding Enhancers using Kbucks to increase the chance of a successful breeding. More often than not, new Koloboks are born dead, so players went from having too many Koloboks to having to buy some off the Simple Market. Another feature that was added is that Koloboks now have a cool off period of hours or days before they can breed again or go on another adventure.
Adventures have always been the way to earn prize NFTs, but a new adventure has been added for those Koloboks who survived the first five. The Unicorn adventure only has a 2% success rate, but it pays out a Legendary Narwhal Tusk NFT prize, which besides being rare, can be staked in the Coin Pirates game.
So all that brings us to the question, at this current point in time, is playing Kolobok worth the trouble and RAM? I think it is, yes, for a variety of reasons. First, the game is kind of fun. Breeding different colors of Koloboks together to make new Koloboks is something unique to this game on the Wax blockchain. I’m really surprised no other games have tried to steal this formula. It’s gratifying to combine two creatures and be rewarded with a new baby Kolobok in NFT form that you can name whatever you like. Other games are more stingy with their NFT prizes or make you purchase expensive NFTs to get started, but Kolobok provides almost instant gratification to new players, so it’s a great game to start out on.
Second, while you don’t get much aether for Kolobok prizes these days, they are still stakable in R-Planet, and if you have a lot of them, they can add up over time. I earn around 1400/aeth an hour from my staked prizes. In addition, pirate-themed Kolobok prizes can be staked in Coin Pirates. I earn around 18.5 CPR/day from my staked prizes in that game.
You won’t get rich playing this game (or probably any blockchain game, honestly), but you will make a small profit if you do it right. Besides earning NFTs, you earn an in-game currency, a Wax token called Kbucks, for completing bounties or sending your Koloboks on adventures they’ve already successfully completed once. These tokens can be traded on Alcor Exchange.
In addition to the profit, the game provides a good lesson in how blockchain games work and how to use the Simple Market, which is a competitor to the Atomic Market. It was the first blockchain game I ever played, and it got me more interested in blockchain gaming, Wax crypto, and NFTs in general.
Finally, this game is worth playing because it’s still being developed. The team is introducing Anvils soon, which will be used to combine prizes to power them up and set up arenas for Brawls. Brawls will be a new game in Kolobok, where your Koloboks can complete in arenas for prizes. I see a lot of potential for this game in the future, and I think those calling it a dead game just because the NFTs have lost value in the current market are being short-sighted. The market may be flooded with prize NFTs now, but what happens when players start combining them?
Oh, and if the game developers happen to read this, I have one suggestion for the game. I would like to see Kolobok partner with NFT creators to randomly drop partner NFTs as prizes for completing adventures. Or maybe add a new adventure specifically to let players earn partner NFTs. As a NFT creator myself, I know I’d jump at the chance to give away my NFTs in this game.
Anyway, getting back on subject, if you’ve never played Kolobok, head to the Simple Market and spend a few cents worth of Wax on some Kolobok NFTs. Make sure they’re alive (the dead once have negative health and an X through them). Then try your hand at breeding them and sending them on a few adventures. You’ll learn a little something and have some fun along the way.
Website: https://wax.kolobok.io/
Player’s Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_LfVQGqrESKB8qNrxglX6VBB3zFIwJJrLd4n8qQrLJc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kolobok_io
Telegram: https://t.me/ilovekolobok
