A new Ethereum game is taking advantage of the success the wildly-popular CryptoKitties app had. The new game, called KittyRace, sees the digital cats race against each other for an Ethereum prize.
KittyRace essentially allows digital cat hodlers to enter their pets in a race against others’ pets, for an entry fee. As with CryptoKitties, specific traits help cats win races, combined with their entry timing and an element of chance. The winner receives everyone’s entry fees, minus a small portion used to pay for the transaction.
Notably the game was created by a firm called Endless Nameless, and is run by Charley Hine and Eugene Otto. Endless Nameless has nothing to do with Axiom Zen, the firm that brought CryptoKitties to life. Thanks to a lack of property rights on a decentralized blockchain-based game, KittyRace’s developers were able to give digital cat owners new ways to have fun.
To play the game, users need to head on over to KittyRace’s website, and have an Ethereum wallet like MetaMask installed. Although the game hasn’t helped anyone make fortunes – unlike CryptoKitties – it’s currently seeing an increasing number of players work on breeding potential race-winning cats.
On Reddit, some users claim the game has been “solved,” as digital cats with the right attributes just keep taking the prize, making the game a waste of money for those with not so desirable cats. Other users, on Telegram, asked the developers not to change the game’s formula.
If we take away the cat puns and cute graphics, the app resembles a decentralized, feline version of a casino game. The legalities of the game are murky at best, and as such the developers aren’t monetizing it. They are, however, bullish on what it represents.
According to Quartz, Hine stated:
“A betting game between strangers on the internet without a centralized party in the flow of funds wasn’t really possible before ethereum—it’s uncharted territory.”
Hine added that his firm will wait for clearer rules before they started trying to make money off of the game. This, as Quartz implied, may mean CryptoKitty owners don’t have to fear their cats’ value will dilute over time, as the cats are essentially blockchain-based tokens that can be used in other apps.
This, as developers like Hine can launch new games without dealing with any bureaucracy. In fact, a new game called KittyHats has been developed by a firm dubbed Salina Labs. It lets CryptoKitty owners adorn their digital pets with headgear, pieces of art, and shoes.
CryptoKitties itself, as covered by CCN, raised $12 million in a Series A funding round last month. The funding round was led by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures (USV), and included personal investments from major tech figures.