Steem Monsters (also @steemmonsters on the STEEM blockchain, developed by @aggroed and @yabapmatt) is one of an emerging pack (haha...) of decentralised games that build upon the idea of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which were first made popular with smash hit, CryptoKitties. It is one of the longer running games on STEEM, and that longeivity has much to do with the gameplay, developer support and the slow and considered decisions that affect the game economy.

Steem Monsters is currently one of the featured dApps on State of the Dapps (who can also be found on Steem as @stateofthedapps). Currently standing at #10 on the listing of dApp rankings across multiple blockchains (Profile here, Steem Monsters boasts an incredibly high daily unique user count, and solid transaction and token volume. This is a dApp that is to be considered "in use" and functioning reliably on a daily basis, which is the holy grail of dApps.

Most of the gaming dApps at the moment are variations on the free-to-play model... with a few of them taking the worst and most annoying parts of the genre (timers, pay wall barriers and idle gaming just to name a few). I hate playing these sorts of games when the game is centralised, and it is even worse when it is badly implemented on blockchains, with the transaction times generally making the whole experience intolerable. Luckily, Steem Monsters does not fall down this money-grubbing rabbit hole and also wisely uses it's interaction with the STEEM blockchain such that the transaction times are not a constant bother (STEEM is fast, but seconds is seconds... especially for a seasoned hard-core gamer!)

This review is meant as an high-level overview... like most games, it is easiest to learn the nuances and details whilst playing and not via reading a guide/review!

WHAT IS STEEM-MONSTERS?

Well... how do you describe this game... it is a card collecting game with a tactical battle aspect. So, think along the lines of football cards or Pokemon cards for the collection part of the game, and then like Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone for the battling part! So, the best of both worlds all melded into one game...

With the collecting part of the game, every card is unique and linked to your STEEM account by a token identifier (all transparently visible on the STEEM blockchain). You can get more of these cards via purchase of card packs, swaps (or gifts), marketplace purchases or as rewards for daily play (or end of season rankings). You can also combine and level the cards, something that adds a RPG-lite experience to the gameplay... also something that can be done easily, but perhaps not so easily with physical cards!

On the battling front, you are matched against another player in your league and you both field a team of cards, which then battle each other to determine a winner. The player input is limited to the team selection with the results being determined by this initial condition (plus a touch of randomness for the hits/misses/skill activations). This is wise choice, as a blockchain based game is not going to be fun with real-time interaction due to the lag with transaction times.

Another clever decision by the developers was the integration of fiat options for purchasing starter packs and bonus packs. Much as we would love the entire world to be already using cryptocurrencies (and STEEM in particular), the truth is that it is not the case... and excluding fiat (and the larger cryptos) would be an unnecessary hurdle for incoming players.

COLLECTING

The Cards

The cards themselves are really quite a work of art to look at... something that some other games on blockchain have forgotten about. Visuals and audio are important aspects of a game, right after gameplay... these qualities will affect the player's enjoyment and attachment to the avatars that these cards represent. Thankfully, Steem Monsters has a large pool community members with diverse artistic talents already built into the STEEM blockchain, and so these cards are beautifully drawn with lovingly recorded audio and well crafted lore.... and there are LOTS of cards!

Each card belongs to one of seven "Splinters" (Fire, Water, Earth, Life, Death, Dragon or Neutral) which affect the team compositions and the eligibility for the game round. Each splinter also has a particular tactical focus, again Steem Monsters has done a great job of designing and balancing asymmetric Splinters.

Each card also comes in a much rarer (and powerful) gold foil edition as well, with the corresponding higher market price and lower drop rate! However, the balancing is done well, in that they aren't really that much more powerful than the regular cards, just that they start higher up in levels (and require less cards to level up...).

The summoners (the backbone of your teams) are also well crafted, existing also in the two editions, regular and gold. Again, the summoners come in the different Splinter flavours as the regular monsters: Fire, Water, Earth, Life, Death, Dragon or Neutral

Mine!

Keep in mind that the cards are uniquely attached to your STEEM account in the same way that all non-fungible tokens work on the blockchain. So, you are able to sell, gift, swap or lease cards in the same way as if you had a physical card. However, digital ownership means that you can also combine two cards to "level-up" in a way that would otherwise be impossible with physical cards (please, don't try...)!

Any excess cards that you earn (or don't want) via gameplay can be sold direct on the marketplace for STEEM/SBD (or the recently integrated TRX). Likewise, you can buy cards on the same marketplace using those currencies... either to bolster your team (or level up cards) or to hold in hope for a higher price.

Each card has a Mana rating (cost to play), Damage rating and type, Speed (attack order), Armour and Health... plus any special abilities.

Leveling up the cards is one of the most important mechanics of the card collection game. As you level them up, the cards gain extra stats and perks, making them more powerful and thus more valuable. All the cards have level caps to prevent the game getting too out of balance, and level caps are also in play in the season rankings (unlocking as you get higher in the rankings) and tournaments to preserve player and gameplay balance (avoiding the pay to win problem inherent in most of these types of games).

GAMING

Now we come to the "meat" of the game. The tactical battles that determine the season and tournament rankings and thus the distribution of the rewards! For a more detailed read on the mechanics of the battling system please refer to the FAQ

Firing up the "ranked match" will match you with another player who is also looking for a match at the same time. Balancing is done via the league rankings, ensuring that players aren't consistently over- or under-powered in comparison. Each due also brings with it a mana limit (which limits the total mana rating that can be played) plus any match specific rules. It will do you well, to read and understand how the match rules as it will directly affect the choice and efficiency of summoner/splinter and the types of cards that you will be playing.

This is the team selection phase (where you have 2 minutes to submit a team, or you will forfeit the duel). First thing is to select a Summoner, which will also define which Splinter and associated cards that you will have in play. You can field a team that is up to the maximum mana rating, with a maximum team limit of 6 cards. I'm not really sure why there needs to be a max card limit, perhaps it is a programming thing, or more likely it is a way of balancing the decks to prevent Zerg swarming (nerdy reference there!).

When both players have submitted a team, you are brought to the duel screen... where you watch the animated duel play out. Some notable quality of life features here are speed controls and the sound mute buttons.... often you are playing Steem Monsters on the go on a mobile, and so it is nice not to have to mess around with podcast volumes and stuff like that (although, it does stop my podcast... which is a little annoying, but it just means I need to restart it... besides, I'm not sure that is the fault of Steem Monsters, probably Chrome/Brave and Pocket Casts).

The winner takes away a certain amount of points from the ranking of the loser... depending on the relative standings at the start of the battle. This sort of point reallocation is great from the balancing point of view, much better than a linear ranking system.

Seasons/Leagues

Points earned from the duels go towards your ranking (which are reset at the end of each season). Your league also determines match-making, to try and ensure that players of similar quality decks and skill are matched together, instead of having woefully mis-matched games (which would be no fun at all!).

Running at roughly 2 weeks per season, your final ranking will determine the type and quantity of the cards that you are allowed to reveal (plus affecting your starting ranking in the next season, to help preserve balance across seasons).

Tournaments

Tournaments are also part of the game format... you can think of them as short hours long seasons. I've been tempted to try my hand at one, but they are currently limited by the fact that you need to have the players being matched up in real time... and I rarely am available for the whole tournament times.

MY THOUGHTS

Balance, balance, balance... for a game like this... so much thought needs to be put into balance. There is the economy to balance, there is the gameplay (different types of splinters) to balance... and then there is match-making to balance. Any one of these factors can ruin a game that is based upon competition. Sure, there is no debate that if you buy out a maxed out deck (or a stronger deck) you will rank higher in the seasons. However, the balancing is done in a way that you won't be using your deck to stomp on noobs all day long, but instead will be battling against peers.

There have been so many things that the Steem Monsters team have done right... and it shows, that the player base sticks around... and that the game has lasted, even when new shiny games have appeared. I have played quite a number of blockchain games across multiple blockchains... and I am happy to say that this is THE current example of a well crafted and supported dApp game. It is enjoyable to play, and harnesses the positives blockchain (NFTs and allocation of gaming rewards) whilst avoiding the negative sides (transaction times) as much as possible. There is just the right amount of strategy, with enough spanners being thrown into your tactics with the ever changing battle conditions.

This game would hold it's own as a regular collectable card game... as a dApp game, it is a shining example of how to do things RIGHT!