I'd been on Steemit for a while, took a break, and then returned to Hive where I occasionally write random posts these days. Back on Steem the game was called "Steem monsters", and now it's Splinterlands. I have to say I like the new name more. 

Out of all the blockchain games I've seen so far this one became the only one I actually started playing. I did pay the $10 for the basic pack of cards because my purpose was to engage in daily quests which can earn me new cards every day. While I'm not planning to make a living playing Splinterlands, it's nice to know that somewhere along the path I will be able to sell the newly acquired cards and make a little bit of extra cash that way. Is it actually possible? Yes, why not? I'd say if you are an extremely dedicated player and are willing to input some money in the beginning, eventually you can be selling enough cards and "dark crystals" to gain a substantial amount of "pocket money". If you live in a place where you can rent a room for $5 a night, you'll make even more. 

I like the concept of blockchain games. In these games our cards, characters, wins, and gains truly belong to us. Why waste your life playing regular games or even worse - games you have to pay for, if you can play something that belongs to you and can potentially bring you real life profit? 

I like the game so far. It's engaging, and the excitement of getting new cards and potions  is always there. In the beginning, when we are learning what the cards and their abilities do and how to combine them, it can be frustrating, but as we go along and participate in matches (I do the ranked ones since why waste time on practice?) it gets easier and easier to get the right combinations. I mostly lose due to the fact that some people of my level have these health-regenerating cards and simply stronger cards, but even playing against these more advanced cards there are successful strategies that can win. And if we lose, well... we don't actually lose any money or cards. What we lose is rank - it slowly goes down with every defeat, just as it goes up with every victory. 

While we can get new cards only at the end of every season (around 17 days) or for completing a daily quest, there is something else to gain. It's called "dark crystals" and you get them every time you win. The higher the rank, the more you get. Dark energy crystals can be used to buy new cards, or you can exchange them for crypto and make money like that. 

What else? It’s fun. I am not a gamer, I can’t really spend more than an hour engaging with any game (real life always wins) but everything in the blockchain is just different. It’s like while playing you are building your own house in the game, your own place of presence. 

Most of the “entertainment” out there, computer and mmo games included, take away our time, life, freedom. With some games you can make money by selling accounts or trading in game gear, but games are very complicated and it takes forever to develop to that level where you can actually make profit. 

Is Splinterlands any different? I am not sure how long it would take to make any gains with Splinterlands. I will watch my progress with minimum engagement (roughly 30 minutes a day) and see how it goes.