Wow, what a fantastic game.  

I was hoping to write an article sooner, but I found out that playing is very addictive (and time consuming).  So at the end of my first week playing it seemed like a great time to take a break and pass on any knowledge to other budding "splinterland warriors".

I will assume at this stage that you have purchased a Spellbook and are curious as to what to do next.

1) Buy a pack of cards

But not before you have played at least 20-30 games (or more) with the default pack.

You should get to know what all the different "splinters" do, how the cards work, start to form your own strategy, and your own playing style.

By waiting for at least 20-30 games, you will hopefully have completed some quests.  You may have obtained a free card or two from the quest chest.  Or you may get potions - which are actually just as useful.

Potions are a way of making a pack of cards have a higher percentage of giving you some higher quality cards.  They are automatically applied when you open a pack of cards.

I was very lucky.  In my first pack of cards I got a Legendary Fire Splinter Summoner (Yodin Zaku).

This beauty was worth between $0.30 and $0.39 (bid vs list price).  So I listed it at $38 thinking I would sell it and buy a load of more packs.  It didn't sell, and after 2 days I was curious as to how the card would perform.  Wow - what a good move.  This was a great card.  +1 health for all cards.  An extra blast attack for all cards. +1 range power for all range cards.  I was winning a lot more battles now, and recieving between 1 and 2 DEC per win.

The extra DEC gave me a chance to browse the marketplace for more cards, and to purchase a few. 

2) Understand what all the stats mean

Mana = Top Left (Blue Circle - with 4 in it in this example).  This is the mana cost for the card in battle.  Each battle only has a certain amount of mana that you can use.

Attack = Middle Left (Spikey Circle - with 2 in it in this example).  The number relates to the amount of damage the card can do per attack

A spikey circle is "melee" attack.  Normally only the card in first position can use melee, but you can use others with "reach" or "sneak" abilities.  Shields are hit first, and then health.

A bullseye target circle is "ranged" attack.  If the card is in first position, the card cannot use it's ranged abilities.  Shields are hit first, and then health.

A purple cloud is "magic" attack.  This can be used in all positions.  Only health is hit - it bypasses any shield protection.

Speed = Bottom Left (Blue Cirlce - with 1 in it in this example).  This is how the order of battle commences.  A higher speed means that the card will attack before a lower speed  in each round.

Shield = Middle Right (Shield symbol - with 1 in it in this example).  If you are hit for 2 damage with a melee or ranged attack, then 2 comes off your shield total.  If you only have 1 shield and are hit for 2, then the shields dissapear (note that the extra "1" is not taken off health at this stage)

Health = Bottom Right (Heart symbol - with 4 in it in this example).  If you are hit for 2 damage, then 2 comes off your health total.  When you get to zero, your card is dead.  Note : the card is only dead for this battle, it does not dissappear completely from your inventory and is safe to use for other battles!

Special Abilities = Under the card name (bottom of card).  In this example the card has no special abilities as there is nothing under "Biceratops".  There are lots of different special abilities - you will have to just play and find out which ones you like.  Hover your mouse (if using a PC) over the special ability and it will tell you how it works.

3) Work out your strategy

Do you have a splinter that you prefer to use?  Maybe you have opened or won some decent cards and want to use that splinter?  Which order should you place your cards in?

They all have pro's and con's in normal battle.  I would suggest picking a strategy that suits your style of play best.  After all, it is at heart a game, and games should be enjoyed!

With my Legendary Fire Splinter Summoner, if in normal battle the mana total was under 23 I would use my Cerberus card (as it will heal itself), but if the mana was over 23 I would use the Living Lava card as it can take more damage but can also give more damage (and for higher mana games I found that Cerberus was often wounded too much in the first round).

I thought I was onto a great strategy... but then...

The battle rules change

Yes, when you reach a certain stage the battle rules change.  I guess it makes it fair, but it also makes it a lot more interesting and strategic.  Sometimes you can only select odd mana cards (or even mana cards) ; sometimes there is an earthquake that affects all monster apart from flying ones ; sometimes sneak and snipe are not allowed ; sometimes...  (you get the idea).

This made me try out a variety of other splinters - and I really like some of them too. 

4) Trading

The easiest interface to use is : https://peakmonsters.com/

I could write a long article about it, but the best thing to do is explore it yourself.

I still haven't worked out how to accept someone's "bid" on a card yet - so if anyone can tell me that would be great.

5) Download the Mobile App

You can tell you are addicted when you download the mobile app, and play using mobile, PC, and check peakmonsters all the time for card stats.  Or is that just me?!? lol.

Seriously - you can play on the move, in your lunch break, whilst making the dinner, and even (dare i say it) on the loo!

It all helps the DEC add up, and your quest tally. 

You can have a new quest every 24 hours.  So a new potion, card, or DEC reward every 24 hours if you are lucky.

6) Can you earn money? (Normally the question people ask before buying the spellbook)

It may take you some time to "earn" back the cost of your spellbook.  I could have done this after opening my first pack and selling my legendary card but then I wouldn't have as many good cards to earn future rewards.

It's all about what you want out of the game.

• You could invest in some cards, play with them, and earn some DEC
• You could play the game slowly without investing in any cards, earning little bits of DEC, and cashing it out into Hive (and ultimately USD/GBD)
• You could just hodl some of the rare cards with a view to selling them when the prices rise

The choice is yours - just remember to enjoy yourself too!

Do you want to join splinterlands?  If so please feel free to use my affiliate link : https://splinterlands.com?ref=sbenbow-splinter

Or if you already play splinterlands and have "too many" cards, you are more than welcome to transfer some to my account: sbenbow-splinter

Note : All of my articles are my own work and relate to my own personal experience.  Investing is always at your own risk.