CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based game where players can collect, trade, and breed digital cats. It reminds me of Tamagotchi and Pokémon, which were very popular digital pets and creatures in the 1990s. CryptoKitties was the first game built on Ethereum, and its popularity brought to light many of the scaling problems with the network.

This digital blockchain game about breeding cats caused a lot of traffic on the Ethereum blockchain, which peaked in 2020. But the people who made the game were able to fix these problems.

What is CryptoKitties?

Dapper Labs, which uses blockchain technology to give fans around the world nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and new ways to interact with digital content, made CryptoKitties, which came out in 2017. CryptoKitties is also thought to be one of the first blockchain games ever made.

Each of the digital collectible cats in the game has its own genome, which determines how it looks. Cats can be bred to make new virtual kittens and unlock rare “cattributes,” or in-game cat features.

Is CryptoKitties a game of NFT? Yes, CryptoKitties are rare and valuable because they are one-of-a-kind assets backed by NFTs. They were made on Ethereum using the ERC-721 standard for tokens, which made it possible to make unique NFTs.

CryptoKitties can be bought, sold, and traded, and rare cats can sell for a lot of money. The Genesis cat is the rarest CryptoKitty of all time. It’s called “Genesis” because it was the first CryptoKitty ever hatched by the people who made the game. Genesis was sold for 246.926 Ether (ETH), which was about $119,328 in 2017 when it was sold. Since then, both ether and the genesis cat have grown in value.

How does CryptoKitties work?

Blockchain technology is still at the heart of this game, but the Genetic Algorithm is what makes CryptoKitties so fun to play (GA). The GA wants to imitate real genetics by making the code for each kitten’s smart contract look like the DNA of a real living thing.

Each cat has its own digital genetic pattern, which determines not only what kind of physical traits it has but also what kind of babies it will have. This genome is saved in a “smart contract,” which is a set of lines of code that automatically run when certain conditions are met.

You can breed any two CryptoKitties together to make kittens with their own unique traits. The new cat’s phenotype is also set by the immutable genotype that is stored in the smart contract. The GA takes the code from both CryptoKitties and mixes it together to make a new kitten. The amount of code from each parent changes every time they mate. This makes it possible for each litter of kittens to be different.

The main idea behind the game is that players have to breed and sell their cats, which lets them earn ETH, especially for rarer cats. Generation and Cooldown are two important parts of the game. During the selection process, you need to know both to know which cats to buy and breed.

First, Generation tells how many generations a cat is from its original parent. During the first year of CryptoKitties, a new Generation 0 kitten came out every 15 minutes. These cats haven’t had any babies yet, so if two Generation 0 cats mate, they will have babies from Generation 1.

Each child’s Generation is always one number higher than that of the parent who gave birth to it. For example, the offspring of a Generation 3 and a Generation 9 will be Generation 10. This information is written as “Gen” under the picture of each cat.

Cooldown is a measure of how fast a cat breeds, so a cat with a lower cooldown will breed more quickly. Kittens from generations after the first will also have high rates of when they cool down. CryptoKitties’ prices are based on how popular they are on the market, which is affected by both Generation and Cooldown.

Can CryptoKitties be played on a phone?

People who want to play CryptoKitties on their phones can only do so with an HTC phone, which is the only one that has the US version of the mobile app.

Technically, though, players who want to know how to play CryptoKitties on Android or iOS devices can just use a mobile browser to get to the mobile version of the website. But at the moment, serious players who want a dedicated app can only get one on an HTC phone.

CryptoKitties: How to Get Started

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up a CryptoKitties account to get started:

1. Create a MetaMask wallet

Before playing, players must either already have a MetaMask wallet or make one. Users will be able to buy, sell, and breed CryptoKitties using MetaMask. Once a wallet has been made, new users can go to the CryptoKitties homepage. When they click “Start” in the upper right corner of the screen, they will be asked to link their MetaMask wallet.

2. Purchase Ether (ETH)

Ether, which can be bought on cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, can be used to buy CryptoKitties. Then, players can move their Ether to MetaMask to make sure they have enough money to buy their CryptoKitties.

3. Create a CryptoKitties account

After a user connects their MetaMask wallet to CryptoKitties, they will be asked for their email address so they can get important news and a game name. Players can go through a basic tutorial called “Kitten Class” to learn how to breed CryptoKitties.

How to play CryptoKitties and make money from it

After setting up their CryptoKitties account, players can start playing the game. Here’s a step-by-step guide to making money with CryptoKitties:

1. Buy CryptoKitties

Players can now look at CryptoKitties for sale on the website or on secondary NFT markets like OpenSea. Offers can also be made to other players, so even cats that aren’t for sale can be bid on. The owner can decide whether or not to take the offer. Every offer is only good for three days.

Players can start out by buying just one kitty, or they can buy a pair right away. If a player only buys one CryptoKitty, they can use a Sire from another player to start breeding it. If they buy two CryptoKitties right away, they can breed them for a lot less money.

What do CryptoKitties cost? Kitties can be bought for as little as 0.001 ETH or as much as 600 ETH, or even more. The price a cat will get on the market will depend on things like how rare it is and how much people want its traits.

2. Breed CryptoKitties

As was said, a player can breed two of their own cats together or use a public Sire to breed them. It is best to breed cats from the same generation to get another cat with a low Generation.

To breed two of your own Kitties, all you have to do is click on the one you want to be the “Sire,” or father. Then you click “Breed” and choose “Sire with my Kitties.” Next, you can choose the “Dame,” or mother cat, to make a breeding pair. To move on, click “OK, give them some space” to let the cats have some peace while they breed.

To breed a Kitty with a public Sire, a player must choose a Sire from the marketplace and click “Breed Now.” Then, they can choose a Dame from their own litter to make a breeding pair, and they can choose to let the Kitties breed in private. As was already said, both options cost a small amount of ETH, which goes to smart contracts and bots that are run by the community.

3. Sell or Sire CryptoKitties

Once a player has made new breeds of CryptoKitties, they can sell them or give them to other players to breed. The “Sell” and “Breed” buttons on each kitten in a litter will lead to auction pages.

When a player clicks “Breed,” their Kitty will be put up for Siring on the Siring market. “Sell” also starts an auction, which puts the cat up for sale on the market. The player can choose the starting price, the price at the end, and how long the auction will last.