CryptoKitties

Gameplay Guide

Hello! If collecting virtual NFT cats sounds interesting, you are in the right place. In CryptoKitties, you can buy, sell, and breed NFT kitties with unique attributes in this simulation game.

The main menu welcomes you with an introduction video.

Starting Out

The game is on the Ethereum network. Firstly you need to go to the game’s website and create your CryptoKitties account. Then, connect your preferred wallet, you should have some ETH in your wallet in order to buy NFT kitties. The game will prompt you to buy your first kitty immediately.

After connecting your wallet, you can buy your first furry friend.

Types of Kitties

We can divide kitty types into four; Normal, Fancy, Special Edition, and Exclusive. Normal kitties’ appearances are determined by their attributes. Fancy cats feature unique art and a genetic recipe. Special Edition and Exclusive types are limited, and they are typically released for special events.

Each kitty has a set of forty-eight genes. Some of these genes are represented visually that define a kitty’s art, which can be filtered while searching for a specific kitty. All the blocks that represent the fur or the base color of a kitty have four genes attached to them. 

Breeding and Genes

A breeding process consists of a Dame (female) and a Sire (male) kitty. This costs a 0.008 ETH fee, but you can get a newer kitty that has the attributes of its parents. 

There are two ways to breed. You can either own two opposite-gender kitties or breed a Dame with a public Sire. You should be aiming to breed kitties from the same generation since the offspring will be one generation later than the highest one. Lower generation kitties are rarer and more expensive since they are older and harder to find. You will get a Gen 3 kitty if you breed a Gen 2 and a Gen 1, it is the same as breeding two Gen 2s.

You can rent your male kitties to breed through Siring auctions, which can be a nice source of income.

Each gene has an effect.

Genes are represented as P (primary), H1, H2, and H3. Primary genes are the ones that affect the appearance of a kitty. However, all four from each parent can pass onto an offspring.

Offsprings can also have mutations that result in having genes that are not present in their parents. For example, if both parents have the same pair of genes in all slots (purebreds) which means they have a chance of passing the primary gene with 37.5%+37.5% chances, the remaining 25% chance is the mutation chance. This goes down to a 14% chance if the genes in a block are different except the primary ones. Mutation chance can even be as low as 1.5% if all eight genes are different.

Higher-tier kitties feature unique appearances.

A kitty who has discovered a new gene through mutation is awarded a Diamond. The next nine kitties with the new gene are awarded Gilded, the following ninety are awarded Amethyst, and the latter four hundred are awarded Lapis. If the later offsprings also have the same gene and attributes as the jewel owners, they can claim the family jewels as well.

How to Earn from CryptoKitties

The main goal of the game is to collect kitties. You can do this by trading or breeding cats. Breeding occurs by pairing kitties together, creating rarer and newer cats that you can sell on the marketplace. Keeping track of the market is key to earning more. 

You can find a deal on a limited edition kitty and sell it for much more later.

When you head to the marketplace, you will see a large variety of kitties for sale. The unique set of attributes and a kitty’s appearance will generally determine the price. Since they are sold at an auction, you can always buy one for a bargain if you are lucky.

The marketplace features kitties from all price ranges.

You can offer an amount for every kitty you come across, even if it isn’t for sale, the owner can respond to you either by declining or accepting the offer. The offered amount will be locked and held for one day where a fee will be cut off that will go to the developers. Offers expire within three days, the fee won’t be taken if this occurs.

Generally, the cheapest kitties you can find for each attribute are 0.005 ETH. Filtering for more specific kitties tends to make the prices go up. You can spend upwards of 100.000 ETH if you’d like to, there are kitties for every price range.

Valuing Kitties

Since you are the sole owner of a specific NFT kitty, you should value your cat based on three things. Firstly, the rarity can be determined by the generation of a kitty and the ID number. Lower generations and ID numbers will be much more valuable. Secondly, if you sell your kitty, how will it be used potentially? It might have a rarer gene that is sought by buyers. Lastly, the appearance of a kitty can look cool and flashy, which will attract buyers.

Whether you are selling, siring, or breeding a kitty, it takes time because earning ETH is tied to demand from other players.

If you are either selling or siring, you need people to choose your kitty. In order to maximize and have a steady income, I suggest investing and buying as many kitties as possible. I bought two kitties of the opposite gender and tried breeding and then selling the female one while siring the male one. I haven’t actually succeeded in any of these attempts. I guess patient players will be rewarded eventually.

There you go, you should know all you need to start playing CryptoKitties if you have made it this far. Thank you for reading, enjoy!