Welcome to the next generation of fantasy sports on web3. Are you ready for free-to-enter, play-to-earn fantasy sports on NEAR Protocol, anon?
Below we’ll cover what Playible is, how it works, who is behind the project, and answer some frequently asked questions.
And for those who don’t like reading, here’s the TL;DR (too long, didn’t read for the normies).
TL;DR
Who? The main team consists of Michael Vehtic (CEO), Jason Bales (CSO), Matthew Seaver (CTO), Marc (Product Design), and Justin Bales (Marketing).
What? Playible is an NFT fantasy sports platform focused on bridging the gap between web3 technologies and traditional gaming markets to offer free-to-enter fantasy sports contests with real cryptocurrency prizes.
When? Now.
Where? Playible re-launched on NEAR Protocol.
Why? Playible’s main goal is to revolutionize the world of fantasy sports with cutting-edge web3 technologies. NFT and blockchain technologies open up unique possibilities fantasy sports players have never experienced – own and manage the athletes of your choice like never before. Dynasty meets daily fantasy sports with a 24/7 secondary marketplace.
What Is Playible?
Playible is an NFT fantasy sports platform focused on bridging the gap between web3 technologies and traditional gaming markets to offer free-to-enter fantasy sports contests with real cryptocurrency prizes.
Our blockchain-based platform originally launched on Terra before the crash, and thankfully, we were able to save most of our funds. Since then, we’ve migrated to NEAR Protocol, and out of the ashes the phoenix (that’s us) rises. We’ve decided to eliminate a potential point of failure with stablecoin yield generating our prize pools – it’s safer for us and you this way.
Playible has committed 100 percent of this year’s NFT pack sales to the prize pool. Moving forward, that number will drop to 80 percent in order to pay for operational costs and marketing.
Contests use a dynamic prize pool model that increases as more people enter. The larger the participant pool, the larger the prize pool.
Okay, I’m In. How Do I Join?
Great! The first official Playible pack drop on NEAR Protocol was in August 2022. You can mint at our official website here.
How Does Playible Work?
Playible utilizes NFT and blockchain technologies to enhance the traditional fantasy sports experience.
Below is a step-by-step guide on what to expect from our innovative platform, including how pack drops work, how to build a team, how to enter contests, and how to collect rewards:
Pack Drops
New Athlete NFTs will be introduced into the Playible gaming ecosystem through pack drops. There are two main kinds of packs: Starter packs and Booster packs.
Starter packs contain enough Athlete NFTs to field one entire team. For our NFL product, each Starter pack contains: 1 quarterback, 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 1 tight end, 1 flex position (running back, wide receiver, or tight end), and 1 superflex position (any position).
Booster packs contain a smaller number of Athlete NFTs. They are used to bolster current teams, but will not contain enough Athlete NFTs to field a complete team. Users who buy only Booster packs will have to purchase multiple packs or get additional Athlete NFTs off of the secondary marketplace to have enough to enter contests.
Packs can be held unopened. There is no deadline for opening packs.
If you minted packs on Terra, you’re eligible to redeem those packs (even after they’ve been opened) for new packs on NEAR Protocol. More information is available here.
Building a Team
Once you’ve opened your Starter or Booster packs, each Athlete NFT you own will be viewable in the Squad page of Playible’s platform.
Aside from purchasing packs, users can build teams by trading Athlete NFTs with other users or purchasing Athlete NFTs directly from the secondary marketplace.
Athlete NFTs will integrate with multiple NEAR NFT marketplaces. Buy and sell directly on Playible, Paras, and more.
Entering Contests
Entering contests on Playible is simple. On the Home page, find a featured contest or head over to the Play page to see a complete list of available contests. Once you’ve selected a contest you want to enter based on the available prize pool and registration deadline, click the contest.
You’ll see details about the contest. Click “Enter Game.”
Now it’s time to create your team. You can rename the team by clicking “Edit Team Name.” To add Athlete NFTs, click the empty NFT of the position you want to fill. For example, click “Quarterback.”
Once you’ve selected a position spot to fill, all the Athlete NFTs you have available will populate. Choose one, and click “Proceed.”
Repeat this process for each position. That’s it! Your team is ready to enter the contest.
Claiming Rewards
Claiming rewards after a big win is as simple as going to the Play page, clicking “Completed” at the top of the screen, finding the contest you entered, and clicking “Claim Rewards.”
That’s it. Enjoy your $USDC, you earned it! (Coming Soon)
Meet the Team
The Playible team is composed of its core team members and strategic investors and partners. Below is a brief description of each party involved with the project:
Core Team Members
Michael Vehtic (CEO): Michael Vehtic is our Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He has over six years of experience working in sports marketing and business development and has worked for Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) and the Rugby League World Cup.
Jason Bales (CSO): Jason Bales is our Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). He has over eight years of experience working in the fantasy sports and sports betting industries. He has worked for Fake Sports, RotoBaller, PlayUSA, DFS Karma, and FantasyGuru. He has also worked for Lucky Trader in the decentralized finance and NFT technology spaces, as well as for Lady Freethinker, a multimillion-dollar NGO, as the organization’s campaign director.
Matthew Seaver (CTO): Matthew Seaver is our Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He has over five years of experience working with React and Django frameworks and building custom-made web and mobile applications. He runs a team of over 30 developers in the Philippines under Anteriore, his software solutions business.
Justin Bales (CMO): Justin Bales is our Chief Marketing Officer. He has over seven years of experience in the fantasy sports and sports betting industries and has worked for RotoBaller, DFS Karma, Pro Football Network, and Sports Illustrated.
Investors
Hartmann Capital: Hartmann Capital is our lead investor. The crypto and digital asset management fund has been studying, building, investing in, and trading digital assets for years. Led by Felix Hartmann, Hartmann Capital focuses on investing into emerging technologies with asymmetric returns and impact.
Grizzly Capital: Grizzly Capital is a venture capital firm with years of experience between team members. The firm’s other investments include StarTerra, Kujira, Atlo, CloudName, Jigen, and others.
Interlinked Capital: Interlinked Capital is a proprietary trading fund, or prop fund for short, that began its journey into the crypto space in 2013. The team has several streams of risk-adjusted returns, including crypto mining, investing, automated trading strategies, yield farming, and DAOs.
Big Brain Holdings: Big Brain Holdings is a crypto-exclusive fund investing in pre-seed, seed, and early stage projects. The fund has made more than $15 million in investments across more than 50 projects, including Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche, Terra, Harmony, Polkadot, Tezos, Celo, Near, Algorand, Meta Blocks, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Playible:
Is it really free?
Yes, entering contests is completely free of charge (excluding a minor transaction costs that go to NEAR Protocol). Packs and NFTs on the secondary marketplace cost $USDC or $NEAR.
Is there a whitelist?
No, Playible is open for all to play!
How long can I use the same NFT in contests?
NFTs are forever. As long as the player on your team is actively in a sports league, the NFT can be used in our prize pool contests.
Can I use the same NFT in two contests at the same time?
No, NFTs are locked once they enter a contest and can only be used again once the contest ends and they are unlocked by the user.
What happens when a player retires?
We are currently working on a burn mechanism for retired players that will reward users in some way.
What sports can we play?
Playible plans on launching all four major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL). Once those sports are launched, the team will consider expanding into other sports like Cricket (Indian Premier League), MMA (UFC), Soccer (English Premier League), Rugby League (Australian National Rugby League), and plenty of others.
How do you plan on preventing whales from just buying the winning teams?
During the beta testing period (the first year after our official launch), we’ll gather data information and community feedback on gameplay. Once the beta testing period ends, we will launch new contest types, advanced gameplay mechanics (upgradable NFTs, anyone?), and more to ensure fair play amongst users.
Where does the prize money come from?
The prize money is generated from pack sales. During the first season, 100 percent of the money from pack sales will go directly to prize pools and back to our community. After the first season, we will move to an 80 percent share of the money going to the prize pool and 20 percent going to operational costs and marketing.