Then there are the Cash Cards, which as the name suggests represent sums of money. Luckily, other Trade Cards allow you to defend yourself from “Hacked” and other attacks, giving the game a welcome balance between frustration and progress. As a result, even if games of Crypto Tycoon can sometimes be finished within 15 minutes, the existence of Trade Cards can mean that they last for half an hour or longer.

One particularly dreaded Trade Card is the “Hacked” card, which appropriately enough entitles a player to take a completed portfolio from a rival. You may have collected two bitcoin Crypto Cards (a complete portfolio) and three monero Crypto Cards (another complete portfolio), but before you can complete your third portfolio another player may use a Trade Card to deny your victory. Trade Cards are why games of Crypto Tycoon can often be a combination of excited anticipation and crushing disappointment. They’re what makes completing three cryptocurrency portfolios so difficult, because while it’s easy enough to get your hands on Crypto Cards, certain Trade Cards can be used to steal single cryptocurrency cards - or even completed portfolios - from other players. Trade Cards are where the bulk of the game’s action lies, since these operate in the vein of Community Chest or Chance cards, letting players perform various actions that can change the course of the game. It provides players with three types of cards: Crypto Cards, Cash Cards, and Trade Cards. The object of Crypto Tycoon is to complete a set (a “portfolio”) of three different cryptocurrencies. And while it will most likely attract crypto enthusiasts more than the uninitiated, we have played it with people who wouldn’t dream of buying some bitcoin, and we can safely say that they grasped the game after a single round. It rewards tactical play and creates the potential for numerous twists and turns as each game unfolds.

Developed by Houston-based startup Cypherpunk, it’s easy to pick up and play, but also full of the kind of strategic subtleties that make it difficult to master. While we’ve already seen card games that make use of blockchain technology, Crypto Tycoon claims to be the “world’s first” physical cryptocurrency card game. Still, Crypto Tycoon is hoping to become the game to bridge the divide between cryptocurrency die-hards and so-called “nocoiners.” Yes, we know the mere mention of cryptocurrency is usually enough to scare away most of us who haven’t dabbled in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Billing itself as a cross between Texas hold’em and Monopoly, it takes the volatile world of cryptocurrency as its theme. Fitbit Versa 3Ĭrypto Tycoon is a familiar card game in an unfamiliar package.

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