The 1st time I opened splinterlands In reality this was the first time in my life that I ever open splinterlands and to be honest… I did not even know what it is. I had heard about it, somewhere on the internet, and I was playing some game of cards with that one girl who isn't so very good and I cleaned her out goodly but than after hitting that Play Now button something overtook me. Cards, numbers, colours, rules... It was like a whole new world to me. I didn't know where to start. And I sat there and stared, a hand gliding across the mousepad, hopelessly lost.
I just pressed everything that was clickable. "Battle"? I clicked it. "Market"? I clicked that too. Nothing made sense. This sort of weird lingo like "summoner, mana cap, abilities or monsters. I had no idea what they were talking about. The truth is that I was a little intimidated. But I was, more or less, raring to go. Like I was some how finding out a secret that only a few people knew.
My first battle was … not great. I just keep throwing cards at things and clicking Fight. I never meant it, I only knew what beasts hit and which did not. Within minutes I was beating. The defeat screen came up, and I got that sweet little sting of failure - and intrigue. I wanted some sort of explanation why I had lost, but there was nobody who knew anything about me.
So, being the noob that I was at the time who knew none of this, What did I do- START playing. I lobe moving cards and reading the little descriptions and hovering over the numbers. Gradually, I began to outline certain trends. Some monsters were faster. Some had magic attacks. And others were weak enough, but had a whack. I never followed the entire argument, but it was enough to make me think that I was truly being educated.
Then I discovered summoners. I didn’t even know in the beginning what they were doing. I assumed they were mere fancy card covers. I did find however, that depending on which couple of summoners I pick would mean different or stronger effects on my monsters. That was my "aha" moment. The game, I was to learn, was not just about having good cards but how you deployed them with the best summoner in a given game. Somehow I found hope in that failure to realize the fact of little realization.
And then I discovered rulesets. I didn't hear at them first. I just chose the same cards over and over. But I got assigned to the one with No Magic. I’d walked straight into an entire trap. I was so mad and laughing at myself. After that, I've been reading the rules before every game. The game has had its graphics restyled to appear more jigsaw-like. [Read all of our classical coverage here.] Every fight was a mini-puzzle figuring out how to beat it.
Position was something else I took care of. At first I just riffled cards anyhow. Yet methought the monsters up about the front died out of hand, and leaped not nigh, and some further in back struck very well. And those little things started to matter — a lot. I was beginning to feel that I might at last be slowly learning how to speak the language of the game, although not very fluently.
Rewards were the best part. I felt like I was going to draw nothing and made a few fights and picked up some cards. I found myself ridiculously pleased to have a southpaw pop up with my first earned card. It also kept me coming back, even as a lousy player. It was an opening, on a small and actual scale.
By day’s end I was as dumb as a baby. I still lost a lot. I can even mess up, make a card placement mistake or forget a rule! But something had changed. I felt connected to the game. I wish I could go again tomorrow and try it all over. I also wish I got to see the monsters, or the summoners, or when any of that happens. ‘I would have been willing to do well, ahead of time.
Which is why I’m figuring it out right now. I’m learning the cards, I’m experimenting with teams to match my own and I am laughing that I'm a bit thick. But now I don't feel lost any longer. Maybe I am at the early, early stages of a movement and you know what? It’s not just thrilling, it’s clumsy and messy. And I also know that as long as I keep playing day in and day out, one day I'll b looking back one this day and laugh cause shit: "I used to be so green."
That’s how I started playing Splinterlands. It was just the first day whether it was staring blankly at scree or, ultimately, failing all over the road to learning. I do not know how far I will go but this much I know — I am in. I just want to keep trying, testing and playing every day. And quite frankly even that, that sense of starting with nothing and not really knowing anything and figuring it out gradually is just an amazing thing.
It is possible to not have to worry about winning and losing when you are new. It is simply to have fun experimenting, and having fun. Starts to make sense after a while and those small wins, every time your draw a new card for example, are so rewarding.
