Hey everyone, today I will cover a different topic, it is still Splinterlands related but not as hardcore as the usual posts, with the new free to play mode in Splinterlands going live a couple of weeks ago, the game already received a nice inflow of new players.

Splinterlands has always been a great game, but not a cheap game, to say the least. This all changes with the ability to play for free and test out if the game is something for you.

I'm not new to the game, in fact I'm playing for over four years at this point so maybe I'm a little biased but I will still try to make an honest opinion, testing out this new game mode.

Why haven't I tested it out before? I just didn't had the time before and my 'paid' account is more important, with my battle energy being used for the next two days I had time to test out this new mode.

I'm primarily making this post to share outside of the Hive Blockchain, where everyone knows about Splinterlands, to maybe attract some more players because it's just one of the best web3 games out there, and why risking your funds in new games when 95% will die in the next five years while Splinterlands already proven it's here to stay after seven years being active, alive and thriving.

Game mechanics

When you're totally new to the game, it's a good start to first go trough the Campaign mode first which will explain the basics step by step, I wish this was here when I started playing!

You can find the Campaign under the 'play' tab.

In the Campaign you will receive cards you can use to play the Frontier mode against actual human beings, so let's test my skill! The cards are still new to me but there aren't a lot of them, which makes the game strategy not as 'deep' as the normal game but this is perfect for new players.

To learn more about the Campaign Mode, I made a dedicated article for it before you can check out.

When you think a Trading Card Game is nothing for you, it can't hurt to try because when I started I had never played a TCG before... and yet, four years later I'm still here, playing daily and only skipping once a year in the summer holiday!

Reward System

So, when you win five battles, you can claim a card and one entry to the lottery, which contains some really nice cards, the cheapest common Black Foil you can win is $13 so that's pretty nice for playing a game.

Every day, you can earn up to three claims when you're able to win 15 times but because you spend one energy per battle and it regenerates every one for every hour, your win rate will have to be pretty high to do this daily.

The Battles

Frontier mode uses the same mechanics as the full game, but with less cards and abilities to ease players in to the game but let them still experience what it is to play, using strategy to your advantage, grind and earn rewards and expand your deck so you can win more, earn more and on and on. 🙂

Claiming Rewards

I continued until I had my 15 wins, and I have to admit, I got my ass kicked quite a lot even as an experienced player! The first rewards were pretty basic and I can't use them until I level up the Frontier Archons, but then I pulled a common Gold Foil card

Gold Foils are higher level to start with and boost earnings by 10% for every Gold Foiled card used in the full game, when I checked the price, the current value is 10 cents so that's not bad!

Because I won't play this mode a lot with access to the full game, I can't use this card at the higher level because my Archons are only level 1, so I've put it up for sale.

At some point I thought I got the hang of it, to later meeting players with level 2 decks that kicked my ass back down 😅

Weekly Draw

The weekly Draw is basically a lottery you can earn entries for by playing, today I've earned three entries, but with a total of just under 50.000 entries my chances in winning something are pretty slim, but when you're a decicated player grinding your daily 2 or 3 entries, who knows what can happen!?

Conclusion

Frontier mode might not replace the full Splinterlands experience for veteran players like me, but it’s a brilliant gateway into the game. It strips things down to the essentials, making it easier for newcomers to learn the ropes while still offering real rewards and a taste of the strategy that makes Splinterlands so fun. Whether you’re curious about the game or just want a risk-free way to see what all the hype is about, this mode is worth checking out. Who knows, you might win some cool cards along the way and discover a new daily hobby just like I did years ago.