CRYPTO tokens are picking up steam as the metaverse expands, but which games and experiences are worth your time?
Decentraland, The Sandbox, and Gala Games are growing in popularity as their respective tokens flourish.
If you’re looking to earn MANA, SAND, or GALA you can read more about them in our metaverse crypto tokens and alt coins explainer.
But if you’re curious about how they stack up against one another as games, and what they need to get started, here’s what you need to know.
Gala Games vs The Sandbox vs Decentraland: Blockchain
All three tokens are backed by the Ethereum blockchain which decentralised, open-source platform with smart contract functionality.
Ethereum has its own native cryptocurrency called Ether, which is separate to these tokens.
Decentraland recently partnered up with Polygon to utilise its blockchain to solve issues around scalability, speed, and transaction costs.
Dubbed a layer 2 solution (L2) it allows tokens to operate on a blockchain that’s separate from, but still linked to, a mainchain, as explained in the blog announcement.
MANA owners can now transfer their assets between the Ethereum blockchain to Polygon’s Matic Network as they see fit.
The benefit of switching is that “users will be able to claim, buy, sell, and trade wearables for their avatars entirely on Polygon, with no transaction fees.”
The Sandbox is migrating to Polygon completely in an effort to go greener as well as improving user experience in the metaverse by increasing speeds and reducing transaction fees.
Gala Games is also partnering with Polygon to solve the scalability issues plaguing the Etheruem blockchain.
Polygon is being added to give gamers more choice so you don’t have to transfer over if you don’t want to by the sounds of things.
The pair are also working together on a new game.
Can I play Gala Games, The Sandbox and Decentraland on mobile
Decentraland isn’t supported on mobile yet, but there are plans afoot according to the FAQ page on its website, but is supported on both PC and Mac.
Similarly, Gala Games isn’t on Android or iOS yet either, and there’s no suggestion of any plans to make this happen right now. It runs on PC or Mac.
The Sandbox is available for Android on the Google Play Store and for iOS on the App Store. But it’s only supported on PC, with Mac and additional OS support coming soon.
So if you don’t want to be restricted to just a desktop, The Sandbox has a clear advantage.
Gala Games, The Sandbox and Decentraland minimum system requirements
As with anything running on your PC, Gala Games, The Sandbox, and Decentraland all have minimum system requirements.
- Gala Games minimum system requirements
- 4GB RAM
- 2 CPU Cores
- 60 GB Disk Space
- Stable internet connection
- Decentraland minimum system requirements
- A PC or Mac running Chrome or Firefox
- The Sandbox minimum system requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Processor: Dual Core 2GHz
- Graphics: 512MB VRAM
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- The Sandbox recommended system requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Quad Core 3GHz
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 2GB VRAM
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 2 GB available space
Do I need a wallet to play Gala Games, The Sandbox and Decentraland?
A digital wallet stores all of your digital assets, like cryptocurrency, tokens, and so on.
You should absolutely get one if you’re diving into Gala Games, The Sandbox, or Decentraland although it’s not essential for all three.
All three experiences are on the Ethereum network so any ETH compatible wallet should be fine, although each platform has its own recommendations.
You can check out HOAR’s best crypto wallet picks to get started.
Gala Games
Gala Games requires users to have a wallet, and once you’ve deposited cryptocurrency in there you can buy NFTs, Gala Gold, or a Founder’s Node from the Gala Store. You’ll need Ethereum to mint items in your Treasure Chest.
Gala doesn’t explicitly state which wallets to use but it does have an explainer on adding GALA to MetaMask so that one seems to be a safe bet.
Decentraland
You don’t need a wallet to play Decentraland, but it’s recommended to enjoy the full experience.
If you don’t have a wallet, your info will only be locally stored and while you’ll be able to engage in the experience with your avatar, you’ll be cut off from daily rewards, taking part in events, and logging in from a different device with the same Guest ID and Avatar.
Decentraland recommends MetaMask
The Sandbox
You’ll need a wallet for The Sandbox, which will store your SAND and GEMs, as well as virtual goods like LAND and ASSETs.
The Sandbox supports MetaMask, Bitski and Venly wallets with Venly setup being described as “effortless”, Bitski as “easy”, and MetaMask as “medium”.
Gala Games, The Sandbox and Decentraland: Which has the best games?
Now that you know what you need to get started in Gale Games, The Sandbox, and Decentraland, which has the best games and experiences?
You also need to take into account that you’re playing to earn.
If you were just after a decent video game, you can pick up a PS5, Xbox Series X, or check out the thousands of PC games available on PC.
Gala Games
Gala Games is very much positioning itself as putting “fun first” by “making blockchain games you’ll actually want to play.”
Games are simple to play and you don’t have to a Blockchain pro to enjoy them.
Development of games is community driven, with the Discord playing a huge part in the direction.
So far you there are five games on the platform in various stages of development.
- Spider Tanks (beta) – PvP Brawler
- Townstar (beta) – simulation
- Mirandus (in development) – fantasy RPG
- Echoes of Empire (in development) – strategy, 4X
- Fortified (in development) – tower defence
Townstar is free-to-play (f2p), and you play-to-earn, meaning you need to play the game and earn daily rewards in order to start making money.
Similarly, Spider Tanks is also free to start playing with the play-to-earn mechanics allowing you to unlock real rewards.
The Sandbox
The Sandbox games library consists of user created content that anyone can make for free.
Users can also create assets and sell them as NFTs or buy the limited LAND resource when it’s on sale, which you need to build experiences in the metaverse.
So games available will be free, or charge you to play depending on how the creator has designed it.
It’s possible to earn SAND in a f2p game that you can use to enter paid experiences.
There are tons to try out, and you just need to download the Game Maker tools and use the program to access user-created games and experiences.
This is more along the lines of Roblox, so it’s a bit of a free-for-all but if y9ou sift through the content, you’ll undoubtedly find a few gems.
Decentraland
Decentraland is also very similar to Roblox in terms of exploring user-created content.
What’s different is that instead of browsing experiences and hopping into each one from a menu, your avatar is navigating a terrain of adjacent games ad experiences.
As with The Sandbox, some games will charge you to play, while others are free, and there’s a massive amount of them to try out.
Gala Games, The Sandbox and Decentraland : Which is the top metaverse game?
Gala Games seems to be more geared towards making a worthwhile gaming experience.
The Sandbox and Decentraland are an open forum, like Roblox, that lets users create whatever they like.
Of course, as with Roblox, there are risks to that approach, from the kind of content to the quality.
So if you’re not just looking for investments and are interested in the gaming side of things, Gala is the one to watch.
Sandbox is a close second and the fact that it’s available on mobile, as well as anecdotally seeming to run better than Decentraland means that if you’re picking between the two, it’s probably the better option.
Browser-based Dentraland seems to be sluggish for a lot of people (myself included) so if you’re looking for a smooth gaming experience, it’s probably best avoided for now.
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