Virtuous tokenomics, a Pooky case study

At Pooky, entertainment coupled with utility is at the core of our beliefs. Speculation? We don’t think so! We’ve worked hard on creating an ecosystem that favours playing the game for fun rather than to win money. That’s why we have developed a Play-AND-Earn system, different to the Play-TO-Earn systems that are prevalent in crypto. But, what does this mean?

A quick reminder, Pooky is a football prediction game that runs on Polygon blockchain. Players access the game by owning one of Pooky’s tradable digital collectibles (Pookyballs). Each week players compete against each other to get the best rank in league competitions, the higher the rank, the higher the rewards. Those competitions all have a defined reward-pools based on number of players and revenue generated.

Players are rewarded for their skill

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Contrary to popular play-to-earn games where players are rewarded each time they play (and whether they play good or bad), Pooky rewards players that perform well. That is to say that we are in a player versus player (PVP) environment rather than a players versus environment (PVE). Those that perform better will win more rewards! It’s as Simple as that.

We have developed a unique tokenomics model (token + economics) for the game that focuses on creating a sustainable and circular economy for the in-game currency. While the $POK token that’s distributed to winners currently has an unlimited supply, we will switch towards a utility token with a capped supply to ensure scarcity and value for players, named $TPK (more on this in the final article of this series: LINK). The game also incorporates deflationary mechanics, such as burning a percentage of tokens spent in-game, to further reduce the overall supply of tokens.

At launch players will be able to win both MATIC & $POK tokens which in-time will be replaced by $TPK.

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Differences with traditional play-to-earn games

• Rewards : Pooky's reward pool is pre-defined and based on real in-flows of tokens into the ecosystem. This is in contrast to play-to-earn games, which have an unlimited reward pool based on token generation,  raising questions about the value of the tokens.

• Gameplay : Pooky's gameplay is designed to be more attractive and engaging for players. The game is focused on sport predictors, but also offers other roles for players to contribute to the ecosystem, such as training, crafting, investing, and trading. In contrast, other play-to-earn games may lack long-term gameplay or are based on new usage models that have not been proven in the market.

• PVP Model: Pooky also has a controlled rewards distribution system, determined by competition leaderboard rankings on a Players versus Players model, which drives more engagement. In contrast, other play-to-earn games may have an uncontrolled rewards distribution system, based on user actions on a Player versus Engine model, which can result in a Ponzi-like scheme.

• In-games incentives : Pooky's token utility is designed to maximise value for players. Tokens are incentivised to be spent in-game to increase the NFT value and ensure the reward pool is constantly refilled. In contrast, other play-to-earn games may lack token mechanics, and NFTs may be generated in an unlimited way, flooding the market and decreasing the NFTs value.

• Testing phase : Finally, Pooky takes a responsible approach to game development, including a testing phase to gather player feedback and ensure that the game is played as modeled. Stress-testing the game economy is also done to ensure the worst-case scenario. In contrast, other play-to-earn games may be released too soon with untested or uncompleted mechanics. But more on this later, in the third article.

• Token design: more on this in the following article (click here).

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All in all, Pooky is standing out as a new way to build play-to-earn games, offering a more transparent, fair, and sustainable economy for players. With its unique token economy, token design, reward pool, gameplay, rewards distribution, token utilities and NFT release strategy, Pooky aims to be the new standard in play-to-earn games.

With all this in mind, the team has decided to roll the token out in two phases. Here comes the really interesting bit! Read on to get all the insights.