Introducing Nifty Football
A decentralised football management game in which players are real NFTs to be bought and sold on the transfer market. Play to earn, nurture your squad and compete for glory on a world stage.
The Nifty Football game platform is set to launch in beta in the late spring of this year with the native token soon to follow and the multi-player dApp mooted for later on in the year. The project aims to create a highly-playable football management game to complement the Nifty Football NFT collectible trading cards that began minting in 2019.
This is the first in a series of articles that will cover all aspects of the new Nifty Football platform in detail, including in-depth breakdown of gameplay features, tokenomics, the original collectible NFT cards and the narrative that will determine the future of this exciting project.
Nifty Football NFT Collectibles
Nifty Football started life as a collectible trading card game built on the Ethereum Blockchain (ERC-721) in 2019 in collaboration with Manchester-based digital artist Stanley Chow. Chow created the templates for the visible features of the players (hairstyles, strips, etc.) which were then merged with demographic attributes such as age and nationality.
But that’s not all. With the intention of creating a competitive game structure at the heart of the community, the players were also blessed with random combinations of abilities and hidden potential to improve, that would allow owners of the cards to form teams and compete in computer-simulated matches.
Some 2,742 unique Nifty Football NFT player cards were originally minted, some of which are on OpenSea today for up to 5ETH (≈$15,000).
Although some tournament style gameplay was introduced back in the day, including the Brew Dog Cup, progress was halted when transaction fees on the Ethereum network became prohibitive. Fast forward to 2021 however, and layer-2 scaling solutions such as the Polygon network allow for a high volume of blockchain interaction that doesn’t cost the earth.
The time has come for Nifty Football to step out under the floodlights!
Nifty Football Beta
The first incarnation of the new Nifty Football game will be player-vs-computer but that point aside, the platform will have the same look and feel as the end product and early users will be able to familiarise themselves quickly and start developing a team. On entering the Niftyverse, you’ll create an avatar for yourself as a manager, which will eventually be minted as an NFT. After that you’ll have 15 players randomly generated for you and you’ll be the proud owner of a new Nifty Football team!
Your allocation of players will cover all positions on the field and there are no injuries to be suffered in the beta game, which is just as well because buying players is also a feature reserved for later on down the line. Nevertheless you’ll put your players into formation and in time, see them realise their true potential and future value.
Matches are played and with positive results on the pitch players will earn Experience (XP), one of the two Nifty Football in-game tokens. XP is then utilised within the game to strategically boost players’ abilities.
One of the most exciting features at this stage of development however, is that each player generated will have a hidden value of potential for future improvement. This means that you may have the next Leo Messi in your ranks and not even know it!
Nifty Football Phase 2
When inaugurated, the full version of Nifty Football will be player-vs-player, enabling users all over the world to pit their wits against one another. The players from the beta incarnation will finally be minted into NFTs along with coaches, scouts and stadiums. What’s more, the gameplay will become more complex, with features such as training, the treatment room (injuries exist in phase 2) and a youth academy. Competitions will be initially in cup format, with the opportunity to create leagues coming later.
Most importantly, there’ll be an open marketplace where users can buy and sell players using the Nifty Football platform’s other native token, $NFTF
Individual users will be able to sign up to open tournaments while groups of friends may choose to create their own private competitions. Matches are scheduled and take place in real time for all involved, adding a real, adrenaline-pumping match day experience, as every manager’s touchline prowess is tested before a live audience and XP is up for stake!
Your team selection, formation, substitutions and even the respect (or lack thereof) that you’ve gleaned in your managerial career will have an effect on the result.
The match logic is fascinating and will be covered in detail in a later article; suffice to say that the way in which players’ attributes are brought into conflict inside the game engine is essential reading for those intent on becoming a Nifty Football tactical genius!
XP and the $NFTF Token
The $NFTF token will be on the Polygon network and that’s what you’ll use to enter the game and mint your team. This is also the currency for buying and selling players as well as scouts, coaches, stadiums and more. Fundamentally, you’ll also be able to exchange $NFTF for the in-game token, XP.
XP is the currency of success within the game. You can buy it with $NFTF but you’ll also earn it both with your achievements on the pitch and the work you do in the background. You’ll invest it primarily in boosting players’ attributes, but also in your coaching and scouting staff in order to maximise the efficiency of those training regimes and better identify player potential.
If you should choose to cash out, XP can be converted back into $NFTF, but with a small commission going to grassroots charities.
During the beta stage users will also have the opportunity to stake their $NFTF through a dedicated page on the platform and earn rewards in return.
If you’re new to crypto and have no idea how to buy the Nifty token and take part in the game, fear not, I’ll be covering that in a later article — as well as a brief guide to football for those interested in the project but not the sport.
The Nifty Football Roadmap
The player-vs-player incarnation of Nifty Football will be the first plateau from which the core community can help to send their project mainstream, with a fun yet competitive play-to-earn platform that gives a clear purpose to NFTs, the Metaverse and Web 3.0.
Initially, only cup-format competitions will be run from the platform with matches played daily, but as time goes on leagues will be created and more freedom for participants to schedule matches will be built into the platform. Casual players will play in competitions suited to their level, while those who yearn for glory can compete for spots on the grand Nifty Football leader board.
Investment in stadiums will help boost prestige within the community as well as increase growth of XP and affect matches. You’ll be able to invest XP in the quality of your treatment rooms to facilitate the speedy recovery of injured players; in the products of your youth academy as evaluated by the aptitude of your coaches; and if you want, you’ll be able to sell player NFTs that you’ve nurtured toward stardom at a fine profit.
As a decentralised application, the ultimate aim is for Nifty Football to become a DAO-governed platform in which gameplay and the user experience are subject to constant improvement and a harmonious and fully functional NFT economy thrives.
Watch this space for regular articles on the development of the Nifty Football project and in-depth analysis of the platform as it grows. Follow us on Twitter @NiftyFootball and join our community on Discord if you’d like to be a part of this project in its embryonic stages, with the ultimate possibility of having an influence on game features and being one of the first to begin building a Nifty Football team.
And don’t forget to check out the Nifty Football Official Website!
Disclaimer: This article is not trading nor investment advice nor financial advice. I am not a financial advisor. The above article is for informational and educational purposes only. Please do your own research before making any financial decision especially purchasing or investing in any stock or digital asset.
