UPLAND the NFT to $USD Monopoly Property Trading Game!
It’s free to join the Upland metaverse and using this referral link you can get a discount and/or UPX to start building your portfolio.
In this article
- Where to Start in Upland? — The beginner’s guide to getting ahead in Upland.
- What properties should I buy in Upland? — What Upland city do I start in and what properties should I try and buy?
- What is $Sparklet in Upland?- Why do I need $Sparklet to build properties and how do I get $Sparklet?
- How to use $Sparklet in Upland — How to use $Sparklet to build your properties.
- How to do Treasure Hunts in Upland — How do I complete and win treasure hunts in Upland?
- How to sell Upland properties for USD $ — How do I sell my Upland properties for real money/cash (USD)?
- Best strategies for New City releases in Upland — What’s the best advice when a new city opens up in Upland?
- What are Upland Legits? — The latest NFT’s on the Upland blockchain.
Quick Introduction to the Upland Metaverse
Upland.me is a self-described ‘metaverse’ game that resembles a 21st-century version of the classic Monopoly board game. The game is but is built on the EOS mainnet blockchain.
The game allows you to buy, sell, trade, and build properties as NFT’s (non-fungible tokens) in a virtual incarnation of real-world cities. At the time of writing, you can choose from a number of US cities with more planned for the future and no doubt on other continents too and maybe even the moon?
The game uses UPX as its currency which you can purchase with cash via PayPal or crypto. You begin with Visitor status and you begin by buying plots of land or properties. As a new starter, you can choose properties marked as FSA or ‘Fair Start Act’ that are marked at a lower price. FSA properties are usually, 2k — 6k UPX so you can begin building your glorious portfolio!
Once you level up to Pro status, one up from Uplander status, FSA’s are no longer available to you and you have to trade with other players or send your block explorer to unminted non-FSA properties (not a huge number available in older cities).
Other Projects: if you’re interested in blockchain projects where you can earn similar crypto tokens like UPX in Upland you may like to look at the Pi Project — a new digital currency developed by Stanford PhDs, with over 23 million members worldwide and you can learn more by signing up here (USE REFERRAL CODE: gbaxendale) and if you’re a fan of Doctor Who there’s a new NFT card game built on the blockchain called Doctor Who World’s Apart and you can sign up here!
Where do I start in Upland?
It’s free to join the Upland Game and using this referral link you can get a discount and/or UPX to start building your portfolio. Your game token is called a block explorer. Your block explorer will randomly travel around unless you send it to a minted property.
PRO TIP: As you travel lookout for the paper planes which award you with a number of sends. You receive 3 sends a day so any you find will be in addition to this. If you get down to 2 sends be sure to find a paper plane and send your block explorer to it so you don’t run out when doing treasure hunts (more on that below). When sending try to find the property with the lowest UPX charge to save you precious UPX. 12 is the maximum number of sends you can collect.
You will begin the game with a Visitor status which means you will lose any purchases if you do not return within 7 days to renew your visa, there are no limits to how many times you can renew your visa.
Once you have accumulated a net worth of 10,000 UPX you will level up as a fully-fledged Uplander and have true and enduring ownership of your properties as NFTs held on the EOS mainnet blockchain. Plans are also afoot to allow the sale of Upland properties on OpenSea.io a peer-to-peer marketplace for NFTs.
What Properties Should I Buy in Upland?
While your objective is to buy/sell and make a profit, it’s also to build a portfolio that meets your own objectives. These may be acquiring famous landmarks (albeit super expensive). Acquiring a set of libraries or maybe your friends and family’s properties! If you’re unsure of where to start you can go straight to ‘Collections’.
Collections are challenges to complete that require you to buy specific properties such as 3 properties on the same street. Each collection has a UPX reward for completion and add’s a multiplier boost to your daily UPX rewards. A completed collection will award you a badge even if you remove the properties from the collection making it inactive.
PRO TIP: Don’t buy random properties, try to go for ones that are part of collections as they will hold their value. Use Upland Marketplace Analytics to search for properties in a location that are part of a collection then look at the original mint price and select one within your budget, the higher the mint price the higher the daily earnings will be (shown as Up2).
When you purchase properties in Upland they are minted on the EOS blockchain. This offers a permanent and enduring record of ownership. Properties can then be traded inside the game and also outside the game via the community forum on Discord where regular auctions are held.
PRO TIP: As a new player try to head to the newest cities as the prices are cheaper, currently Bakersfield and New Orleans are good options for new players. If you find yourself in the wrong city you will need to send your block explorer to a train terminal or airport and book travel. Upland cities currently include San Francisco, Manhattan, Fresno, Brooklyn, Oakland, Staten Island, Bakersfield, Chicago, Cleveland, Santa Clara, Rutherford, Kansas, and New Orleans. Nashville is on its way as a new city release likely November 2021
Another recent addition to the Upland Game is Sparklet. You can use Sparklet to build structures on your properties. You can also rent Sparklet out for UPX or USD to other players to build with.
Once a building is complete the Spark returns back to you so you can stake it on another building project. You can bank payments or request payment using a burner property. This involves selling you a property at a low markup and then buying it back from you at cost plus rental payment.
PRO TIP: Look out for Directors or community groups that have building projects on Discord as it’s an easy way to earn UPX by staking your Spark as part of a group effort. Typically you get paid by the organiser buying one of your properties at market rate plus the agreed spark day or rate.
What is Sparklet in Upland?
Another addition to the Upland Game is Sparklet. You can use Sparklet to build structures on your properties such as a Small Town House. You can rent Sparklet out for UPX or USD to other players to build with. You will receive a limited amount depending on your status and can only acquire more during special Spark Up events or by completing a daily log in streak of 7 days in a row where you will be awarded sparklet usually 0.01 or 0.02.
How to use Sparklet in Upland?
You can simply apply Sparklet to your own properties by selecting a build such as a Town House. Sparklet hours is the time it takes to complete a build. Another option is to join a community construction group on discord where you can earn UPX by renting it out as part of a construction team.
Once a building is complete the Sparklet returns back to you so you can stake it on another building project. You can bank payments or request payment using a burner property. This involves selling you a property at a low markup and then buying it back at cost plus the rental payment from the Construction Company owner.
Sparklet is also a tradable token on Bitget and can be both imported and exported to Upland via MetaMask among other platforms.
How to do Treasure Hunts in Upland
One way to get more UPX is to complete treasure hunts in Upland. Treasure hunts allow you to search for hidden UPX or Spark within a given radius of your block explorer.
You can spawn a free personal treasure hunt once a day. Thereafter the UPX costs are dependant on what city you are in and in some cities treasure hunts may not be available. Other treasure hunts, such as exclusive, require hunting treasure in competition with other players. Basically, the first one to find it wins the treasure. The treasure will then recharge for three hours before becoming available again.
PRO TIP: Most players are US based so to increase your chances of winning Upland treasure you may need to set the alarm for 1 am PT as the number of players is significantly reduced during the night. If you’re in the UK that’s 8 am so a quick treasure hunt before breakfast!
PRO TIP: Treasure hunts in Upland cost UPX as you need to pay for each ‘send’ to a property. When buying property try to purchase them so you have them spread across the city as it is free to send to your own properties and will save you burning your own UPX in the long run.
How to Sell Upland Properties for USD $
Can you make money in Upland? Yes you can! You can sell your properties for UPX or USD $ via TilliaPay Wallet. To sell your properties for USD $ you need to select your property and choose Sell then select US DOLLAR. You can now follow the registration process with TilliaPay.
You will need to include a legal ID such as a passport or driver’s license along with a PDF of a recent utility bill. If you are a non-US resident look for the link that says ‘I am outside the US’ to continue your application. You may have to wait for the validation process to complete. When verified you will receive an email or in-game notification to say you have been verified.
Best Strategies for New City Releases in Upland
A new city release is a big deal in the Upland game. It offers many opportunities not available in established and especially fully minted cities. For example, If you are Pro or above you no longer have access to cheaper FSA properties. With all new releases come non-FSA properties that you will be able to mint. The release of a new city in Upland can be as follows:
‘Vanilla’ mode: This means that all properties will be released at an equal value no matter where they are located within a city. Essentially, you will have the opportunity to buy super-expensive properties at a fraction of their actual value. The collections are usually released a week later and you just might have snagged an exclusive one!
‘With Collections’ mode: This means that the collections are released at the same time as the city and the value of the properties for the Limited and Exclusive collections are set in advance.
PRO TIP: When planning for a new city release in Upland, do your research. A simple Google query such as “most expensive street in New Orleans” or “Wealthiest location in Kansas” will help you target the best locations. Bear in mind competition is high and these areas sell out within minutes of a release.
When Upland releases a new city the first thing to happen is a sale of train and flight terminals. These are super-expensive and usually picked up by Executives or Chief Executives who make money on the sends to these terminals.
When planning for the release you will need to look out for an announcement that you can now travel to the new city. You won’t be able to buy properties but you can be there ready for the release.
PRO TIP: Train and Flight terminals have a finite number of tickets and these will sell out quickly on release day so try to arrange your travel as early as possible.
When Upland releases a new city it begins with one neighborhood. The purpose of this is to carry out load testing. Once the Upland team is happy with the performance they will release the rest of the neighborhoods. This is an opportunity to get a few properties under your belt.
PRO TIP: Be patient. Thousands of players will be trying to mint properties and very likely many will be trying to mint the one you have chosen. Players will all have sent their block explorers to the first minted properties in that location and will spread out from there. If you fail to mint a property just move on by looking to see which newly minted property is furthest out from your location so that you can send your block explorer to it to get ahead of the queue. Keep checking Upland-Updates in the Discord community for the latest information as releases happen.
PRO TIP: One approach you can also take is simply not traveling to the new city (which saves you UPX) and let others do the work for you. Newly minted properties will always come up for sale as soon as they are secured and many are just looking to ‘flip’ them by re-selling for a few thousand UPX above what they paid. The simplest approach is to have the new city zoomed out on your screen and tap on the ‘Properties Nearby’ button and keep refreshing to see what’s coming up for sale. I call this the ‘bird of prey’ approach!
What are Upland Legits?
A new type of NFT within the Upland game metaverse are sponsored Upland Legits. Upland is now selling NFLPA Legits which include official trading cards, caps, and other items sponsored by the National Football League Players Association.
You can purchase Legits from the Upland Store. When you purchase a Legit they will be saved to your Upland account as an asset and can be traded with other players. Typically a new release requires you to register your interest via the Store in advance.
What Next for Upland?
Upland is a game that takes time and patience to learn. Learn from others via the community on Discord and from the Upland Game YouTube channel.
Players at the Executive or Director level will show vast sums of UPX and properties. Bear in mind, though, that Executives and Directors have been doing this for a long time and likely since the closed Beta releases. It’s also possible to accelerate your status by spending a lot of money upfront should you have the means.
The Upland team is always looking for new ways to add value to the game. Future updates will include a full NFT portal and marketplace. This will include the options to transfer non-Upland NFT’s into the Upland Marketplace. This will allow you to trade them for UPX or even real money. ‘Legits’ are the latest way to deliver NFT’s into the Upland game. NFLPA cards are the first to be officially sponsored.
Upland is not a traditional game. Much of your time is actually outside of the game researching or interacting with the community. Remember, most players just take their time, so be one of those and enjoy rebuilding the World in Upland! And finally, don’t forget if all things blockchain and earning crypto appeals to you do take a look at the Pi Project by signing up here (USE REFERRAL CODE: GBaxendale) and of course for all you fans of Doctor Who there’s a new NFT card game built on the blockchain called Doctor Who World’s Apart and you can sign up here! — www.UplandGameGuide.com
