My Decision to Walk Away from Playing Splinterlands...

"I Gave All I Can Give, The Joy Was Gone"

Source for Big Papi's Curtain Call

It was toughest to break the news to my guildmates in Blue Pill Society, having built bonds with fellow members and when leaders/officers admit you into their guild, they're taking a risk on you that you won't be disruptive and that you would give it your all. I never forgot that and I made sure to put in the effort and leadership that I needed to give. I am appreciative of @mumpulls and @nardian to have that opportunity and build those relationships. I knew that this was the toughest part because in Splinterlands, it is never just about YOU. Being selfish puts you on an island, but sometimes, you have to know when it is best for you and others. When the joy is gone, so is the passion and pursuit of excellence. Walking away was not an easy decision and this is an opportunity to discuss the "Why?" and "What's Next?".

This Wasn't a Sudden Change Based on New Developments

It was some time in the making for me and at first, I did not even realize it. I don't make sudden changes as a person, usually, any major change whether it be a job change, business change, educational change or a breakup - there's months of exhausting ways to make things work or make adjustments to make things less aggravating.

The first adjustment I made was to actually play 40% of the time and play the cards I had always wanted to own and play, but did not, which were the Alpha and Beta cards. I took on the responsibility to play the Alpha/Beta fray in Guild Brawls during the Summer of 2022, I learned to master this fray. I also learned to how to play the cards effectively and I enjoyed playing the old-school cards, which I rented at much cheaper prices. I cut my schedule down because I was experiencing burnout playing every day and this negatively impacted my performance. I refused to turn my game play over to a script because this is a game, what type of a game does anyone choose to bot over actually playing a game? What does that say about the game?

The feeling of the game becoming a chore came back HARD during Christmas time. I contracted COVID-19 and received my positive test on Christmas Morning. Yes, while you were unwrapping gifts with family, I felt like garbage and swirled a swab in my nose to confirm what hit me like a truck 24 hours prior. I really did not want to play the game, even when I had the opportunity to play it. It felt like a chore to keep up because I really did not want to get thrown into Bronze League.

When I die, I won't go to Hell, Purgatory or Heaven... no, I'm going to Bronze League to face bots.

I opted to take off the last 5-6 days of that season to end the year, I forgot advance my account to Gold League and I damned my account to Silver End-of-Season Rewards and a start in Bronze League. My aggravation would kick in and I started to stray from game play. I wanted to do as little game play as possible so that I can spend my Splinterlands time with a tantalizing mistress known as the Secondary Market. The Secondary Market was always there for me and provided the rush and opportunities that game play never could. Sure, there are plenty who could juggle game play and the Secondary Market, but I was not one of them. My performance in game play suffered a bit and it was becoming less joyful, while this dalliance with the Secondary Market captured all sorts of sexy possibilities. If I wanted to create a buy/sell script, I also would not feel shame in my own hypocrisy like I would with Game Play.

I literally just compared Splinterlands Game Play and playing the Secondary Market on Peakmonsters to cheating on a significant other...

I have always advocated that there are many ways to do Splinterlands and that making adjustments is always important, in fact, I have made plenty of them myself. Fully walking away from the Game Play aspect was reserved for a different time.

Three moments resonated with me to realize that I needed to do something different.

1. During the Town Hall on January 30, 2023, @yabapmatt made a salient point that in Splinterlands, you really cannot do everything and at some point, you have to specialize in some way. While it was more specified toward Land, it can applied from a macro level. It spoke to me because I have a tendency to want to take on EVERYTHING.

2. Sometimes, I'll just watch a mindless video to put myself to sleep. I watched a Ryan Trahan video where he successfully emulated the "One Red Paperclip" challenge. I was familiar with this challenge in my younger days and tried to parlay excess Football tickets (I accidentally got a second set of season tickets) into several cars to be parked in vacant spots near my college apartment. Awkward interactions on Craigslist would follow as I tried to barter for a vacant shoe store, used cars, and used Bobcat equipment. Sharing my experience as a scalper/barterer with one of my non-college friends resulted in her thinking it was hilarious and bold that I even did this, she became intrigued with my younger, 21 year old self as if this person was a completely different person. I realized that while I matured and took more calculated risks later in life, maturity does not necessarily impart wisdom and that sometimes your younger self has a point. I realized that I had unfinished business.

3. On January 31, 2023, it was the last of the old Rewards cards being issued. Normally, I would be hyped to see what I would get in an End-of-Season set of Loot Chests. However, I was just going through the motions when I went through the chests one-by-one. One Loot Chest shook and unveiled a Harklaw, a Harklaw that would level up my existing Harklaw to Level 3. I would normally be happy about this, but I just felt dead inside about it. I knew that feeling was not good.

I tried to play a few matches to bring up my rating and then I just stopped, I was not having fun anymore. I was just playing to play and @crootin was officially not there anymore, @crootin checked out. Usually, after a 3-4 day layoff from playing, there was some excitement to play, but it felt joyless and sad. I did make sure that I left on a winning note, so I guess this is sort of like a "Share Your Battle" post.



I was done and it was not that temporary feeling of being finished with something. I proceeded to burn my Gladius cards for DEC and park it in Hive Engine.

Why chronicle all of this?

Some of you may have experienced the same thing and when this sort of a thing happens and you have exhausted all of your options, it's acceptable to telegraph an exit and move on to what is next. Given that I post articles on PeakD and I have played somewhat of a role in the community, it would be strange to find out that I stopped playing and effectively hung up my boots weeks or months after the fact.

Now that I have written this pompous and self-centered prose, what's next?

I don't usually write about myself or make myself the story, so this is odd. Writing the word 'I' this much in anything I have ever written feels gross.

I'm going to be channeling my younger self a bit. I am going to be flipping cards to reach a goal within Splinterlands and then I will eventually realize that the journey, not the destination is what matters. Until I see the money and I say, "Well, that's pretty good too."

I'll be flipping cards and renting out cards, there's just more enjoyment from it. Plus, it makes good content. Yes, I'm the guy who talks about bot farms, but I want to take you on a journey as I build up and break down my collection. So that should be fun. We can call it...



Source for a Classic "It's Always Sunny" moment.

Flipadelphia it is. What's the end goal? Well, we will save that for the first Flipadelphia post.

There's also something else, I want to create a project that is Splinterlands/Hive adjacent. It's something I have wanted as a module for a much larger project that I have been putting off for far too long. I'll release details on this when a beta release is imminent.

No, it is not going to be a fork of Splinterlands. I decided something like that was best in the hands of someone else.

It's Just a Game, Chill...

Yes, but there's a community and an ecosystem. Sometimes, you have to explain your actions and reasoning. There are messy parts to this.

Some might find it sad that I have effectively "retired" as a player (others won't care), but I am not going away. I have staked SPS, which I will stake on my old guildmates when player staking is enabled to show my support for them. I'll be a part of this ecosystem in a different capacity. I can't do it all, but I will make it enjoyable and channel some of the energy and wisdom from my younger self.