Splinterlands community engagement:- Why Stake or Delegate It?
Those who play Splinterlands regularly know that it is not limited to fighting with cards or defeating opponents. The economy behind this game is so strong that if you plan properly, it is possible to make a good income from it in the long run. Usually, we discuss daily battles, strategies, or seasonal rewards. But today I will go beyond them and discuss the most important asset of the game, the 'SPS' (Splintershards) token. I will highlight why SPS is so important for all new and old players and how to benefit from it by staking or delegating, based on my own dashboard experience.

What is SPS or Splintershards?
Simply put, SPS is the 'governance token' of the Splinterlands game. That is, those who have SPS tokens have the power to vote on the future direction of this game and what changes will be made to the game's rules. But for us as ordinary players, an even bigger issue is its financial value and its usefulness in the game.
As you can see in the screenshot I shared, the current market price of one SPS is about $0.0081. Although the price may seem low at first glance, when you have thousands of tokens, its total value is not that low. For example, I currently have about 3,430 SPS in my wallet, which has a current market value of about $27.73. I have accumulated this through playing games and staking.
Why is SPS needed to play games?

Many people think that just buying cards is all you need to do well in Splinterlands. This idea is wrong. Currently, with the new rules of the game, especially when playing in the 'Modern' and 'Wild' leagues, if you want to get good rewards or prizes, you must have a certain amount of SPS staked in your account. The more SPS you have staked, the higher your reward power multiplier will be for each win. That is, along with card power, it is also important to have your economic power (SPS).
SPS Staking: The best way to earn passive income
Now, let's come to my dashboard information. As you can see in the third picture, out of my total balance, I have kept only 26.903 SPS in the liquid or game wallet, and the remaining 3,403.854 SPS I have 'staking'.
Now the question is, why did I stake them instead of selling them? The answer is APR or annual interest rate.
If you look at the screenshot, you will see that currently,6.82% APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is available on SPS staking. This means that if I stake these 3,400 tokens instead of just sitting around, the game system will give me some new SPS rewards every day. This is completely 'passive income'. Whether I play the game or not, my accumulated tokens will continue to grow even if I sleep. For those who want to survive in this game in the long run, staking SPS is like keeping a fixed deposit in the bank. The tokens remain safe, and their amount also increases over time.
What is Delegation, and what are its benefits?
When talking about SPS, the topic of 'delegation' will come up. Delegation means letting someone else use the power of your accumulated or staked SPS for rent.
Suppose you have 10,000 SPS staked, but you are not playing much this season. Or your friend has good cards but does not have enough SPS staked in his account. Then you can 'delegate' your SPS to him.
What are the benefits of giving or taking delegations?
Benefits for new players: Those who are just starting out cannot buy SPS with a lot of money at the beginning. But if they do not have an SPS stake, they do not get good rewards even if they win battles. Then they can take SPS delegations from the market or from other players. This increases their reward points.
Rent or Income: When you give someone an SPS delegation, you can give it for free or rent some DEC or other currency in exchange (through the third-party market). That is, it is possible to earn income from it without selling your assets.
Rank Push: Look at the example of my Silver-2 league. Sometimes it takes a lot of reward points to move up the league or to get a place on the leaderboard. Then, if your accumulated SPS is low, you can increase your multiplier by taking delegations from others.
My current status and future plans

Looking at my dashboard, you will see that I am currently playing in the Silver League, and my focus is on accumulating SPS. 3,430 tokens may not be a huge amount, but I want to compound it by taking advantage of the 6.82% APR. Splinterlands is directly involved in the crypto market. A token that is worth less than 1 cent today could increase its value 10 or 20 times in the future in a bull market. Then these 3,400 tokens accumulated could be a big source of income for me.

Splinterlands is not just a gam; it is also an investment platform. And the main driving force of this platform is SPS. If you want to be a good player and earn a regular income from the game, then, in addition to winning battles, you should focus on accumulating and staking SPS. And if you have extra tokens in your hand, don't let them sit idle;d help others through delegation and benefit yourself.
My advice would be to stake your tokens instead of selling them at a low price, because in Splinterlands, the patient wins at the end of the day.
My references:- https://splinterlands.com/register?ref=mirzaiqi
https://x.com/mirzaiqi/status/2015385035298447420?s=20
Thanks for sharing! - @mango-juice

Thank you so much for your great support