Monsoon Digital has announced that they are minting Zombicide NFTs. Based on the beloved horror board game produced by CMON Entertainment, these digital tokens are not part of some special digital only version of the board game, nor are there any other benefits attached to them. They are simply a collection of digital collectible cards, bringing completely random elements of chance to a digital ecosystem that is fundamentally untenable.
How do Zombicide NFTs work?
The announcement of the Zombicide NFTs came from Monsoon Digital's official Twitter account. The tweet links to Monsoon's marketplace called Zombicide Digital Collectible Cards, showcasing various pieces of artwork from Zombicide into different rarities of the digital cards. According to the site's tutorial page, how these cards work is not unlike buying a pack of digital cards in online games like Hearthstone or Magic The Gathering: Arena. At the time of writing, there are three different kinds of packs. A regular pack is $10, a premium pack is $50, and a collector pack is $400. There are no odds disclosed for these various packs; you just have to blind buy and see what you get. In addition, there is a marketplace, where you can buy or sell these cards between other users. As for why you would trade these cards, the platform has a built-in achievement system, which activates on your profile whenever you complete certain sets.
And that's it. The Zombicide NFTs are minted on the Flow blockchain, which does cite low annual energy usage as well as using a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. However, despite these appeals to eco-friendly business practices, the very fundamental system of NFTs and the entire cryptocurrency system are still rife with grifters and rampant fraud. This is no different. Not only have multiple video game developers like Bungie and Mojang spoken out about the harm NFTs have to both the environment and game design, Magic: The Gathering's publisher Wizards of the Coast had to contend with their own NFT scam artists attempting something similar with their IP.
Finally, it must be stated that whatever Monsoon Digital's intentions are, minting Zombicide NFTs now isn't exactly a sound idea. In a recent study by Forbes, roughly 70% of developers are not interested in NFTs or cryptocurrency. In addition, various developers and tech companies have backed away from NFTs due to the rising stigma against their creation and use.
