Pegaxy: A horse racing NFT game at full gallop?

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A horse racing simulation in the nonfungible token (NFT) games space is generally being touted as the future of sports betting. The links between betting and gaming have never been stronger than they are in Pegaxy. You put money in, list your horse in a race and hope you place top three for a cash reward.

But is it any fun to play? Are the Pega NFTs desirable in their own right? Does it function for both investors and gamers? And ultimately, is there a future for Pegaxy?

What formats support Pegaxy?

Play Pegaxy on PC or Mac directly through a browser. Pegaxy has also launched its app in beta, with only racing is

available on the app for now.

How to play Pegaxy

When it comes to gameplay, Pegaxy is almost purely a simulation. Through either renting or purchasing, you acquire a Pega NFT. This is effectively a Tron-like futuristic Pegasus.

The Pega come in a range of bloodlines and element classes as well as breed type. A Pega's performance is affected by these attributes: speed, strength, lightning, wind, water and fire. A Pega's chances of winning hinge on these attributes based on how well they match with the randomized attributes of the host stadium.

A Pega can race a maximum of 25 times a day, but there's no total race limit.

Once you've selected the Pega, you must pay a gas fee to lodge your intent to enter a race on the blockchain. You're then pitted against other players with a Pega of a similar class until 12 racers are stationed.

While you wait in the lobby, you can browse other players' stats, see the race distance and look at the randomized stadium conditions. But from there, you're pretty much hands-off.

Buy NFTs on Pegaxy

Underdone

When a race starts, the Pega set off at a gallop. The 2022 version has upgraded to a 3D experience where you can see each Pega racing in the stadium.

But the audio is terrible. It's basically nonexistent outside of some occasional arcade-like bleeps and blobs. Where's the cheering crowd? The galloping hooves?

What's the point of Pegaxy?

The goal is to place in the top three. You'll be rewarded a monetary sum in the form of Vigorus (VIS). At the time of writing, first place gives you 105 VIS (~$0.0064USD), second 44 VIS (~$0.0027) and third 26 VIS (~$0.0016).

A random number generator (RNG) primarily decides the race results. However, your Pega's attributes and those of the stadium itself and the synergy between their attributes, have a minor impact as well.

Roadmap: How will the Pegaxy gameplay evolve?

There is no skill-based gameplay at this point; however, it's the end goal for Pegaxy. The roadmap details a plan for player-controlled 3D racing. The developer has also asked the community to tender thoughts on allowing for defensive and offensive weapons, too. Ultimately the hope is to take the dependence off the RNG and place it more on skill-based play.

We bet that for many gamers, it won't be until that point that Pegaxy becomes fun in the fullest sense. However, if you enjoy data, there's fun to be had even in the current state. There's a wealth of data around each Pega, including previous race performances across multiple stadiums and distances. This allows you to lose yourself in the numbers as you seek to find better results.

Others may find enjoyment in the breeding process.

Update to the Roadmap - Corey Wilton interview

I invite you to take a look at the video above. After writing this initial review, I spoke to Corey Wilton - the co-founder and CMO of Pegaxy - in a video interview. It's a must watch for people interested in Pegaxy. If nothing, else he gives a good account of his view and perspective on the NFT gaming industry and the future of his game. But he also offers plenty of insights into what's coming on the roadmap.

Here are the five biggest takeaways, but there's plenty more:

• Native mobile apps for Pegaxy are a priority on both Android and iOS.
• You'll need to pay for stadium NFTs with Pega NFTs.
• Riders will be introduced as a new layer of NFTs that sit above the Pega NFTs, They will be called Perseus.
• The final goal is to create a Mario Kart experience, but will be delivered over many phases.
• XP and levelling will not be added to the game.

Pega NFTs and breeding

One of the more exciting aspects of NFT gaming is breeding. Here, you'll have the ability to take two NFTs and see what comes from them. This process allows a new Pega NFT to be minted, giving participants the same cathartic reward as opening a Pokémon card pack or a Kinder Surprise.

Breeding gets pricey, though. First, you'll need two NFTs to start, and that's not cheap. You'll then need to pay both VIS and PGX to breed. You can only breed a Pega seven times, and each successive bonk becomes considerably more expensive to achieve.

There are four bloodlines: Hoz, Campona, Klin and Zan, listed from the most common to the rarest. These define elemental affinity and your stats. You then have breed types, which come in Pacer, Rare, Epic, Legendary and Founder forms. When you breed two Pega, they will take on the attributes of the most common bloodline and breed DNA in the parents. Then there's a litany of cooldowns and timers that affect how long you must wait between breeding a Pega again and racing a new Pega. These vary based on breed and bloodline.

Overall, the breeding process is relatively straightforward. But it costs a lot to enjoy this side of the experience.

But how cool do the NFTs look?

NFTs look neat and there's plenty of color and pattern variation. However, beyond the colors, there's no personality.

You won't recognize a Pega you've raced against before just by looking at it. There's talk in the roadmap about bringing gear into the picture in Q2 2022, which could jazz them up a bit. Gear will also impact stats.

And more NFT options are coming. You'll be able to buy stadiums, effectively renting them out to race events. We're really hoping the developer does a good job making the stadiums feel unique not just in look, but in the way they impact gameplay.

Compare marketplaces to buy game NFTs

Understanding the Pegaxy tokenomics

Like many games, Pegaxy has two in-game economies to manage, as well as a marketplace that lists external economies, specifically Tether.

The main coin you'll see is Vigorus (VIS). This is the award you receive for racing success. As of July 2022, they're worth around $0.000061 USD each. Then you have the governance token, Pegaxy Stone (PGX). It's worth $0.015 USD a token.

While VIS tokens can be used to cash out of the game, they are predominantly spent on breeding. PGX is also required for breeding in a far smaller amount.However, PGX is more likely spent when renting other players' Pega NFTs to race in the game. You'll also be able to stake PGX for passive returns. It's a similar system to a game like Axie Infinity, and the Polygon/Matic Layer 2 Solution blockchain controls it all.

When it comes to the marketplace and the buying and selling of NFTs outright, the cost can be seen in US dollars. This at least gives you a clear indication of what you are spending.

How to buy Pega

To buy a Pega, go to https://play.pegaxy.io/marketplace. You need to connect a MetaMask wallet to make a purchase.

You can sort the listings by price, gender, breed and more. Selecting a listing allows you to view the Pega's stats and breed count, as well as its sale, racing and renting history.

It looks like PGX may not be available to purchase on an exchange in the US.

You can still purchase PGX by using a decentralized exchange (DEX) instead. decentralized exchanges are web applications that run on blockchains like Polygon and allow users to trade any asset directly with one another.

How to purchase PGX using a decentralized exchange.

1. Find PGX on a decentralized exchange and make sure PGX can be traded for MATIC which is the native asset of Polygon. Popular DEXs on Polygon include QuickSwap, SushiSwap and Balancer.
2. Buy MATIC to trade for PGX using an exchange like Gemini. You will need to purchase enough MATIC to swap for PGX as well as some MATIC to pay for transaction fees which typically cost no more than a cent.
3. Transfer the MATIC into a web 3.0 wallet like MetaMask to connect to the DEX.
4. Trade MATIC for PGX on the DEX of your choice, following the instructions on screen. Make sure to leave enough MATIC in your wallet to pay for gas.
5. Wait for the transaction to finalize and the PGX tokens will arrive in your wallet.
6. You may now keep the tokens in your web 3.0 wallet or transfer them somewhere more secure like a hardware wallet.

You can follow the same process when you want to sell your tokens, or come back to this page to see if they can now be traded on an exchange in the US.

How much does Pegaxy cost to play?

Pegaxy is not a cheap game to play. There's no free-to-play mode. You can't get your hands on the lowest end Pegaxy and grind your way into the halls of racing fame through sheer play. You'll need to buy an NFT or rent one either directly through the marketplace or via a guild.

The marketplace is one of the better ones in terms of easy use and filtering options. And indeed, there's quite a bit of flexibility in how the relationship between seller and player can be outlined. Pega can be sold at a fixed rate or auctioned.

Renters can use a Pega for "free" using a profit-share arrangement or hire a Pega for a fixed period. This can range from a day to months.

On the rental front, you're looking at getting the most basic Pega to use for a day – which is a maximum of 25 races, remember – for around 40 PGX (~$0.58). However, you can use the share profit approach; this method costs you nothing up front, but you'll be lucky to get more than 5% of any winnings.

When is Pegaxy a good investment?

While there's not much gameplay at present, its perfectly serviceable simulation offers enough to engage and generate income as they build up to the final product. That's a lot more than what can be said for other NFT games on the market.

The fact that the economy is set up so that you can earn around $1,000 a month from racing your horse 25 times a day means you should be able to recoup your investment without hassle. And there's a clear and obvious pathway on how you can either reinvest that money in breeding, gear or food to improve your race success.

And food can be purchased and consumed to give buffs to your Pega. For example, a Dragon Carrot increases your Speed by 1% and decrease your Strength by 1% for seven days.

A once-a-year Grand Dash Tournament also begins in late 2022. In it, the horses with the most monthly race wins will be able to enter a year-end tournament to earn PGX rewards.

How to buy Pegaxy Stone (PGX)

For most players, getting into the game is going to require some PGX. As it's derived from the Polygon blockchain, you must acquire MATIC first. From there, exchange MATIC for PGX via a Polygon exchange such as QuickSwap, SushiSwap or Balancer. We've built a detailed step-by-step guide for you to follow in our how to buy PGX guide and also how to buy MATIC guide.

Who is Pegaxy's developer?

The team behind Pegaxy is called Pegaxy Technology Limited and they're based out of Vietnam. But you won't find it referenced in its whitepaper.

However, the team has a face. Indeed, the website shows a huge team of real humans with real faces, some of whom you can find in places like LinkedIn.