GM

Today we're trying something new.

We got our hands on some codes for Pirate Nation that we're giving away today (not sponsored).

Most of these are going to our Genesis Pass holders (check the discord later today).

But we have a few more that we're giving to readers.

Here's how it'll work: if you've hit +5 referrals then you should see a segment in the email today with the codes. It's first come, first served.

We might do more of these secret segments based on referrals in the future.

Make sure to tell your friends about us so you get included.

In today’s edition:

• This NFT game just raised $33 million 👀

• Updated Top 25

• 4 new drops

Links for the Top 25 drops are HERE.

Did you know?

We have a premium pass that gives you access to a directory of every drop we cover, complete with detailed information on how to get on every whitelist (including those underrated ones that aren’t already full).

And for those curatooors out there, you can get free NFTs just by finding drops that end up on the Mint or Watch list.

Lastly, hang with me and the MoS team in a private discord with weekly voice chats. The vibes are great.

Would you like to be featured in Mint or Skip like the above ☝️ ?

This NFT game just raised $33 million 👀

Context

Proof of Play, an onchain game studio, announced that they raised $33 million from a16z and well-known angel investors like Balaji Srinivasan and Naval Ravikant.

As part of this announcement, they also launched an open edition mint for Pirate Nation, their first game currently in beta.

Our take

O Dearly Beloved, if you were to take a glance, even for just a moment, at the endless list of Mindblowingly Bad NFT games that pass by my desk, you might never be the same again.

Chances are you’d turn into a recluse, retreating from friends and family as you ponder your own existence and question whether we would’ve been better off halting technological progress at the stone wheel.

Ignorance can be bliss, which is why I shield you from most of these horrors.

It’s also why days like today excite me. Because it’s a rare occasion when I get to share an onchain game that I think is worth paying attention to.

We’ll get to that game in a minute.

First, what’s Proof of Play (PoP)?

PoP is a blockchain tech company and game studio.

The closest analogy for what they’re trying to build is Epic Games.

Epic builds sophisticated game dev tools, culminating with Unreal Engine, and they use games like Fortnite to popularize their tech.

Now, upon hearing “We’re trying to build a Web3 Epic and Unreal Engine”, the natural response is (and probably should be) to roll your eyes.

Except in this case, the team has street cred to back it up:

Amitt Mahajan, Proof of Play’s CEO, was actually an early developer at Epic, and he did help build Unreal Engine.

He then moved to Zynga, where he was the lead dev behind the insanely popular Farmville title, and eventually rose to become Zynga’s Director of Engineering during their heyday in the early 2010s.

He also created a metaverse company called MyMiniLife that he sold to Zynga.

Now he thinks onchain games are the next revolution in the space, and he’s a big reason why PoP managed to raise $33 million during a bear market in the first place.

This brings us to their first game…

What is Pirate Nation?

Pirate Nation is a casual free-to-play crafting game. It’s currently a browser game but will very likely expand to mobile.

The core game loop looks like this:

1. You get a certain amount of energy per day for quests

2. Quests lead to items (NFTs) that you craft

3. Items level up your island and ship

4. You can also sell these items on a secondary market

5. There are also turn-based ship battles with CCG mechanics

So there’s a bit of Animal Crossing, some economic min-maxing, some RPG elements, and eventually, PVP battles.

But at its core, this is a game targeting the casual Web2 audience – think Zynga games, or whatever your uncle plays on his phone when he’s avoiding dinner conversation.

I played the demo earlier today and can confirm that it’s pretty polished even in its beta state. The UI is responsive, the animal crossing pirate music gets me going, and the wallet creation is seamless.

I haven’t played enough to say whether it’s fun over long periods – but I’m also not really the target audience here. I don’t find the Farmville genre fun either even though millions of people play it every day.

The NFTs

Pirate Nation has a few NFTs in the wild already.

There’s the Gen 0 collection, aka the 10k Genesis NFTs. These are on Opensea and if you want to try the game immediately then this is your fastest route.

Gen 0’s give you in-game perks (like discounts on battle passes) and should get more attention if the game takes off.

Then there’s the Gen 1 collection, which is a free NFT currently being rolled out to new players through limited codes.

This is an open edition that lets you try the game and will eventually open up to all new players. Interestingly enough it starts as a soulbound NFT that only becomes transferable after reaching a certain rank (designed to keep bots away).

We got our hands on some codes that we’re giving out today (but as usual this wasn’t a sponsored post).

Finally, there’s a free treasure chest NFT (also an OE) currently minting on manifold. This is a free and more lightweight collection, but there could be some mystery utility later on.

Given that these chests are easier to get than the limited codes, we’ve…

✨ Added to Top 25 ✨

***SPECIAL*** Pirate Nation Codes

You can see this because you’ve referred 5 people to Mint or Skip. Redeem ASAP as it’s first come, first served.

1. code1

2. code2

3. code3

4. code4

5. code5

NOTE: These drops are lightly curated. Our only requirement is that they have recognizable founders. As usual, DYOR. To learn more go here.

FEMGEN

Not enough women in crypto art? This drop is here to fix that.

FEMGEN is a collaboration between online magazine Right Click Save and the VERTICAL gallery, showcasing 6 female artists with renowned collector bases: Anna Beller / Emi Kusano / Emily Edelman / Helena Sarin / Kaoru Tanaka / Lauren Lee McCarthy.

It kicks off with an exhibition at Art Blocks Marfa today, followed by an online sale on September 27th, but details on the latter are still lacking. More info on the exhibited works here and here.

Landscapes of Serenity by jstngraphics

Nineteen-year-old digital artist Justin Bodnar (a.k.a. jstngraphics) will soon make his debut with Landscapes of Serenity. We’ll probably see some dreamy 3D landscapes, one of the artist’s trademarks.

It’s set to drop on FVCKRENDER’S, LVCIDIA, and it’ll be the platform’s 4th experience since their pivot to a full art focus earlier this year.

MoMA Postcard

The MoMA, one of the most influential art museums in the world, continues to dabble in non-fungibles with the MoMA Postcard. Fifteen well-known crypto artists feature in the first release of this series of interactive NFT experiences.

While we’ve already seen the MoMA collaborate with Refik Anadol and tease big NFT acquisitions, this drop seems to signal a shift towards a more proactive role as an NFT educator (this I like).

I’m not sure this accessible experience will be profitable for any flippers out there, but it is significant for the space symbolically so I’ve…

✨ Added to Top 25 ✨

Apophenies by Cory Haber

Apophenia (noun): The perception of or belief in connectedness among unrelated phenomena.

Don’t forget to tell your family that Mint or Skip is an educational newsletter.

Generative artist Cory Haber, a previous exhibitor on platforms like Verse and PROOF, debuts on Bright Moments with an abstract collection exploring the eponymous concept. It showcases his signature hand-drawn style of generative art.

One for the collector who enjoys jumping to conclusions.