Splinterlands | Scholarships | And How They Stack Up?

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3 weeks ago

What's Scholarship?

At the base level, the scholarship idea in Splinterlands is the same as we generally understand it. There is a course, event, or opportunity that an individual wishes to take advantage of, but due to lack of knowledge, finances, or a combination of both is unable to do so. In such circumstances, another individual or institution provides funds or know-how to the individual seeking it and therefore enables the former to benefit from the course, event, or opportunity.

The provider of the funds or know-how is the Manager or the Sponsor, while the individual seeking the help is the Scholar or the Sponsored. Having understood this, let’s look at how scholarship works in Splinterlands and what are the dos and don’ts in the game.

But before that, shall we spend a minute getting to know Splinterlands? After all, that’s where you will find all these fun battles, rules, and monsters; not to mention scholarships and sponsors/managers.

What Game is Splinterlands?

Splinterlands is a digital card game that allows you to collect, trade, battle, rent, and even earn from the cards. *The game gives Play to Earn a whole different meaning.* By now, you would know that the governance token (SPS) airdrop made millionaires out of the early adopters. It still keeps giving and remains a fun and engaging game.

To give you an idea of how lucky you can get in Splinterlands, read my story of getting cards worth $500 from buying only a few packs worth $20.

Got Cards Worth $500 from $20 Packs

And this is just a tiny number. I have witnessed people getting uber-expensive cards in their pack and selling them for as high as $6500. In fact, there is a whole Splinterlands marketplace on the Hive blockchain and now on Wax too. And now the sales of the Rebellion packs, the newest of the lot, have also started.

Any reason not to try it out? To join, scroll down quickly. 😊

Getting to Know Scholarships | Types

First and foremost let’s understand the types of scholarships and how a player interacts with the Manager or Sponsor. There are three ways in which Scholars (Sponsored) Managers come together.

1. Manager Has Zero Control | And Scholars Have Full Freedom
2. Manager Has Partial Control | And Scholars Have Partial Freedom
3. Manager Has Full Control | And Scholars Have Minimal Freedom

> Note: By Freedom, we mean only the time commitment of the Scholars for the game in the virtual world. This classification by no means affects or impacts the Scholars' personal life.

Despite the way we have denoted the relationship, understand, that the Scholar is here to learn and earn, and therefore, whether fully free or depicted as having no freedom, he or she is enjoying for sure. Splinterlands is one of the best play-to-earn games after all.

And why are we denoting the Manager-Scholar relationship over here? That’s just the way the game is designed to make it possible for a Scholar to benefit from the game, based on their relationship with the Manager.

Let’s look at each relationship, shall we?

Manager Has Zero Control | Scholar Has Full Freedom

To explain this association, let’s talk about the rental market. The rental market is one place where all the players have the opportunity to rent out their cards so that players in need can use them or benefit from them. In such an association, the relationship is enabled through the gaming platform [Splinterlands] without the Manager (the one renting out a card) having direct contact with the Scholar (the one seeking the card in rental).

Here is what the rental market looks like. The salient feature of this kind of association is that there is no formal connection between the Scholar and Manager and yet the interaction is enabled by Splinterlands.

*Benefits of This Association*

1. The Manager does not have to worry about the Scholar looking for the Manager’s assets.
2. The Manager can benefit from the rent that he/she receives from the Scholar.
3. The Scholar does not have any obligation towards the Manager other than the rent to be paid.
4. The Scholar is free to play as he/she wishes.

*Disadvantages of This Association*

1. The Scholar does not gain any knowledge or know-how about a card or game-play from the Manager.
2. The Scholar does not get to take advantage of a Manager’s skills or directions.
3. The Manager loses a chance to coach a scholar, therefore, increasing the chances of a Scholar dropping out. After all, the game ecosystem benefits when all benefit.

Now, what could be the dos and don’ts under such an association? Those would be the basics of the game. Let’s look at a few of them.

*Dos*
1. First and foremost Managers should know that they are Managers despite not having formal connections with the Scholars.
2. Managers should ensure that they rent out cards that they haven’t played in the recent past. That way, when a Scholar rents it to play, he can immediately play with it. [Else the Scholar has to rent and await the cooling period. That will hamper the Scholar’s experience].
3. Scholars should go through the battle logs to take a look at the games, game plays, and cards that they could use. Rent a card only when you are convinced.

*Don’ts*
1. Scholars shouldn’t blindly rent out cards because they like the card. There is a difference between you liking a card and its benefit in battle.
2. Scholars dropping out if they are unable to play. You can avoid this and seek guidance from the team on multiple external channels like Telegram, Discord, and more. In fact, just head to Splinterlands' articles on Hive and leave a comment under any of their articles for help.
3. I hope that gives a rough idea to both Managers and Scholars. Now, let’s move to the next type of association.

Manager Has Partial Control | Scholar Has Partial Freedom

An example of such an association is when a Manager invites Scholars (players) from outside the game through his/her invite link. These players could be known or unknown to the Manager. However, the Manager could invite the players with the assurance that he/she will delegate cards to them to play and would hand-hold them while they learn the game.

Here the Manager has some control over the Scholars and can guide them, but the Scholars may or may not take the guidance. There is no direct benefit to the Manager from the Scholar learning the game. But how do Managers delegate?

The both-way arrows allow us to delegate our cards to a scholar. But what are the benefits of this association?

*Benefits*
1. The Manager benefits from a new Scholar joining and becoming a part of his team.
2. The Scholar finds someone to guide them through the game.
3. The Scholar gets cards delegated which would otherwise be going out of the Scholar’s pocket.
4. The Scholar can connect with the Manager about the game and learn the basics of the game.
5. Scholars can continue to remain independent and free to try out the game and yet fall back on the Manager for help.
6. The Manager and Scholars can stay in touch through other portals like telegram, discord, or other social media platforms.

*Disadvantages*
1. There is no direct relation between the Manager and Scholar even if they are friends outside the game.
2. It is left to the Scholar how much he or she wants to involve themselves in the game.
3. Managers cannot control or try to control the Scholars. The only control they can have is to delegate their cards or not.
4. Scholars’ level of involvement is dependent on their perceived interest in the game.

*Dos*
1. Managers take an interest in helping out Scholars in understanding the game and game plan.
2. Scholars connect with Managers for questions or queries about the game.
3. Managers should stay in touch and try to connect with the Scholars on other media platforms.
4. Managers can also explain the way to use the cards they have delegated.
5. Get Scholars excited about winning battles and earning tradeable cryptos like SPS, Glint, and Vouchers.

*Don’ts*

1. Managers should know the difference between providing help and forcing the Scholars to play. Don’t force. Instead, make sure Scholars enjoy.
2. Don’t force timelines and targets
3. Scholars should be encouraged to play and enjoy initially instead of comparing them with other Scholars and regular players.
4. Don’t try to encourage interest by delegating more cards. That may put off some Scholars.

Now that we understand this part of the association, let’s move on to the last one.

Manager Has Full Control | Scholar Has Minimal Freedom

An example of such an association is the Manager starting a Guild and recruiting all Scholars in the Guild. This is the easiest and best way to stay in touch. All the benefits we saw of the earlier associations are directly available over here.

For those that don’t about Guild Brawls, it is similar to a team formation with the older players (Manager) starting the team and the newbies (Scholars) can join that team. Guild is the easiest and closest association that can form between Managers and Scholars.

*Benefits*
1. Managers can easily see the progress each Scholar is making each week.
2. Managers can identify and give specific cards to specific Scholars.
3. Managers can look at replays of Scholars' games and provide feedback.
4. Managers can even suggest some of their battles to watch. Scholars can learn firsthand.
5. Not only Managers but also Scholars can look at Managers’ battles, cards, and progress.
6. Managers can easily sell the idea of brawl victories, SPS earnings, and how it could benefit scholars. The idea of Play to Earn cannot be explained any better than through this association.

*Disadvantages*
1. Scholars may be intimidated by other players.
2. Scholars may shut down about the game if the Managers are too pushy.
3. Managers risk being over-concerned and thereby, lose Scholars.
4. Managers may not be able to give individual direction to each Scholar.
5. The Manager could be overwhelmed with too many queries and clarifications.
6. Scholars may feel left out if not communicated with at regular intervals.

So, what are the dos and don’ts for Managers and Scholars under such an association? Let’s take a look.

*Dos*
1. Managers should be available to the Scholars and yet avoid being pushy.
2. Managers should encourage Scholars to have fun in the game.
3. Scholars should work for the overall team victory, and thereby, learn the trick of the trade themselves (and fast).
4. Use the Splinterlands’ chat windows for faster and easier communication within a guild with the Manager and other players (Scholars).
5. If Scholars are unhappy with something in the team, air it to the Manager.
6. Managers should find Scholars who can be second-in-command and cater to the needs of other Scholars in the team.
7. Managers should think of new ways of encouraging Scholars like a one-time card pack distribution, SPS gifts, etc.

*Don’ts*
1. Absolutely no comparisons to be made between Scholars.
2. The Manager should encourage playing but not impose unrealistic targets.
3. Managers should respect that Scholars have a life outside the game too and avoid unnecessary gatherings for battles.
4. Don’t forget that Scholars may be from different timelines across the world.
5. Scholars should be realistic and truthful. Don’t overcommit and be unable to meet expectations.
6. The Manager shouldn’t ask for feedback and then ignore the feedback. This would be the fastest way for the Scholars to leave the team.

These were some of the pointers. Hope it gave both Managers and Scholars some idea of what to expect in the game and how things work.

Manager – Scholars Teaming Up | Make It Fun

Irrespective of the type of association, Managers should attempt to make the entire experience fun, while Scholars should enjoy themselves. When the aim is to play the game, then the other parts of the association automatically fall into place.

So, come together to have fun! 😊 All should try it out.

Namaste!