Card-based fantasy sports game Maincard has launched on The Open Network (TON), opening it up to “a billion potential users.”

“TON makes mass adoption of blockchain as easy as opening your Telegram app,” said Maincard founder Val Makovetskii in a recent press release, adding that it provides access to a billion-strong user base and a “reliable infrastructure to build on.”

As well as leveraging TON’s infrastructure, Maincard has joined the TON Accelerator program as part of its transition from Polygon to TON. It’s also collaborated with Telegram-based game Notcoin, with users able to earn game coins in Notcoin by learning about Maincard, joining its Telegram group and launching its bot.

What is Maincard?

Maincard is a Telegram-based game that sees gamers collect NFT cards to put together their decks. After starting up the Maincard Telegram bot on Telegram, players can make predictions on the outcomes of official sports matches, and earn rewards in MCN, the Maincard token, if their predictions are right.

At the moment, players can make predictions for eSports, all major Football leagues, the NFL, NBA, NHL, MMA, MLB, and Cricket Leagues. A mode called “Battles” enables players to predict the outcomes of matches, while Tournaments pits players against each other to earn the most tokens in a given time frame by making predictions on matches, for prizes that can reach up to 500 TON.

Maincard is initially free-to-play, with users receiving two free demo cards upon joining that can be used to start earning MCN. They can spend their MCN on acquiring new cards and upgrading them.

Makovetskii told Decrypt that being free-to-play enables users to come in and develop a winning strategy without risking their own funds, and creates a less predatory environment than that seen in traditional fantasy sports betting. “We want to be socially responsible about educating people about the risks of gambling,” he added.

The multiplayer and prediction market aspects of the game also distances Maincard from traditional fantasy sports gambling. In Maincard, players don’t compete against “the house” or a bookmaker; they’re competing against each other, predicting the outcome of external events as part of a community of fellow players.

Maincard’s move to TON

Maincard is one of the first handful of companies accepted into TON’s accelerator program, out of over 170 applicants. As part of the program, the game will receive access to marketing support, technical support, and access to up to $2 million in funding.

TON has been making waves recently, with Telegram-based games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat breaking records for active user numbers in a blockchain game. With Notcoin proving that Telegram-based games built on TON can reach the masses, TON is looking to help replicate that success for new projects and games that join the ecosystem—like Maincard.

What’s next for Maincard

Along with its move to TON, Maincard is launching new features and game mechanics, with the goal of adding depth to the game without creating complexity.

Makovetskii told Decrypt that players shouldn’t be forced to use a blockchain or become crypto-savvy to play a game, and that he wants to keep it as abstracted and simple for the user as possible.

The game’s token MCN will list on a TON ecosystem DEX later this year, while upcoming features include custom avatars, with players adding gear that offers special in-match bonuses. Maincard also plans to launch guilds, where players can team up with others to conquer the leaderboards, and loot boxes that will provide players with rare gear for their avatar.