I made a multiplayer bitcoin mining sim for nostr users \ stacker news ~gaming

I made a multiplayer bitcoin mining sim for nostr users alpha.minestr.app

2294 sats \ 29 comments \ @Chris_ 24 Sep gaming

I used nostr-login to allow nostr users to compete against each other for sats while learning about bitcoin and nostr and contributing to open source software development. There's an in-game bitcoin/nostr quiz to earn gSats (game-sats) for buying more equipment (currently adding more questions). 50% of all in-game lightning payments go to the epoch winner and the other 50% go to OpenSats. The epoch join fee is currently 21 sats, but I plan to raise it after testing/feedback to increase the size of the payout/donation. You can read more about the game logic in the Rules / FAQ section.

I would love to get your feedback / suggestions for making the game more fun and appealing!

Cheers Chris

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121 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 24 Sep

There's also a SN github proposal to build a quiz inside... maybe some devs are interested https://github.com/stackernews/stacker.news/issues/1294

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 25 Sep

Great idea Darthcoin! If you have time, I'd love if you could try out Minestr and give me your feedback. Fan of your stuff :)

100 sats \ 7 replies \ @amaluenda 26 Sep

This is so much fun! I was in third place on the Epoch1 leaderboard. Thanks for creating this. :-)

1 sat \ 6 replies \ @Chris_ OP 26 Sep

So glad you're enjoying it! Epoch 2 has just begun, by the way :D

100 sats \ 5 replies \ @amaluenda 26 Sep

Cool! How can we ensure or verify that all participants are paying the joining fee? Also, why did you use "Hals" as the Power unit? Is this a tribute to Hal Finney? Thanks again.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Chris_ OP 6 Oct

Hey, added a section where you can verify that all players have paid their join fee plus any top-ups (since total of payments adds up to epoch payout / donation). Check it out! :)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @amaluenda 9 Oct

Thanks!

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Chris_ OP 27 Sep

Yes, "Hals" is a tribute to Hal :)

Good question about payment verification. I had thought about it too, because I also think it's important to allow everyone to verify things as much as possible. Currently it's semi-verifiable in that the epoch payout/donation is always at least the join fee divided by 2 * the sum of the number of players (i.e. payout/donation >= 2100/2 * number of players). But there are also the top-up payments to consider, so this makes the above method not 100% foolproof for verifying join fee payments.

What we could do is provide a page that shows all the payments (join + top-ups) made by each user, which would add up to the payout/donation. What do you think about this? I think it could be a good way to go, as it also shows the amount contributed to the payout and OpenSats from each user.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @amaluenda 30 Sep

Yes, join + top-ups can be shown as another column on the Leaderboard page.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 1 Oct

Trying to make it mobile friendly, there isn't really much space to do so on the leaderboard page. I added a toggle for blocks/payout because of this reason. I think the payment verification page will have to be a separate endeavor! :)

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @ProfSors 25 Sep

pay to win at its best <3

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 25 Sep

🧡 Thank you sir. Please give it a try if you have time :)

100 sats \ 5 replies \ @Doktor 24 Sep

Hey chris just logged in. This is such a great idea. I will give it a shot! :)

First Feedback from my pov: I expieriences its very hard to scan the initinal QR Code. WoS, Strike are failing scanning QR Code. Lnbits is workiung in scanning but since its my own funding source i am lacking of route. Primal works instant - no problems scanning QR Code and payment went trough like a charm. I will do some shopping now :)

0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Chris_ OP 24 Sep

Thanks a lot for the feedback! QR codes can be difficult. I think it depends on screen resolution, camera and brightness. I will enlarge the QR. Please share around and let me know if you have any more feedback :)

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @Chris_ OP 25 Sep

Hey @Doktor! I added the ability to enlarge the QR code. Please let me know if it helps .

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Chris_ OP 25 Sep

Also, would you mind sharing more info about your payment failures? I noticed there were a couple of attempts where the payment was received by I don't think the user could sign up successfully.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @Doktor 27 Sep

Your work played out well. I can now scan the QR code much easier with a bunch of wallets. Some still I need to play a little bit but on the other hand others work like a charm.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 27 Sep

Thanks again for the feedback!

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 24 Sep

Cool idea.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 24 Sep

Thanks Dave! Please try it out and give me some feedback if you have any :)

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 24 Sep

Very cool. I am done my quiz and buying equipment/power for today. I will return tomorrow.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 24 Sep

Thanks! It's great to see it finally in action and working as planned lol. Let me know if you have any feedback :)

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @crrdlx 24 Sep

Amazing how clever bitcoiners are. Neat endeavor.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 24 Sep

You're too kind haha. I think I'm still a beginner. The nostr devs building the clients and all the groundbreaking stuff are the real heros! Please try it out and give feedback if you have any :)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 28 Sep

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 27 Sep

Please follow Minestr on nostr to stay up-to-date!

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Chris_ OP 27 Sep

Wondering whether we should decrease the game (epoch) length from 2 weeks to 1 week? I feel 2 weeks may be a bit long... It does allow players entering a few days late enough time to join and catch up though.

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @amaluenda 30 Sep

I think 2 weeks (2016 blocks) to coincide with the difficulty adjustment period is a very well-thought-out length to give participants enough time to implement their mining strategies. Players entering a few days late can catch up by topping up their gSats balance thereby increasing the payout/donation to OpenSats.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Chris_ OP 1 Oct

Thanks again for the feedback! It's a tough decision. Have to cater to both groups who like the long term strategy aspect and those who want a shorter game (might lose interest over 2 weeks). If enough people ask to make it longer again, we can always switch back! Appreciate the comments!