I Think I Found My New Favorite Crypto Side Hustle: Play Games, Earn Rewards, and Learn How to Get Free Crypto
After work, I usually want something that helps me unwind without completely turning my brain off. Sometimes that means doing chess puzzles. Sometimes it means experimenting with Linux, crypto, or some new online project. And recently, I stumbled onto something that combines a few of those interests at once: play-to-earn gaming.
I had seen people online talking about the possible cognitive benefits of gaming, including claims that regular gamers may perform better on certain cognitive tasks than non-gamers. I would not take dramatic claims like “gaming makes you 13 years younger” literally, but the broader idea caught my attention: what if some of my downtime could actually involve problem-solving, strategy, entertainment, and potentially earning crypto rewards at the same time?
That rabbit hole led me to PlanetForge.
Disclosure: Some links in this article are affiliate or referral links. I may earn a commission or referral benefit if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep GuillermoRobles.com going.
What Exactly Is Play-to-Earn Gaming?
Traditional video games usually work in one direction: you give the game your time and sometimes your money, and the game gives you entertainment.
Play-to-earn games try to change that equation.
Depending on the game, players may be able to earn digital assets, tokens, items, points, or other rewards through gameplay. That does not mean you should expect to replace your paycheck by playing a game for an hour every night. Crypto rewards can fluctuate in value, games can change their reward systems, and some projects disappear entirely.
But I think there is still something fascinating about the concept.
If I am going to spend part of my free time gaming anyway, I would rather investigate games where there is at least a possibility of earning something than automatically spending money on games that give me nothing financially in return.
The Game I’m Experimenting With: PlanetForge
The play-to-earn game that caught my attention is PlanetForge.
I like experimenting with emerging technology, crypto projects, mini PCs, Linux, passive-income ideas, and unusual ways of earning small amounts online. So a crypto-related game fits surprisingly well into the type of things I already enjoy researching.
If you want to explore it yourself, you can sign up using my PlanetForge referral link:
🚀 Play PlanetForge and Check It Out for Yourself
My philosophy with projects like this is simple: experiment before you speculate.
I would much rather spend some free time actually using a crypto project than buy a random token simply because someone on social media says it is going “to the moon.” Playing the game lets you experience the ecosystem firsthand while deciding whether it deserves more of your time.
Gaming Can Be More Than Mindless Entertainment
One reason this idea appealed to me is that gaming does not necessarily have to mean sitting motionless and staring at explosions for six hours.
Strategy games, puzzles, chess, resource-management games, and competitive games can force you to make decisions, recognize patterns, manage resources, react quickly, and adapt when your original strategy fails.
That is part of the reason I like doing chess puzzles after work. There is something satisfying about turning your brain toward a completely different problem for a while.
And when a game adds an economic layer—digital ownership, rewards, marketplaces, or crypto—the experience becomes even more interesting to me.
You are no longer just asking:
“Can I beat this level?”
You may also start asking:
“What is this item worth?”
“Should I save this resource?”
“Is there a better strategy?”
“Can the rewards I earn actually be used somewhere else?”
Suddenly the game starts feeling a little more like a miniature economy.
But Can You Actually Make Money Playing Crypto Games?
Possibly—but this is where expectations matter.
I would not quit my job because I earned a few tokens playing a game.
I also would not assume that today's token price, rewards, or game economics will remain the same forever.
Play-to-earn should probably be thought of as a combination of entertainment + experimentation + potential rewards, rather than guaranteed income.
If the game is entertaining enough that you would have enjoyed playing it anyway, any crypto reward becomes an interesting bonus.
That is the mindset I prefer.
If PlanetForge sounds interesting, you can take a look here:
Then I Started Thinking: Why Stop at One Way of Getting Crypto?
This is where my other project comes into the picture.
I have spent a lot of time experimenting with ways of getting small amounts of cryptocurrency without simply opening an exchange and buying everything with cash.
That curiosity eventually became my Kindle e-book:
How to Get Free Crypto
The idea behind the book is exactly what the title sounds like: learning about different methods, platforms, and approaches people can explore for acquiring cryptocurrency without relying exclusively on buying it outright.
If you are already interested in play-to-earn gaming, there is a good chance you will enjoy exploring the broader world of alternative crypto-earning methods too.
📘 Check Out My “How to Get Free Crypto” Kindle Book on Amazon
The Difference Between Buying Crypto and Earning Crypto
There is something psychologically different about earning an asset compared with buying it.
If Bitcoin costs thousands of dollars, someone with only $20 might look at the price and think:
“What is the point? I can barely buy anything.”
But crypto is divisible.
You do not need an entire Bitcoin.
You do not need 100 SOL.
You do not need thousands of dollars to begin learning.
Sometimes the more useful first step is simply figuring out how the ecosystem works.
You can experiment. Learn. Earn small amounts. Understand wallets. Understand fees. Understand tokens. Understand what is legitimate and what deserves skepticism.
Then, if you eventually decide to invest real money, you are doing it with considerably more knowledge than someone blindly following a viral post.
Think in Satoshis, Not Entire Bitcoins
This is one of the ideas that keeps me interested in earning crypto.
A small reward might look unimpressive when measured in dollars today.
Twenty-five cents?
A dollar?
Five dollars?
That does not exactly scream “retirement.”
But instead of only thinking about today's dollar value, I like thinking about the amount of crypto accumulated.
That does not mean the cryptocurrency will necessarily increase in value. It could also fall substantially. But accumulating small amounts while learning can make the process feel like a game of its own.
How many satoshis can I accumulate?
How much crypto can I earn without buying it?
Which methods are worth my time?
Which are a complete waste of time?
Which ones can be automated?
Which ones are actually fun?
Those questions were a big part of why I wrote my book.
📚 Learn More Ways to Get Free Crypto
My Ideal Crypto Gaming Routine
I do not want play-to-earn gaming to become another job.
The entire point is that it should be enjoyable.
So the routine I like is extremely simple.
Get home from work.
Relax.
Do a few chess puzzles.
Play a game for a while.
Experiment with whatever crypto rewards or mechanics exist.
Then move on with my evening.
No staring at candlestick charts until 2:00 a.m.
No refreshing a token price 400 times.
No pretending I am a Wall Street hedge fund because I own $17 worth of something with a dog logo.
Just entertainment, curiosity, and the possibility of gradually accumulating something useful.
A Word of Warning About “Free” Crypto
Whenever the words free and crypto appear in the same sentence, your skepticism should immediately go up.
That is healthy.
There are legitimate ways to earn crypto, but there are also scams, phishing attacks, fake wallets, impossible investment promises, and people who would happily exchange your entire wallet balance for the privilege of teaching you a very expensive lesson.
Never give anyone your seed phrase.
Be cautious about connecting your primary crypto wallet to unfamiliar websites.
Do not assume that a token has value simply because someone gives it to you.
Do not pay hundreds of dollars in order to earn pennies.
And never invest money you cannot afford to lose.
I think experimenting with crypto is much more enjoyable when you treat security as part of the game.
The Real Goal: Build a Crypto Learning Flywheel
This is where the whole idea becomes much bigger than simply playing one game.
Imagine this cycle:
Play → Learn → Earn → Research → Accumulate → Repeat.
You discover a play-to-earn game.
That introduces you to a cryptocurrency.
You learn how wallets work.
You discover another earning method.
You learn about blockchain transactions.
You begin recognizing scams more quickly.
You understand why certain cryptocurrencies have value and others probably do not.
Eventually you stop feeling like someone standing outside the crypto industry looking through the window.
You start understanding how the pieces connect.
That education may ultimately be more valuable than the first few dollars of crypto you earn.
Start With PlanetForge
If you already enjoy gaming and are curious about play-to-earn, PlanetForge is the project I am currently exploring.
You can use my referral link below to check it out:
Give it a try, explore the game, and decide for yourself whether it deserves a spot in your gaming routine.
Then Explore More Ways to Earn Crypto
If playing a game for crypto makes you wonder what other methods exist, that is exactly the rabbit hole my Kindle book explores.
You can find How to Get Free Crypto on Amazon here:
📘 Get “How to Get Free Crypto” on Amazon Kindle
Whether you are completely new to crypto or simply enjoy discovering unusual ways to accumulate more of it, the goal is to give you ideas you can investigate for yourself.
Want More Crypto and Online Income Experiments?
I regularly experiment with cryptocurrency, Linux mini PCs, online businesses, passive-income ideas, affiliate marketing, artificial intelligence, and other ways technology can potentially help ordinary people build additional income streams.
You can also read my related article here:
👉 Read my related GuillermoRobles.com article here
Replace the link above with the URL of the blog post you want to cross-reference.
Final Thoughts
I am starting to think of play-to-earn gaming as less of a “make money playing video games” scheme and more as an entertaining gateway into the crypto economy.
If I can relax after work, exercise my brain a little, experiment with a new technology, and potentially collect some crypto along the way, that sounds considerably more interesting to me than spending an hour endlessly scrolling social media.
Maybe PlanetForge becomes one of my favorite games.
Maybe I discover another game that is even better.
Maybe the amount of crypto earned is tiny.
That is okay.
The experiment itself is part of the fun.
And if you want to experiment alongside me, you now have two places to start:
📚 Learn Ways to Get Free Crypto
Affiliate Disclosure: I may earn a small commission or referral benefit from qualifying purchases, registrations, or actions made through affiliate or referral links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep this content going.
Crypto Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency and play-to-earn rewards can be volatile and may lose value. Nothing in this article is financial or investment advice. Always research projects independently and never risk money you cannot afford to lose.
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