The first thing I needed to do was acknowledge that I’d be playing on a blockchain, specifically the Asset chain.And how?By adding the chain to my MetaMask app.First, I tapped the button that shows which chain you’re on in MetaMask, which for Android users is usually at the top of the interface (let's call it "p").It dropped down, showing my existing chains like Ethereum, Sepolia, Linea, and a button for adding more if needed(let's call it "q"

Upon opening my MetaMask app, I confirmed that the $RWA was now in my wallet.With $RWA in my wallet, the next step was to mint an NFT on Battledog’s site. Having attended a pseudo bootcamp on Battledogs’ NFT minting, I was familiar with the process, so I minted a substantial number of NFTs. On the site, I used a “QuickMint” button, which directed me to an interface displaying a series of dogs, the characters in the game. At the top of the site (the home page), there’s also a button to enable tutorial mode, which I activated.

A pop-up will appear, you’ll confirm it in MetaMask, sign the transaction, and then you’ll return to the site, where it shows the conversion has completed. There’s also a note near the convert button confirming the converted amount.But before activating your Battledogs using the converted $RWA, you need to approve the Wrapped $RWA amount you want to use in the game. You can approve all of it or just a portion. The approve button, a whitish-reddish button near the convert button, allows you to do this.<a href="https://x.com/HackerAKTech/status/1856774429063192727">Check here to complete the full article</a>Thank you 🙏

I’ve been using it, but I hadn’t realized definitively that Wallet Connect is essentially a gateway or API that lets a site connect directly to a wallet app and enables switching between the wallet app and the site. When I used Wallet Connect, all my crypto wallets appeared, and I realized the purpose of Wallet Connect.I clicked MetaMask, and it took me straight from the site to my MetaMask app. I used my fingerprint to unlock MetaMask, waited, and then a pop-up appeared, asking me to sign a transaction

In case you’re not familiar, a crypto faucet is an application that gives out free crypto tokens, typically for test purposes.For AssetChain, the faucet provides free tokens specifically for testing the testnet. I received the link from my community lead, Ekeson, and went to the faucet with their and Amani’s guidance.At the faucet, I needed to mine $RWA, the native token of Asset Chain. $RWA will serve as a utility token, used for payments within the AssetChain ecosystem, and is required for playing the game.

By mining at least 2 $RWA, you have enough to play since each transaction on the blockchain requires only a tiny fraction of $RWA as a gas fee.To start, I copied my wallet address and pasted it in the space provided to begin mining $RWA tokens.While doing this, I discovered something important about wallet addresses in MetaMask. I had two accounts on MetaMask and realized that, regardless of the blockchain network (Ethereum, Sepolia, Linear, AssetChain, etc.), each account has one public address.

This is a freestyle—my journey playing Battledogs for the iBlock Community from my Android phone, not iOS 🌝 😂 (I don't have that) ...you may be saying: "who asked you?" LolI asked myself, so that you can get it for me 🌝I could’ve used my MetaMask extension on Kiwi browser, but it wasn’t opening because MTN and Glo decided to press my neck lolI’m a quick thinker, so I didn’t waste time. I went straight to the MetaMask app, and thank goodness, it opened—very unlike the MetaMask I know, lol.

It asked me to connect my wallet, with options like connecting through email, Google, phone number, Discord, Facebook, and Apple. I chose "Connect Wallet."Remember, I wasn’t connecting my extension, and I was using Chrome browser, where I couldn’t use my MetaMask extension since it’s on Kiwi. It’s not possible to add a MetaMask extension to Chrome on Android. I haven't seen anyone do that.So, I refreshed the page and chose "Connect Wallet" again, this time intending to use Wallet Connect. Here’s a fun fact—I didn’t actually know what Wallet Connect was for until now.

After approval, I returned to the site, where my NFT was minted, and a banner appeared saying, “Creepy arrived,” with a slightly pinkish color. Alright, so we’ve minted the Battledogs, and our Battledogs have arrived. The next step is to go and fight with them. But before that, we need to carry out some other processes. We have to activate our Battledogs, as activating them is essential to use them in battles within the Battledogs arena.So, how do we activate it? Just click on activate. You’ll go to your arsenal, and from there, select the Battledog you want to activate.

All the Battledogs you've minted will be shown in your arsenal. You can access your arsenal from the home page by clicking on the “arsenal” button, where you’ll see all the Battledogs NFTs you’ve minted. When you click on the Battledog NFT you want to activate, another interface will slide up, and you'll see an activation button for your NFT. To activate the NFT, you’ll need Wrapped RWA $wRWA. You already have $RWA, which is the native token, from the crypto faucet on Asset Chain. While you have RWA in your MetaMask wallet, you need wrapped $RWA.

This single public address is used to receive assets across different chains, appearing on that specific chain within your wallet. The only difference lies between accounts: each has its own unique public address and private key, represented as a 12-word mnemonic phrase, as we discussed with BIP-339 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal).Once I pasted my public address, I began mining $RWA on the faucet. The faucet allowed me to increase workers up to 32, which I did to speed up mining. Once the tokens mined reached a threshold, around 0.5 $RWA, I stopped mining and claimed the tokens.

So, the next step was to connect my wallet to Battledog's site, which I did. Since I wasn’t using my MetaMask extension on the Kinwi browser, I had to use the MetaMask app instead. This is the process I followed to play the blockchain-based game, which is decentralized in nature.First, I went to connect my wallet and clicked the "Connect Wallet" button at the top of the site's interface. When I clicked the button, a menu came up—not a dropdown this time but rather sliding up from the bottom.

I signed the transaction and answered a few security prompts, like confirming I wanted to connect.Oh, and I should mention—the network I added is actually a testnet because the mainnet isn’t live yet. The asset chain is still in development, so we’re operating on a testnet.After connecting my wallet to AssetChain, an essential step before starting the game, the next task was to acquire some AssetChain NFT tokens. Since AssetChain is in a testnet phase, getting its NFT token didn’t require real money; instead, we could get it from a crypto faucet.

To get it, use the convert button found at the bottom of most pages in the Battledogs arena. The convert button, displayed in color with forward and backward arrows, lets you convert $RWA to Wrapped $RWA depending on the amount in your wallet. Since your wallet is already connected to the site, everything you hold will be displayed, so just convert a portion of it, as you need $RWA for other things as well. After choosing the amount to convert to Wrapped $RWA, click on convert, and it will trigger an on-chain transaction.

Not gonna lie, I felt pretty cryptic 😂, like sungacious, fantabulous, eliminiferous, peotarioisus (yeah, none of these words are in the dictionary; shoutout to Ebenezer for teaching me 😂).So I've added the chain, the next thing I needed to do was to connect my wallet to the Battledogs site.Good to know: I can't remember the on-site commands word-for-word, and I'm in no position to go do that cause I'm stressed as hell after the whole game tournament.

From around 5 pm yesterday till nearly 1:30 am NGN time, I was on my phone, bouncing between Chrome, MetaMask, WhatsApp, and everything in between.At some point, my mom called, and I told her I’d call back because I was busy. She understood. Ever since the 2nd quarter of this year, when I decided to take Web3 seriously, she’s noticed that her son isn’t the same Akachukwu who used to spend time just calling people aimlessly.So, what was I doing from 5 pm to 1:30 am? Now, that’s the billion-dollar question, right?

Battledogs

First, let me clarify—it actually started around 5 pm, not 7 pm. I attended a two-hour pseudo-bootcamp to dive deep into the world of Battledogs—a mind-blowing Web3 game built on the Asset chain. This game is set to revolutionize things by shifting from the pay-to-play model of Web2 games to the play-to-earn model, all powered by the Gamified Finance sector of blockchain technology.Now, before we continue, come closer…yes, lean in because I need to tell you a secret.This is supposed to be a script for a podcast—my podcast. But, honestly, I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

First, I don’t have the equipment; second, I don’t want to do it alone; and third, this inspiration hit me out of the blue. If I don’t act on it now, procrastination might get the best of me.Alright, you can pull back now—I’m done spilling. Fun fact, I’m in Enugu, at UNEC specifically, and I’m open to Tech/Web3-Web2 podcast collaborations with anyone interested.Now, back to Battledogs. It’s a game, and games are about fun, right? So, I’m not about to write this article like some rigidly professional piece.

I tapped on q, and it took me to an interface displaying possible chains to add, like Arbitrum, Avalanche C-chain, Zksync, etc., plus a button in the top-right corner to add custom chains (let's call it "r")I tapped on r and was led to a page where I would enter Asset chain’s details: name, RPC URL, ID, blockchain explorer, ticker symbol, and another number.Once I filled in the details, a button at the bottom turned blue, asking me to confirm. I hit it, and boom—Asset chain was added to my MetaMask.

This mode provides helpful pop-ups for each action, guiding users on what each button does and possible interactions.In the QuickMint interface, I entered a name for my NFT (for instance, “Creepy”) and clicked the “Spawn” button. This action initiated a blockchain transaction, which I needed to approve in my MetaMask app since I was using WalletConnect rather than a MetaMask extension. Each time a transaction was initiated, a menu appeared with various crypto wallets. Selecting MetaMask took me directly to the app to approve the transaction, showing a minimal gas fee in $RWA.

When I was playing this game I thought to myself,  "I will get myself acquainted with this game so that I can write about it revealing the innovative web3 solutions of Nigeria and Africa at large".