Open Alpha Guide

BTC: Proof of Play – Open Alpha Player Guide

Welcome to the Open Alpha of BTC: Proof of Play.
This is not a finished game. This is a live, playable build where your feedback directly shapes what comes next.

You’re here to play, break, test, and share.

What This Is

  • An Open Alpha, not a launch

  • Features, balance, UI, and flow are still evolving

  • Expect bugs, rough edges, and things changing quickly

That’s the point.

What We Want You To Do

Please do all of the following:

  • Play matches (Online or vs AI)

  • Test cards, turns, targeting, and pacing

  • Try things you think might break the game

  • Record gameplay

  • Take screenshots (SSTS)

  • Stream it

  • Share clips, bugs, and feedback publicly

Noise is good. Visibility helps.

How To Play (Quick Start)

Controls (Mouse and Keyboard)

  • Click cards in your hand to select them

  • Click a valid slot on the board (1 - 6) to play those cards

  • Click your cards and then select an enemy card or target the opponent directly to attack

  • Click empty space to cancel actions or card selections

  • Tooltips appear when hovering over any UI or 3D items on the board

  • SAT SLAPS are your way of sending emotes to your opponent (Press S)

Match Flow

  1. Coin toss decides who goes first

  2. Draw phase happens automatically

  3. Play cards if you have enough Hashrate

  4. Attack with cards or directly if shields are down

  5. Reduce your opponent’s Network Integrity to win

Core Concepts

  • Network Integrity = Health

  • Hashrate = Energy (Mana)/ Resource used to play cards and attack with

  • Sparks = Common in-game currency

  • Shards = Premium in-game currency

Everything is Bitcoin-themed on purpose.

Economy (Alpha Values)

For the Open Alpha, all players start with:

  • 420 Sparks

  • 21 Shards

This is a testing balance.
Progress may reset between Alpha phases.

Lightning Payments (Important)

Lightning may be enabled during the Open Alpha.

  • Payments are real

  • They currently grant in-game currency only

  • No sats are transferred between players

  • Consider this testing Lightning UX, not spending money in a live economy

Only tip or purchase if you’re comfortable doing so.

Feedback & Bugs

If something feels wrong, confusing, broken, or exploitable:

  • That’s valuable

  • Screenshot or record it

  • Tell us what happened and what you expected

This Alpha exists to harden the game.
Use the “FEEDBACK” button on the HUB to report anything related to bugs or feedback.

Mac Users Guide

If you see:

“ App can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer ”

Do this:

Method 1 – The quick way (works most times)

  1. Find the app in Finder

  2. Right-click (or Control-click) the app

  3. Click Open

  4. You will see the same warning again - but now there is an Open button

  5. Click Open

That’s it. The app will now run normally forever.

Method 2 – If the Open button does NOT appear

  1. Try to open the app normally once (so macOS blocks it)

  2. Open System Settings

  3. Go to Privacy & Security

  4. Scroll down to the bottom

  5. You will see:

    “<App> was blocked from use because it is not from an identified developer”

  6. Click Open Anyway

  7. Confirm Open

Why this happens

macOS Gatekeeper blocks apps that are not signed with an Apple Developer certificate.
This Alpha build is safe, but not yet code-signed while in testing.

You only need to do this once.

Important

Do not try to move the app, rename it, or run it from inside the ZIP.
Drag it to Applications first, then follow the steps above.

After this, BTC: Proof of Play will open like any normal app.

Final Note

If you enjoy it:

  • Share it

  • Stream it

  • Screenshot it

  • Talk about it

This game grows by being seen…

… and lastly - Thank you! !

Your input makes everything better, cleaner, and importantly - its built “ by Bitcoiners, for Bitcoiners ”

The Boring Disclaimer stuff:

BTC: Proof of Play is currently in Open Alpha.

This means the game is actively in development. Features may change,

bugs may exist, and progress may be reset between updates.

The Windows build is unsigned, so you may see a “Windows protected your PC”

warning. This is expected for early Alpha builds.

Click “More info” → “Run anyway” to play.

BTC: Proof of Play uses Bitcoin-inspired mechanics and real Lightning payment rails,

but all in-game currencies (Sparks, Shards) are not real Bitcoin and have

no monetary value outside the game.

Lightning payments are used for purchases and tips.

Players do not receive or withdraw Bitcoin from the game.