What is Sorare, and how to play it?

Sorare is where fantasy soccer and cryptocurrency meet. For soccer fans, this is a way to be competitive off the field and play around it heavily right away. Users can play the game online in their browser or download the Sorare app. In this article, you will read all about what exactly Sorare is and how it works.

What is Sorare?

Sorare is a blockchain-based fantasy soccer game adored by many soccer fans worldwide. The founders of the platform want to give fans the opportunity to develop and play the game, even when they can’t play it on the field. Users can buy, trade, sell and manage a virtual team with digital player cards.

By competing against other users of this fantasy football game, you can earn points. It’s more than simply playing virtual tournaments because you need to build strategies and create lineups. The more you know about the real-life performances of your players, the more points you earn.

The Ethereum-based platform was developed in 2018. In 2020, trading Sorare players cards were sold for $52,500 and in 2021, the prices went up to $3.6 million.

How to play Sorare?

Playing Sorare is something different than following the league on TV. As a manager, you can put together a virtual team — this Sorare beginners guide gives you a head start. The game’s core is the collectible digital cards, better known as nonfungible tokens (NFTs). When users sign up for the Sorare gameplay, they get five cards of players for free.

Related: How to create an NFT: A guide to creating a nonfungible token

Users can start right away without investing any money. But, is Sorare free to play? Yes, it is, but if you want to level up your game, you can start trading. Each soccer team has five essential positions: the goalie, defender, midfielder, striker and substitute player. Users buy these player cards on the OpenSea NFT marketplace. Based on the real-time performances of the soccer players, your team is awarded a number of points within the SO5 league games.

Users’ players compete every week in virtual tournaments, and based on their performances on the physical field points are awarded. Is a player punished with a red card or does the soccer player score a goal in real life? Then you win or lose points in the game accordingly.

As a user, you’ll see this reflected in the number of points, in a positive or negative way. Keep in mind that luck is also an important factor because a top player can also be given a rest and be benched. Just when you had that player lined up in your team, too — bummer.

To protect the dynamics of the game, there are also rare collectibles NFTs, which come in rare, unique and super rare items. Last February, professional footballer Erlin Haalands’ card was sold on auction for nearly $700,000, and you could’ve followed the sale live on Twitter. Sorare NFTs can be bought or sold with the cryptocurrency Ether (ETH).

Should you invest in Sorare?

The choice to to put money in Sorare isn’t ours to tell, but we can inform you about the worth of the Sorare cards. In the end of 2021, the auction prices were as follows:

• Rare cards are available from 0.005 ETH;
• Super rare cards from 0.048 ETH;
• Unique cards started at 0.478 ETH.

Directly on the website, you can track all trades and statistics so you are always aware of the value of your potential future cards.

The play-to-earn game uses its own currency, the SOR token. It’s an ERC-20 token compatible with the Ethereum blockchain. As a user, you can stake this token or use it to trade your Sorare NFTs. When you choose to stake SOR, it’s possible to generate a passive income. However, the token is mainly used to buy new collectible cards.

How to earn points on Sorare?

There is a fierce debate on various forums about the value of player cards on Sorare, but the platform itself has simply made the point count public. You can find it under the FAQ on Sorare’s site. Players’ scores are made up of several elements, as mentioned in the image below:

The decisive score can be either negative or positive due to different factors such as goals, penalties, red and yellow cards, own goals, missed opportunities and assists. The overall score is determined by a list of no less than forty actions including tackles, duels lost or won, a missed pass or an opportunity created.

When users hold a card of a football captain, they receive a bonus in points of 20%. Do they trade in a player of the ongoing season, it’s worth +5%.

How does Sorare work?

You now know how the game is developed and why you could put money in this NFT fantasy soccer game. Signing up is easy, but we’ve created a step-by-step plan for you:

The five cards you receive at registration are purchased with fictitious money. They, therefore, have no financial value and cannot be traded with ETH.

Related: Decentralized finance (DeFi): A beginner’s guide

If you really want to play the fantasy football game and buy some collectible cards, then you can begin with Sorare. Everything you buy with your own money is worth something and can be sold at a profit in the future. However, ensure to conduct proper research before committing your funds into any decentralized finance (DeFi) project.