Zed Run Review: Horse Racing Revolution?

Welcome to my Zed Run review: A crypto-NFT-based game where players buy, breed, and race horses.

The game is built on the Polygon network and has a digital wallet called the “Zed Run Wallet.” This digital wallet allows users to transact with low gas fees.

Powered by NFT, Zed Run is a digital horse racing platform where several race events take place every hour.

Digital horse owners participate in the race, which costs between $2 to $15, depending on the racehorse type.

Players earn money by winning races and selling their unique digital horses as an NFT on different marketplaces such as OpenSea.

The horses are uniquely created NFTs, with each horse having different strength, breed, bloodline, genotype, and other DNA attributes.

According to Virtually Human (The Australian studio that created Zed Run), every horse on Zed Run is a breathing NFT that has its own unique DNA.

In the words of Roman Tiron, the head of partnerships at Virtually Human:

Each horse can breed, has a bloodline, has a life of its own. It races, it has genes it passes on, and it lives on an algorithm, so no two horses are the same.

Roman Tiron

Owners can also breed their unique NFT horse on Zed Run’s stud farm.

Zed Run crypto game started as a simple idea in 2018 but later turned out innovative. The minds behind the game are Chris Laurent, Rob Salha, Geoff Wellman, and Chris Ebeling.

Although, there were concerns at the project’s inception since no one knew what digital race horses would look like, let alone if people would buy digital horses at all.

Nevertheless, the reception from the community has been extraordinary: Zed run has over 40,000 members on its discord channel alone, and the number is growing rapidly.

Due to the current general bearish market in the crypto world, Zed Run trading volume has significantly dropped.

According to DappRadar, the Blockchain platform that allows users to manage their wallets, Zed Run trading volume comes 4th behind Axie Infinity, Alien Worlds, and Splinterlands.

So, now that we’re finished with the introduction, are you ready for the Zed Run review? Let’s begin!

Graphics & Design

One of the most important aspects of a crypto game is its graphics and design because it can significantly affect how players would enjoy and experience the game.

Crypto games are known for their bright, eye-catching graphics and designs. In Zed Run, these are incredibly evident. The game features colors and styles that appeal to anyone who plays it.

The game also has a unique style that distinguishes it from other crypto games. It’s not just a simple digital representation of an animal (horse) running through space. Instead, they’ve created an entire universe around this concept.

Zed Run’s visuals and style are intriguing. The game’s graphics are simple but aesthetically appealing. The color scheme and style of the game are cool and attractive. The graphics are made to be calming and yet not distracting.

If you experience the platform, perhaps only a few games will appeal to you more than Zed Run.

The background and the game’s characters (horses) are all beautifully designed in a clean and classic design that ultimately gives one of the best user interfaces you will see in a game.

I think there is no significant downside to this game’s graphics and design. So, with that in mind, I give Zed Run a 9 out of 10 in its graphics and design.

Gameplay

Zed Run is a game that uses blockchain technology to create the ultimate platform for gamers.

By playing the game, Gamers can earn money and in-game tokens, which are then used to purchase virtual items and strengthen their characters (horses).

Zed Run is a simple game – It’s more about strategy than anything else. Your horse’s abilities predetermine the results of races.

The races take place continuously every hour. Players can stream them on the company’s website and the game’s Twitch channel. Players can follow the live race results on the game’s Discord server, share trading tips, and use third-party tools to analyze the game’s data.

The horses that compete in the automated virtual games are NFTs. The game has a digital marketplace for the horses where players can trade and purchase these digital horses.

Each of these virtual horses is called a “Breathing NFT,” as described by Zed Run’s creators.

This is as opposed to most NFTs, which are GIFs, movies, and images held as collections or sold for profit. Each Zed Run racehorse has different DNA based on its bloodline, genotype, and breed type.

Bloodline

There are a total of four bloodlines in Zed Run, and they are Nakamoto, Szabo, Finney, and Buterin.

Nakamoto is the rarest of them all. It is also the purest racehorse and costly to possess.

Szabo is the next bloodline hierarchy. They are relatively rare but a little more affordable than Nakamoto.

Finney is third in the hierarchy, followed by Buterin, which is the most common and affordable bloodline.

Both also compete fiercely with the other bloodline in a race.

Although Nakamoto is widely regarded as the most reliable and dominant bloodline, the Buterin bloodline is also known for its dominance on the racetrack.

These bloodlines have distinct characteristics determined by the birthing and minting process. Bloodlines play a significant role in the overall rating of each horse.

Also, the more a bloodline is sought, the greater its chances and success on the racetrack. 

Genotype

Genotype describes the genetic distance between a racehorse and its ancestors. The higher the genotype, the less likely the racehorse would have a good aptitude for racing.

However, a low Z number doesn’t always guarantee a good performance, but the chances are high.

Z1 is the rarest genotype, and it increases the chances of getting top performance from your racehorse. The maximum genotype is Z268.

Breed Type

In the Zed ecosystem, there are 6 breed types named in order of their rareness: Genesis, Legendary, Exclusive, Elite, Cross, and Pacer.

Genesis is the purest breed type and can be acquired only through drops. There are only 38,000 of them, and once they are all sold, they cannot be minted again.

There are two other sub-groups to classify the horses. They are gender, classified further into Colt, Stallion, Philly, and Mare.

The other subgroup, coat color, is classified into seven coat colors: Neptune, Earth, Wild, Moon, Fiery, Classic and Mystical.

Now that we’ve run through the different types of horses, the next step is to dive into the races themselves.

There are six races based on the Zed-rating of the horses. They are:

To level the playing field and ensure a certain degree of “fairness” in the results, the classes are organized so that horses of similar abilities are grouped together.

Before proceeding, new players must first enroll in Griffin Class races to establish the base rating for their horse. These ratings are linked to their genotype as indicated below:

Your horse’s initial base rating will be shown after participating in a Griffin Class race, giving you a better understanding of its talents and designated class levels.

After each race, horses can be promoted or demoted to a higher or lower class. In some cases, they will remain in the same class.

They are awarded Z points based on their position at the end of each race:

1st Place	4 Points
2nd Place	3 Points
3rd Place	2 Points
4th Place	1 Point
5th Place	0 Points
6th Place	0 Points
7th Place	0 Points
8th Place	0 Points
9th Place	-1 Point
10th Place	-2 Points
11th Place	-3 Points
12 Place	-4 Points

Note: A racehorse can participate in a higher-level race outside of its present class, but it cannot run in a lower-level race.

If you want to significantly boost your chances of winning in Zed Run, then breeding is another essential thing you must know.

Although this is quite a complex concept and requires a whole new article to explain, simply put, it’s the process of breeding two horses together to produce offspring.

Like in the real world, Zed Run allows you to cross-breed racehorses. Here’s a video for beginners that explains how to breed horses in Zed Run:

You can also check out this guide about Zed Run breeding.

Relatively to a crypto game, I gotta say that the gameplay on Zed Run is quite fantastic, and that’s why it’s an easy 10/10.

Story

Zed Run started as a simple discussion between Chris, Rob, and Geoff: They had an idea of making a game that mimics real-life horse racing and build it on Blockchain, while also applying the play-to-earn model to have a huge community and increased adoption. They never thought it would be something great, but the reception for Zed Run has been incredible.

With Zed Run, horseracing has become a hobby or interest for people who ordinarily would never participate in real-life horse racing.

The game has also made horseracing popular among some demographics that did not even know about horse racing or how it’s played.

Based on the game story, I assess the game 7/10. The idea is so simple but meaningful.

Music

Zed Run’s soundtrack includes many genres, ranging from jazz to rock and roll. Although the races are automated, the in-game music provides a sense of ambiance for horse racers whenever they watch their race.

On July 24, 2020. Emanate Live (A Blockchain-based music streaming platform) announced a partnership with Zed Run. This partnership enables music producers to make their music available in the game for a certain period in exchange for cash prizes.

In my opinion, the music on Zed Run is decent, and it’s a solid 6 out of 10.

Tokenomics

The ZED token is the in-game token for Zed Run and is based on the Polygon and Ethereum blockchains. Over time, the primary utility token and in-game money of Zed Run will be the ZED token.

There are about 1,000,000,000 (One billion) ZEDs in total supply and over 16,000 holders in various addresses. The fully diluted market cap is approximately $33,000,000.

It should be noted that the ZED token is still in the development stages and has not been fully launched. You can read more on the ZED token here.

Since the game’s tokenomics is still developing, I believe a 6 out of 10 rating is generous.

Community

The developers at Zed Run have created a truly unique game experience that combines top-notch graphics, high-quality gameplay, and a great community experience.

They’ve done this by creating an intricate narrative that ties together all 3 aspects of their product: The story and the gameplay contribute to the increase in the game community.

According to the official game website:

“Zed Run is empowered by its 40,000+ strong community from around the world, driving a creative and collaborative culture. Everyday, community participants are finding joy in the digital racehorse ownership and the discovery of friendly competition across futuristic racetracks, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Virtually Human Studio

The game also lists various guidelines governing people’s community interaction. To read more about the community and guidelines, you can check the official page here.

The Zed Run team has done very well on community, and it’s an easy 8 out of 10.

Earnings

In Zed Run, there are 3 ways to earn money.

1. Horseracing: By participating in various class races on Zed Run, winners take the prize money, which is paid in cryptocurrency.
2. Horse Exchange: Players can also sell their horses on secondary markets like OpenSea as NFTs. 
3. Horse Breeding: Some players help other players breed their horses and charge them breeding fees. Players can also breed their horse and sell it as NFT on a secondary marketplace.

It’s worth noting that the game’s economics are hinged on purchasing, racing, breeding, and selling horses. By winning races or breeding and selling horses, players earn cryptocurrency.

However, there is also a downside worth mentioning.

Due to the recent human breeding modifications, it now takes more time to breed horses – usually over a month.

This is as opposed to the few minutes it previously required before the modification. The implication is that players have to focus more on class races to earn, as the breeding process is longer and less profitable.

Based on the current earnings-potential, I will give Zed Run a 6 out of 10.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

After a careful review and understanding of the game, I believe Zed Run has the potential to be one of the best NFT/Crypto games in the world. Many exciting features, such as the Zed Run Augmented Reality (AR), are also set to release in the future.