Jaspys, one of my favorite LCS has always done interesting things with their breaks (Crates, mystery packs, hit packs) and now this...while not entirely novel, its a smart nested event where they can use this chase card to push their core breaks business. I expect to see many more of these type of events. it would be great to see if this drove x% incremental (new users, lapsed users, and greater spend) that exceeded the cost of the card. By the way, this Mantle eye appeal is stunning!!!

I really like what Panini America has been doing of late. I commented on their NFT Blockchain initiative (https://lnkd.in/gJnVRsw3) where they have been running events that are essentially crafting systems. While not innovative for a game system, but for collectibles, I really like seeing this being deployed.It drives engagement and use of their marketplace/auction system, which has been lacking from other Collectible Web3 systems I've seen.The other area I like is basic use of scheduling. I received this email from Panini notifying me of what is upcoming and the calendar. This is important given right now in Collectibles, with Fanatics Live and Whatnot, its a free for all -- I have no idea what is on unless my favorite breaker sends IG posts.

Having a Daily calendar of programing that I CARE about is nothing new, but is desperately needed. I often find the current way both Fanatics Live and Whatnot operate their platforms is just chaos--multiple baseball streams with the same product 'trains' the collector to stream hop vs. coordinating time / day slots like TV programing, which I believe would leverage a Breakers community.

Well I like PSA trying things out and starting to embrace some live op events. But I just don't understand the "bounties" event that Fanatics been doing.

Perhaps they are clear they want to engage a certain cohort, in the case of Fanatics their biggest spenders, but it seems to me that Fanatics Live needs to grow their audience funnel and Bounties on high priced product isn't one way to do it. They should be incentivizing their breakers to bring their communities over to Live where they subsidize the events for all cohorts. Am I missing something?

For those who haven't dug into Panini's NFT marketplace (BETA), its worth watching. We all likely collected cards early in our youth where we collected a set (for me the Bears 1985 team). At the end, all we got was satisfaction of completing it. Gaming has built up a big industry around player motivations, of which, one of the biggest is "Achievement", which is completing tasks. Game designers motivated this by offering a 'chase' item that can only be gained by completing a certain of tasks. More sophisticated systems have crafting, sending players on multiple engagement loops (battling, collecting, doing tasks) to play off this motivation of completing tasks for a prized reward. Some systems in games I've been a part of would cost players thousands of dollars and n weeks.
I've always viewed modern collectibles as a prime playground to unleash gamification systems. For example, Go do a break, get x. Take x, go grade at PSA and depending on grade value, get y, or z. Take y or z to be eligible for a new break. Along the way, each action rewards with a unique currency to be used for engagement rewards or monetary rewards, all reinforcing the core loop (see image I created for a basic example of a core loop for crafting).
My point is, Panini is testing out some basic quests and crafting events that are pushing the industry towards this gamification, which I think will unleash substantial LTV unlock. This is on web3 largely since it eliminates the friction of physical which is a huge barrier, but one if done right can be turned into an asset.
I started to do a typical PM tear down, but then stopped. The friction points of adding to your wallet essentially would see your retention drop to d7 = 0%. These friction points (loading wallet, etc) will be solved in due time, but I wonder if there is something that can be done with existing infrastructure of collectibles.
But for now, check out Panini NFT marketplace.

This test didn't get the responses I was hoping for, but all about progression over perfection. I'll re-think what to do for April TipJar on getting more responses. BUT, the winner of the Disney card AND the Pokemon is @themerriment. Let me know the best way to send it to you!

The random.org below.

https://www.onmantel.com/post/2d77878f-f1a2-44af-a1a6-18e7f74245b7?scrollToComment=true