BitBears - no waiting, 1.1x payout!

[velacreations]

I've put the finishing touches on this new game, take a look: http://BitBears.com

It's a pretty simple game, buy a bear, and it increases in price.  It pays 10% profit.

There is a 3% odds of reset, so you have 97% odds of winning. - no more random reset!

There are 3 games running at once, so there's no waiting, like similar games.

Play it and let me know what you think!

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[lightlord]

A Bear ponzi scheme? 

[blockbet.net]

Funny idea, I just bought a bear. Somebody give Baloo a new home!

I didn't put any link on it, but now it links to some weird address that doesn't work. Maybe you could look into that. Ideally it shouldn't link anywhere.

[velacreations]

yeah, that was a little glitch.  I changed it so that it doesn't link to anything.

[scatha]

cute !

[velacreations]

I am considering adding a new level to this game.  Instead of resetting back to 0.5 btc, it could pick a random amount for the reset, like 3 btc, or whatever.

Then, the guy that hits the reset becomes the new owner at 3 btc (but they only pay the price they click on).  So, resetting could mean a jackpot win, or a lose.

The other thing I have thought about is to set each bear as a different game, like this: 
  #1 is the chain, like the original Bitcoin Gem or http://bitcoingoldbar.com
  #2 could be random reset back down to .5 btc
  #3 reset with random amount

What do you think?

[MPOE-PR]

Instead of wasting your time trying to rehash the pointless gem thing, see here.

[velacreations]

yeah, I read that before I started.  Thanks.

[kayrice]

Best of luck! Don't let the haters dissuade you - they hate everything always.

[velacreations]

well, people are really starting to play it, so I'm happy with it.

To be honest, it was a way for me to get my feet wet coding a bitcoin game, and it came out really well, IMO.  So, I'm happy.  There have been a few minor glitches, but nothing major, and it has given me a lot of experience with how to make systems like this work.

But, I am still interested in improving it.  I think the random reset of the price is a good idea, just to add another dimension.

[scatha]

Improve a bit on the design!

instead of saying "Sorry! Transaction is in process." it could instead say "Sorry! Little Bear 'XXXXX' is asleep, please don't you wake him up yet." or just show a bear lieing down.

As for MP's comment, I think that guide is valid & good for large business but not a little game like this, right?

[velacreations]

Improve a bit on the design!

instead of saying "Sorry! Transaction is in process." it could instead say "Sorry! Little Bear 'XXXXX' is asleep, please don't you wake him up yet." or just show a bear lieing down.

That's a good idea, I will play with that.

I am trying to figure out a way to kinda cap the amounts as well.  Reset odds probably won't do it, though I'm thinking if a bear hasn't been played for a few days, it might reset, and the last guy playing will be the first guy in the new round.

What do you think?

[velacreations]

We had our first reset today, and everyone has jumped on that bear!

I am going to look into adding a page of all histories, including previous rounds.  Should be fairly easy.

[velacreations]

Something strange happened with my transaction. I bought the first bear for 0.67BTC and named him pirateat40.

Here's my transaction:
http://blockchain.info/tx/db7cb7d25fe202192513ec28ab4d8bc43d8e8f7c14f22804641e4c70cf5a8bcb

I've never received any payment yet, even though the bear was sold & I didn't reset the round. I'm also now missing from the history.

You were paid .74 btc here:
http://blockchain.info/tx/e06d787632681ae7b74233aada7888d6149329dbffb510c1cc91cea2fea24543

I see you in the history on Bear 1.  You won't appear in the history until you are paid.

[velacreations]

it doesn't add you straight away to the history if you are not paid, but I will change that.

I'm also working on a history for all rounds.

Thanks for playing!

[velacreations]

I added a complete history: http://bitbears.com/history.php

[velacreations]

I think I am going to add a stagnant bear rule.  So, if a bear sits for more than 48 hours or so, it automatically resets.  What do you guys think about that?

[EricTyle]

You making any profit?

Please explain to me how you make your profit to keep the game running? That's my main concern.

[velacreations]

I am making a little profit, 5% on each buy, basically.  Each buyer covers the cost of the previous buyer, so there is not a whole lot of cost associated with keeping the game running.

I think adding in a time rule will help keep the game moving, and if buyers share the game with their friends, it should keep it going, too.  The idea is that you benefit from finding another person to buy your BitBear, so it is in your interest to spread the word.

[velacreations]

Ok, I added the time rule.  If a Bear sits stagnant for 48 hours, it resets.

[blockbet.net]

Ok, I added the time rule.  If a Bear sits stagnant for 48 hours, it resets.

Doesn't this make the odds of winning much smaller?

[velacreations]

The odds for an normal random reset are the same, but yes, the time limit does affect the overall odds of the game.

The thing is, though, that the player has some control over this part of the equation, as they can share and pass the word around, finding the next buyer.

[blockbet.net]

In my opinion that might make more sense once you have more traffic, because at the moment it looks like those bears haven't moved a whole lot in a few days, so the risk of resetting due to time is quite high. I admit I am an owner of one of the bears and I'd prefer not to lose that investment so soon :/

[GoWest]

Just curious, how do you calculate the odds of someone stepping in to become the "greater fool?"  Assuming your site had little to no traffic, the odds could theoretically be zero.

[velacreations]

In my opinion that might make more sense once you have more traffic, because at the moment it looks like those bears haven't moved a whole lot in a few days, so the risk of resetting due to time is quite high. I admit I am an owner of one of the bears and I'd prefer not to lose that investment so soon :/

Well, part of the deal is to encourage players to help with traffic to help protect their investment. Sharing the site is an important part of that.

The thing we are trying to avoid is stagnant Bears.  If you have a better alternative, please let us know.

[velacreations]

with the time reset, I am considering taking out the random reset feature.

[lightlord]

Why not make it a 72 hour reset? I think 48 hours is a little ridiculous or too quick.

[velacreations]

Why not make it a 72 hour reset? I think 48 hours is a little ridiculous or too quick.

yeah, I agree.  I changed it to 72 hours.

Do we even need the random reset now, though?

[btctraderr]

This is an awesome idea, hope it grows and you make a good profit!

I can see this would be something that would benefit greatly by social media.

[velacreations]

This is an awesome idea, hope it grows and you make a good profit!

I can see this would be something that would benefit greatly by social media.

thank you!

yes, I have been looking into ways to incorporate social media more into the game. 

I've thought about being able to share your BitBear, and then it disappears when someone else buys it. It would be really great to get a FB game developed around this.

Also, posting to twitter when anyone buys a BitBear, so you can get updates on the progress.

Any ideas?
 

[payb.tc]

one issue i see is that i think most people will go for the lowest price bear.

it follows then, that when the bears are all exactly the same price it is a bad time to buy one. (because then your bear will be the most expensive).

seems it would be better to wait until 2/3 bears are bought and then try to get the cheap one, giving you more chance to get a buyer


...but then again, i don't have visitor/buyer stats so all of the above is just speculation


to counter-act the above, if it is indeed an issue, make the starting price different for each bear, such that they never end up having exactly the same price as one of the others.

[payb.tc]

erm, another idea...

you could make it so that the owner of a bear can do things to make their bear more attractive to potential buyers... eg. dress it in a funny hat or whatever, make a speech bubble that says "pick me"... etc. so that then they are unique and more tailored to the owner's personality (and marketing ability!). rather than price being the only consideration.

[velacreations]

yeah, the competition has been interesting.  It is not only price that decides, because when it is moving fast, we are waiting for confirmations, so some bears are offline.  So, timing is also a factor.

I like the idea about customizing the bears, that could get really fun.  Now, if you could then share the image of your customized Bear on the social networks, even better.  Kinda like a meme generator.

[pyromaniac]

What's happened with site? Why it's doesn't responding?

[velacreations]

we're having server issues.  The host is getting things back up.  It is up, now, but the server has been acting up today, so i expect they will be migrating everything to a new machine later.

[velacreations]

the game has been progressing nicely.  We've gone through a few rounds, and I am happy with how it is performing.  At this point, I think I am going to let it run for a bit and see how popular it becomes.

My thoughts for improvements are taking out the random reset, and implementing a Facebook game with BtBears so that you can play through the social media sites.

Thanks to everyone for playing, and let me know if you have ideas for making things better.

[velacreations]

BitBears has no random reset, now!  So, it's even easier to earn more.  No need to worry about triggering the reset, play without fear!

Just buy, share, and profit!

http://BitBears.com

[sartan]

So just the 2 day reset?

[truy]

Just lost 0.3765 BTC due to the time reset 
And shortly after user "Bearin'" is buying the bears again for 0.05 ... WTF!?
History shows 22 wins for this user 

There are better ways loosing money...

[talnted]

Just lost 0.3765 BTC due to the time reset 
And shortly after user "Bearin'" is buying the bears again for 0.05 ... WTF!?
History shows 22 wins for this user 

There are better ways loosing money...

I am sorry to hear that man... Our site has made strides to eliminate technical difficulties.