The first “Bored Ape” NFT game costs $2,300+ for three weeks of play

Owners of Yuga Labs’ infamous “Bored Ape” non-fungible tokens (and related crypto tokens) get free access to a simple endless runner/tunnel racing game called Dookey Dash today. But some members of the “exclusive” Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) are already selling a chance to play the time-limited game for thousands of dollars on the secondary market.

Listings on the OpenSea exchange show a current floor price of 1.49 ETH (about $2,293) for a “Sewer Pass” NFT that grants access to Dookey Dash until February 8. In less than 24 hours, the exchange has seen 8,394 ETH (about $12.8 million) in Sewer Pass transactions, with some passes selling for as much as 5.75 ETH (about $8,770).

While wash trading and/or crypto laundering could be driving some of those those Sewer Pass transactions, some players are clearly clamoring for access to Dookey Dash and are willing to spend to get it. But that demand isn’t being driven by any sort of novel or transcendent gameplay experience that Yuga Labs is offering. Instead, NFT speculators are trying to use the game to get in on the ground floor of what they hope will be the next artificially scarce, high-demand digital asset.

Avoid obstacles for high score

As seen in an extremely scatological trailer released this week, Dookey Dash resembles a slightly modernized version of everyone’s least favorite level from Earthworm Jim. Players fly through a sewer tunnel from an over-the-shoulder perspective, dodging obstacles and collecting items to score points, much as you do in countless free-to-play mobile and web games.

In an extensive FAQ, Yuga Labs describes Dookey Dash as a “skill-based mint.” That means a player’s highest score in Dookey Dash is tied to the player’s Sewer Pass NFT (one Sewer Pass allows as many attempts as a player can tolerate before the February 8 deadline arrives). Sewer Pass holders will then be able to trade their pass for a mysterious “Power Source” NFT during “The Summoning,” which starts on February 15.

The quality of those Power Sources will apparently be tied to each Sewer Pass’ relative position on the game’s final leaderboard, with rarer “traits” being associated with higher scores. The player at the very top of the leaderboard will be the only one to get the “Ultimate Power Source,” whatever that means.

Yuga Labs promises it has “anti-cheat checks” in place to ensure that human players are generating those high scores, and it says it will review game sessions that “raise red flags.” But players who want to get a legal advantage in the game can get a score boost with a higher tier of Sewer Pass (generated by better tiers of Bored Ape and/or associated digital pets). Players can also spend their crypto ApeCoin on a “powershart pack” (yes, that’s the actual name) for time-limited boosters, putting money directly into Yuga Labs’ pockets in the process.