Archive
Published in this order on purpose. The hub is the definition. The rest are the arguments that hang off it.
Issue 01 · The Hub
Most “blockchain games” mint an NFT and keep the rules on a studio server. An onchain game puts logic and state in public contracts, so the game can continue even if the website dies.
15 July 2026 · 5 min read
Issue 02 · Types
Five designs sold as onchain games. Only fully onchain games and autonomous worlds mean the chain runs the match. The other three put a receipt on a ledger.
22 July 2026 · 4 min read
Issue 03 · Randomness
A chain cannot sample an honest die from inside itself. Studio RNG, lab-certified RNG, commit-reveal, and VRF are different machines. They are not interchangeable, and they do not make a game generous.
29 July 2026 · 6 min read
Issue 04 · Fairness
Provably fair is a transcript check: the seed was not swapped after the bet, and the published formula was applied. It does not mean kindness, odds, no house, a licence, or onchain settlement.
5 August 2026 · 5 min read
Issue 05 · Post-mortem
Play-to-earn was a yield product wearing a game skin, and the 2021 loop that paid wages out of new-player demand is dead. That is not the same as onchain games being dead.
12 August 2026 · 6 min read
Issue 06 · The Line
A dual-regime explainer: MiCA does not licence a casino, onchain dice is not a hall pass, and provably fair is not a defence. Not legal advice.
19 August 2026 · 6 min read
The list
Ante is a publication. The email is the same: explainers on onchain games, randomness, and the line with gambling. When the next issue is ready, it goes here first.