THE GAME HAS ENDED
THE PARTY WILL SOON BEGIN
READY, PLAYER?

"IX. The Monument Game" collected by

P
1OF1
Winning Bid420.69 ETH
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Game Winners

Mountains From CollisionsMountains From Collisions
P
@gareysimpson

If not for this white dot, would you have bothered to look up the sky? All eyes are on the eventful ground, in search of what we can comprehend and relate to. But in pursuit of meaning lies the danger of losing yourself. So this is a reminder. To take a step back and look up. Remember your purpose, your loved ones. Why this spot? It is so plain, yet so obvious. The shape of an eye, watching it all. Perhaps the reflection of you, staring at the chaos below, getting consumed by it.

player

Player 150

Ticket used to make the winning observation

View on The Monument Game
Autumnal OpeningAutumnal Opening
P
@skaar

Amidst the clamor and chaos sits a pure spirit. A boy, unexposed to the intricacies of life. Fixated only on what is within an arm's reach. The mask is a mirror. It replies to the boy’s curious eyes. Promethean chants echo from his ancient past into his adolescent mind. The mask is an aperture. He holds it up to peer through. The empire on the other side beckons. Flesh is torn, blood is drawn. He has heard murmurs of Luci by the campfire. Pain prompts growth, dominion demands sacrifice.

player

Player 15

Ticket used to make the winning observation

View on The Monument Game
Mark of the FatherMark of the Father
P
@bugindreamland

With a gourd at my breast and a lily of Sharon at my womb I pray for fertility, for the sins of an ancestor are only rectified through the life of a descendant. We have many sins, my dove. We have been born and we have died just as many times. Finding each other again and again in the dark left eye of this ancestral skull, this monument of of earth, cedar, flesh and lore. Look at the fire, my Abraham, into the right eye. Sip of vitality. For when Sodom falls, the season of our bareness will end.

player

Player 32

Ticket used to make the winning observation

View on The Monument Game

PlayersMarketplace

  • Edition
  • Observation (view on artwork)
  • Owner
  • Finalists
  • Price
  •  

The Game

The Monument Game is built like a campfire. The 1/1 serves as the flame: the object of attention, the brightest light where stories and lore are told-where energy is spent and generated. The Skulls of Luci and The Council represent the objects of desire: the people and leaders gathered around the light, sharing their stories with each other-creating a force when bonded, to hold the light and draw in others from the dark. And now a widened circle of people through the edition/ticket, the 256 Players, who will be pointing all of their energy, attention, and observations at the 1/1: the fire, competing as storytellers for the 3 seats closer to the flame… should The Council vote them in.

This game rewards curiosity and creative thinking, asking people to create the final varnish to a digital painting. A coat of chaotic and unpredictable communal resin made from an offering of people's thoughts: a little piece of themselves-bonding all collectors to their edition, all editions to the 1/1, with the Skulls forming the energy circuit between them. A record not just of the origin point and destination for a piece of digital artwork, but of collective reflection and competition-linking The Monument Game, The Skulls of Luci, and the players together in a connected system of story, community, and play. I have made a little world. An extraction of what I see. Supposedly, we are all looking at the same one, but perhaps the only thing that could ever make it different is you. To play The Monument Game is to give a piece of yourself to the painting. The chaos variable of storytelling is how your own life has altered how you see.

Welcome to The Monument Game. The game has 4 main pillars:

The 4 Pillars Of The Monument Game

1. The Game:  An interactive competition where holders of The Ticket: "Player" can explore, Observe, and compete by leaving Observations atop the 1/1 painting "IX. The Monument Game".

2. The Painting:  A massive and detailed 1/1 artwork on auction filled with hundreds of stories titled "IX. The Monument Game".

3. The Ticket:  My first editioned work titled "Player" (Edition Size: 256). Each ticket of "Player" begins as an entry to compete for The Reward by leaving a written Observation of what the collector finds atop the 1/1 "IX. The Monument Game." At the close of The game and auction, all tickets with corresponding Observations are minted as editions of "Player." Their Observations will be voted on by The Council of Luci.

4. The Reward:  The Council of Luci (a cadre of my closest collectors and some of the best people in this space) will collectively serve as the voting body to decide the 3 most observant Players to win The Monument Game. The 3 winners will be able to sacrifice their "Player" edition with its winning Observation for a seat on The Council by claiming 1 of the 3 remaining Skulls of Luci.

The Painting

"IX. The Monument Game"

1 of 1LUCI: Chapter 5View Trailer

IX.

Wake up, Luci
The spotlight shifts to others
Climb
and Observe

Name each creation
Dominion demands it
Or each is the other
And The Nothing grows wiser

Walled Garden shadows cast the fangs of caves
Coddled, veiled, or tortured, Bornstone is all we know
Exit stage but play lives til lived
To trace the rays and honor their emission

Below, The Collision, that cannot quiet
The hyphal fuse lit by the victor
Clustered nodes in avenue arrangements
The swarm sorted parallel and one
Etched tablets once brought down by prophets
Bore choired covenants formed through consensus

Voices mined of value
Modeled for The Hive
The painless prompt away their growth
Let them wear what we still hide

She holds us at the edge
To prevent another fall
If we are to die in threes for you
The Game beckons for an offering

No Monument is built alone

1/1 art piece1/1 art piece1/1 art piece
The Tickets

"Player"

Edition of 256
3.33 ETH ($6.6K USD) / Ticket
1 Ticket includes 1 Observation on The Monument Game

"Player" is the first editioned work I have created and acts as an entry ticket to participate and compete in the game. Each "Player" ticket begins by allowing its owner to virtually interact with the 1/1 painting on auction: "IX. The Monument Game" by leaving a single, personal Observation atop the artwork. At the close of the game and auction, all tickets with corresponding Observations are minted as editions of "Player." Player 1, Player 2, all the way to Player 256 will have their Observations intertwined with the 1/1 on-chain, and their words now voted on by The Council of Luci, to determine which Observations should win the game and claim the 3 remaining seats and Skulls beside them.

Once the "Player" tickets with their corresponding Observations are minted, they will be available for secondary trading while The Council deliberates. During this period, an edition may be traded, but who wins the game and joins The Council is determined by who holds the ticket at the vote.

In June, an IOU for "Player 1," the first edition of "Player" was auctioned off at Christie's. The IOU was collected by PTM for 19.52ETH ($37K USD) with 100% of the sale donated to MAPS in support of psychedelic assisted therapies.

All "Player" Observations will be published in realtime on X (Formerly Twitter) @TheMonumentGame.

Though players will have until the game closes to leave their Observations, no new Observations will be accepted after August 24 at 7:30 PM ET.

asset not found
Price3.33 ETH$6.6K USD
Tickets Available255/255EDITIONS
A Ticket is an Edition, an Experience, and an Entry into The Monument Game.

The Timeline

1
The Game OpensAug 21
  • Player 1 (PTM) enters the game and is first to leave their Observation from 2P-5P ET
  • 1/1 Auction for "IX. The Monument Game" begins at 7:30 PM ET
  • Tickets of "Player" (Edition Size: 256) public sale begins at 7:30 PM ET
  • Council Champions and public players can begin to leave their Observations atop "IX. The Monument Game"
2
Observations BeginAug 21 - 24
  • 1/1 Auction continues
  • Tickets available. Observations can be made at point of sale until the game closes
  • (2 Tickets per wallet). Tickets will be minted as editions at close of the Game
  • Player Observations are public and visible once placed, allowing Players to compete and view each other's Observations placed on "IX. The Monument Game"
3
The Game ClosesAug 24
  • 1/1 Auction for "IX. The Monument Game" ends at 7:30 PM ET. Any bids placed in the last 10 minutes of the auction will add an additional 10 minutes to the timer
  • Tickets are minted and delivered as editions of "Player" with the deeplinked player Observations & coordinates made atop The Monument Game written into the descriptions of each Edition at 7:30 PM ET
  • Secondary trading is available
  • Observations compiled and sent to The Council of Luci for deliberations
4
DeliberationsAug 25 - 30
  • The Council's first vote. Each Skull of Luci may place 1 vote on any observation other than by their own champion. Any "Player" edition with at least 1 vote by a Councilmember will be publicly announced as a finalist
  • Finalists announced on Aug 28. Each Council Member will then place a ranked choice vote for each of their top 3 observations among the finalists
  • A winning Observation is tied to the ticket/edition of "Player" it was made on, not the original Observer. During deliberations, others may attempt to collect a winning ticket/edition and its observation on secondary
5
Winners AnnouncedAug 31
  • The Council's final votes are tabulated and the winners of The Monument Game are announced
  • The top 3 most observant Players as voted on by The Council, are now able to sacrifice their winning ticket/edition with their winning Observation back to Sam and claim their seat on The Council and a Skull of Luci

Frequently Asked Questions

You can bid on the “IX. The Monument Game” auction by connecting your Metamask or other supported self-custody wallet directly through Nifty Gateway. This is a fully on-chain Manifold auction which can be bid on either within The Monument Game website here on Nifty Gateway using their module, or on Manifold itself. Anyone who really knows though is deep below the front end of a website at a contract level.

You can buy a ticket of “Player” using a Credit Card, ETH (using Metamask), your Nifty balance, your Gemini balance, or Apple Pay. Please note that your purchase loads your Nifty account with 1 Observation per ticket. Once the game closes, THEN the ticket with its corresponding Observation written into its description will be minted and sent to your wallet to be traded. If you intend to win the game, you must be in possession of your winning ticket when The Council Votes.

Yes, an edition is a ticket. A ticket becomes an Edition, an Edition begins as a ticket. When you purchase a ticket of “Player” at point of sale it enables you to leave an observation within “IX. The Monument Game.” When the auction for the 1/1 ends and the game (window where people who collect the ticket and can leave an observation to be eligible to trade their edition for one of the remaining Skulls of Luci of Sam’s choosing) closes, the tickets are minted with their corresponding observation as an edition and delivered to the Nifty Gateway wallet of each collector.

There is a maximum limit of 2 tickets per user. Each ticket enables 1 observation and at the close of the game, will be minted as 1 Edition of “Player” with its observation attached and eligible to win The Monument Game and a seat on The Council.

Give a piece of yourself to the painting. We are all looking at the same thing, the only variable is your own life. The Monument Game rewards the curious, the observant, and the competitive as judged through consensus by The Council. This Council is composed of artists, collectors, engineers, and builders of all stripes.

An observation must be made during active game play which runs from 7:30 PM ET August 21, 2023 through 7:30 PM ET August 24, 2023

No. Once submitted, your observation becomes permanent. Spend time thinking about your observations carefully before submitting. You do not need to submit your observation the moment you purchase, you have until the game closes to leave your thoughts. Remember, these Observations are not only what is being judged by The Council to win the game, they are also forever etched and entwined on-chain with their coordinates and thoughts on the 1/1 “IX. The Monument Game.”

The Council of Luci is the name given to holders of my series of 1/1/50: The Skulls of Luci. They include some of Web3’s best and brightest minds and over time have become some of my closest confidants and circle of friends. Their purpose is to connect with art, each other, and be woven into the creative process of communal art. They have been given two responsibilities for The Monument Game: to nominate someone they champion to participate in the artwork and to vote on the Observations submitted in two finalist rounds.

For the first responsibility I gave to The Council, I asked each member to nominate someone they believe in. I have asked them to select a person or representative from a group/community they think should have a seat on The Council, who they believe would write a hell of an Observation, and be a powerful addition should fellow Council members vote for their Observation. To ideally strengthen a bond with someone or some collective they respect or that demonstrates the respect they have for a community they are in or have created by being the link that connects them to the world of Luci. And to add a chaos variable to the project with wrinkles, magic, and consequences I cannot predict.

Yes

You can explore The Monument Game whether you purchase a ticket or not. You can tweet an observation by tagging @TheMonumentGame or @SamSpratt but to leave your observation atop “IX. The Monument Game” and to be eligible to win a Skull of Luci, you will need to collect an edition of “Player.”

Once you’ve paid for your edition(s) of “Player,” you will immediately receive access to leave your observation, however, all “Player” NFTs will be minted and delivered shortly after the close of the 1/1 auction on August 24, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET at which point the edition will be made available to hold or trade.

You can. But you should understand what that means as The Monument Game is won by people who believe in themselves. When the game closes, the tickets are minted and sent to every collector as an edition with the observation they made attached to it. From here, there is a small window where The Council will be reading and deliberating on the observations in two rounds of voting to decide which 3 players have the opportunity to trade their edition with Sam for one of the three remaining Skulls of Luci as chosen by Sam. If you sell your Player NFT, then the new owner will “own” your observation and your place in the Game.

“Player” edition artwork and the original observation made by the first collector are bound together. If selected by the Council as the winning observation, the Skull of Luci will be awarded to whoever holds the ticket at the time of the vote, even if it changes hands. So when the game closes and deliberations begin, you can sell your edition, but you could be selling your winning ticket and chance at the Skull of Luci and a place on the Council of Luci.

After the first round, each Council member will place a single vote on one observation. Any observation with at least one vote will move on to the final round and you can see their ticket number indicated with a Mask Icon within The Monument Game viewer and custom secondary market. At this point, anyone who did not collect an edition, has a moment where they can select which edition observations they believe are most likely to succeed, and place an offer on it, should they choose.

After the first round, each Council member will place a single vote on one observation. Any observation with at least one vote will move on to the final round and you can see their ticket number indicated with a Mask Icon within The Monument Game viewer and custom Nifty Gateway secondary market. At this point, anyone who did not collect an edition has a moment where they can select which edition observations they believe are most likely to succeed, and place an offer on it, should they choose. For the second and final round, each Council member will then place a ranked choice vote for each of their top 3 observations among the finalists.

The Council of Luci will determine the 3 winners and notify Nifty Gateway. Sam Spratt (@SamSpratt) will reach out to the winners via X (Formerly Twitter) on Thursday, August 31, 2023. Should Sam not be able to get in contact with the winners, Nifty Gateway will send them a direct email from chrislymac@niftygateway.com on behalf of Sam. Once the 3 winners are contacted, they will be directed to a secure claim portal where the 3 winners will be able to sacrifice their “Player” edition with its winning Observation for a seat on The Council by claiming 1 of the 3 remaining Skulls of Luci, as designated by Sam. Once the winners are confirmed, they will be publicly announced on this page. Winners will have a 30 day max window to claim, otherwise their ability to do so will be forfeited and the runner up will be notified.

While we understand wanting to collect an edition of “Player” on its own, we do recommend you write your Observation as well. With only 256 players and Council seats with 3 Skulls of Luci attached as a reward for said Observation. That said, we all leave things on the table sometimes in life, and if the 512 characters of personal observation are paralyzing or you just bought some art and forgot about it again, your edition of “Player” will be minted with no Observation.

For any other questions, please contact our support team by submitting a ticket immediately.

About The Artist

New York based Sam Spratt initially received a traditional art education in oils, with a focus on the Great Masters of the Baroque and Renaissance which he has translated into the digital medium. With processural similarities to traditional painting, he layers every small change, to show the time and struggle through intricate brushwork to extract a human feeling with an otherwise sterile and clean digital environment. Inspired by our early hominid origins, Solomonic teachings, and the authorless story of pilgrimage, he is creating an episodic and connected world across his artwork and communal layers of blockchain philosophy through his story "Luci". The message is that of rediscovery: a preservation of solidity amidst abstraction and an attempt to grow out of atomization by connecting to a network larger than oneself while learning how to use its bonds to grow as an individual.

His award-winning work has found homes in games, films, tv, music, books, and most creative industries—through painting, Spratt aims to pull the tactility of the old world, and to preserve our most human stories for what lies ahead.

Sam Spratt
What Is Luci?

Luci (pronounced Lucy) is a series of digital paintings created by artist Sam Spratt, released as episodic pieces of an evolving story about the rediscovery of our most ancient human values in a post-historic world. The first Chapter released in October of 2021 and since then, across the 8 digital paintings released so far, Sam Spratt's LUCI has generated $1.4 million in primary sales and ~$690,000 in additional secondary volume. VII. Wormfood was sold at Christie's for $252,000 with 100% of proceeds donated to MAPS to promote psychedelic research and therapies and his highest single sale was for VIII. Infinite Ceremony for $263,000.

Special Thanks From Sam

To stumble into common knowledge like it's a new discovery is a child-like and awe-inspiring experience, we need only not let the shame get to us once we realize just how common the knowledge is and how many tried to show the way before we got there. Turns out, life is groaningly far better together. I spent my own life largely alone painting in a small room, and creating this story and world with Luci has connected me to others in a way that I never thought possible. The more I connect, the more real or at the very least: convincing, reality becomes. The Monument Game and Player took nearly a year to sketch, write, build, reference, research, sculpt, and paint to create the artwork on my end, but if you look at it and think "Sam made this" I am flattered by the mythology, but never in my life has this been more of a myth. I made something with people and they are of extreme importance for me not just for this project but for the lasting imprint each of them has had.

You are on Nifty Gateway, and you are on it in a way that whether this is your first time here or your thousandth, it is in a state it has never been. This changed state is a gift birthed from open people connecting my system to theirs. I brought this idea of The Monument Game to Duncan Cock Foster nearly a year ago. I told him "This is not a drop or a mechanic, I want to build my own sub-platform, image viewer, system, and secondary market within your site for a single project to incentivize curiosity in art and I will need a team to pull it off." As his last dying act at Nifty before fading off into the sunset to "be a founder again" he agreed and greenlit the project.

Suddenly I had a team. A cadre of people now helping to breathe life into a small idea I couldn't alone, in order to make art that doesn't rest under or within an image, but in layers of chaos and commune above it. In the months since, I have been having weekly meetings with some of the kindest, most thoughtful, talented, and thoroughly inspiring people I have ever worked with. Who, with each of their own skills in front end, back end, and protocol development and code, through marketing, UI/UX, market mechanics and relationships, have helped to make this idea better than real. Not just a realized singular artistic vision executed on by others, but something opened and honed into something far better than that: one forged through the mental sparring, generosity of interpretation, and the desire to create to find a creation's best state among many-where my blindspots are looked out for and wildest ideas are solved for and met with energy and curiosity.

This work and the system it is connected to was made possible by risky decision making, resources and time, creativity, and though you may be on a website with the company name "Nifty" and the connotations this comes with. Do not let this abstraction fool you from knowing that it is very much created by beautiful people who want to make something together. To Chrisly for leading in every sense of the word: you angel, thank you. To Alex, Aabhira, Bob, Ashlin, Lam(bo), Ricky, Trevor, Aaron, and Stormi. I cannot thank you enough for the hard work, creativity, and passion each of you brought into every meeting. You are all warm faces and voices I looked forward to hearing from every week, and can feel each of your finger prints in the movement of this project. To Tara, Eddie, Javo, Matthew, Ben, Cindy, Eric, Rose, Buddy and Jake thank you for soldiering and executing in the background. My observation: I am honored to have had even one drop of any of your talents pointed in this direction, to have them all and to be proud of the result is a dream made real. Imagery is only one very small part of creating art, it is not found in a brushstroke or an output, it is in the primordial soup we swim in, something very real but at times feels intangible. In my mind the future of art is the future of everything: making the intangible and immeasurable-the systems connecting us-made real. Code, brush, humanity to help us feel a shared reality. Thank you for making this piece of art with me.

To my home team of The House of Luci: Rachel, my beautiful and inspiring wife who holds my mind together in order to move through this world and who has wrangled this beast of an operation into order, you are a goddess and cannot thank you enough for climbing up this tree with me. To Alex, for helping me take every bit of Luci and make it more real than I ever could alone. Your hard work has meant everything, and cannot wait to take everything we have learned and build the future of Luci with you. A massive thank you to my friends Joey, Zach, Owen, Tom, Benny, Victor, Coz, Vince, Ryan, Emilio and the entire Council of Luci for being ears, eyes, and hands to help hone this into its final form.

Thank you,
Sam