Hot Potato 🥔

THE RULES

🔥

Always For Sale

The Hot Potato is always listed. The current owner cannot delist or refuse a sale. Anyone can buy at any time.

📈

Price Only Goes Up

Every buyer must set a new asking price above what they paid. Under 0.1 ETH the minimum is +25%. It scales down to +15%, +10%, +7%, +5% as price rises. Enforced on-chain — no exceptions. Overpay above the minimum and you bank a rarity boost on your future souvenir.

🎁

You Have No Choice

You don't decide when to exit. When someone buys from you, the contract automatically sends your ETH and mints your souvenir. You just wait.

👑

Legends Are Earned.

Hold for 7+ days and you're in Legendary territory. Overpay on entry to boost even further. No shortcuts — the contract enforces it all.

Your souvenir rarity is determined by how long you held — but four things can push it higher. Overpaying above the minimum when you buy stores a boost that applies to your souvenir when you eventually sell. Promo codes (from Discord, X, or community events) stack on top. Trade in a souvenir you already own to convert it into a single-use boost code. And loyal holders — wallets that have held the potato before — automatically get a bonus when they get bought out again. All boosts stack, capped at Legendary.

Overpay above minimum bid	Boost	Effect on souvenir
0 – 9%	None	Standard rarity based on hold time
10 – 24%	+1 tier	e.g. Common → Rare odds
25 – 49%	+2 tiers	e.g. Common → Epic odds
50 – 99%	+3 tiers	e.g. Common → Legendary odds
100%+	+4 tiers (max)	Maximum Legendary odds regardless of hold time

Note: The minimum price increase scales with the potato's value — lower % at high prices so the game stays accessible. At current prices the minimum is shown next to the buy button.

🥔 Common

Under 6h held

85% Common · 12% Rare · 2% Epic · 1% Legendary

💎 Rare

6h – 2 days held

60% Common · 28% Rare · 9% Epic · 3% Legendary

⚡ Epic

2 – 7 days held

20% Common · 40% Rare · 25% Epic · 15% Legendary

👑 Legendary

7 – 30 days held

5% Common · 20% Rare · 45% Epic · 30% Legendary

All boosts apply to your souvenir's rarity image and metadata when you get bought out. They stack — but are capped at Legendary.

⏱️

Hold Time (Base)

Your starting rarity comes from how long you held. Under 6h = mostly Common. Hold 7+ days and you're in Legendary territory. No action needed — just wait.

💸

Overpay Boost

Pay more than the asking price when you buy — the contract stores a boost for your future souvenir. 10–24% over → +1 tier. 25–49% → +2. 50–99% → +3. 100%+ → +4 (max).

🎟️

Promo Codes

Enter a code in the buy modal before purchasing. Social codes (DISCORD, XFOLLOW) give +1. Trade-in codes scale up to +4. Use 🔥 Heat Up Your Rarity in the buy modal.

🔥

Trade-In Codes

Own a souvenir? Burn it from the gallery to get a single-use code. Common → +1, Rare → +2, Epic → +3, Legendary → +4. A sacrifice for a future legend.

🏆

Loyalty Boost

Held the potato before? You earn an automatic boost next time you're bought out — no code needed. 1 prior hold → +1. 2 holds → +2. 3+ holds → +3 (max loyalty).

🤝

Referral Boost

Share your referral code from the buy modal. When someone uses it, both of you get +1 added to your next souvenir. Find your code after connecting your wallet.

Decentralized & Autonomous

Hot Potato is built on the Base blockchain. Core game rules — purchases, price enforcement, ETH payouts, and souvenir minting — are governed by the smart contract and cannot be altered once deployed. Additional mechanics such as rarity boosts from promo codes, referrals, and loyalty tracking are applied by the game server at the time of purchase. No individual, company, or entity can alter on-chain outcomes once a transaction is submitted.

Transactions Are Irreversible

All purchases are final. Blockchain transactions cannot be reversed, cancelled, or refunded. Once you send a transaction and it is confirmed on-chain, your ETH is transferred and the contract executes automatically. There are no exceptions.

No Guarantees

Participation in Hot Potato involves real financial risk. The price of ETH fluctuates. You may hold the potato for an extended period before being bought out. You may lose money. Souvenir NFTs have no guaranteed monetary value. Only participate with funds you can afford to lose.

No Operator Liability

The creators of Hot Potato provide this interface as-is, with no warranties. We are not responsible for losses arising from smart contract interactions, network conditions, wallet errors, or market movements. Use at your own risk.

By Buying, You Agree

Submitting a buy transaction constitutes your acceptance of these terms. You confirm you are legally permitted to interact with blockchain-based applications in your jurisdiction and that you understand the mechanics of the game.

Hand	Address	Price Paid	Held For	Souvenir
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Why I built this

WHY DID I BUILD
HOT POTATO? 🥔🔥

Not because I wanted another NFT game.

Because I wanted to ask a genuinely interesting question: what happens when you engineer an up-only instrument from first principles — rules transparent, enforcement algorithmic, outcomes inevitable — and invite people to participate anyway?

The Hot Potato is a single NFT. Always for sale. Price only goes up. When someone takes it from you, the contract pays you out and mints your souvenir. The longer you held, or the more you overpaid on entry, the greater the status that souvenir carries.

No hidden mechanics. No discretionary decisions. No promises. The contract does exactly what it says — every time, without exception.

But the game was never really the point.

Beneath it is something I find genuinely fascinating — an exploration of what "up only" means when it isn't a marketing slogan but a cryptographic guarantee. A study in the tension between profit and status.

Between the patience of waiting for your return — and the creeping anxiety of knowing someone, somewhere, could take it from you at any moment.

How will it feel?

Why do humans hold things they know they'll eventually lose? What does ownership mean when it's always provisional?

We also reference the Tulip Factory deliberately. Part irony, part homage — to the enduring strangeness of human speculation, to the way collective belief manufactures value, and yes, to the comedy embedded in all of it.

But ultimately tulips are beautiful. They're deeply social. They bloom, circulate, and pass on. And they come in seasons.

That isn't a cautionary note. It's the philosophy.

Strong hands only. 🥔