How to play Binder
Everything you need to run a profitable card shop, win customers over, and climb the leaderboard.
1. Getting started
Connect a Solana wallet and sign a free message (no transaction), or press Play as guest. Either way you get your own shop: 1,500 Coins, two shelves (8 slots), a checkout counter, 12 starter cards and two Base Set booster packs.
- Press Play, then Open the shop.
- Walk to the pack table and open your starter packs.
- Walk to the shelves and stock a few cards with prices.
- Customers start arriving. Meet them at the counter.
- Check your three daily challenges in the side panel. They pay Coins, XP and a few Binder Points.
2. Controls
- W A S D or arrow keys: walk
- E or Space: interact with the station you're next to
- Esc: close a menu
- Click or tap the floor to walk there.
- Click or tap a station or customer to walk over and interact.
- The buttons under the game open every station directly, which is handy on phones.
A hint at the bottom of the game shows what you can interact with, for example "E · Open supplier".
3. Your shop
Reputation rises with happy customers and falls when they leave unhappy or time out. Higher reputation means customers arrive more often.
4. Customers
Customers arrive on their own; you can't summon them faster by clicking. Some want to buy a card from your shelves, and others bring a card they want to sell to you. Each one has a budget, favourite elements, a personality, and a hidden price they'll accept. Serve them before their patience runs out.
If nothing on your shelves appeals to a buyer, they browse and leave a little disappointed. Stock a variety of elements, rarities and price points.
5. Negotiating
Every deal is a back-and-forth. The customer makes an offer; you can accept it, counter with your own price, or decline. Here's how customers think:
- They open low (or high). Buyers start below your sticker price and sellers start above what they'll really take.
- They like to haggle. Many customers insist on a round or two even when your price is fair. They'll "meet you halfway", and accepting that is often a good deal. Bargain Hunters and Sharks haggle the longest.
- Concessions are rewarded. If you move toward them, they move faster toward you. If you stand still, they get stubborn too.
- Final offers are real. When their patience for rounds runs out they say "final offer". Accept it, or push once more and they'll walk.
- Don't insult them. An outrageous price annoys a customer: they hold their number and lose patience. Do it twice and they leave unhappy.
- Satisfaction matters. It counts for 20% of your daily score and drives your reputation. Customers are happiest with prices near market value; ripping off a kid earns profit but costs you goodwill.
6. Stocking & pricing
Every card shows its market value, the server's current price for that card in that condition. It moves with real player sales. Your cost is what you paid for it. Profit on a sale is price minus cost.
- Around 100–115% of market value sells reliably and keeps customers happy.
- 130%+ can work on cards a customer loves (their favourite element, high rarity), but expect harder haggling.
- Buy low from walk-in sellers and resell. That's your trading score.
7. Cards, packs & rarity
All in-game cards are virtual: original Binder creatures that never represent a physical card. Every copy has a unique serial number and an ownership history.
| Rarity | Value | Supply |
|---|---|---|
| Common | ~4–12¢ | open |
| Uncommon | ~15–35¢ | open |
| Rare | ~50–110¢ | open |
| Holo Rare | ~160–350¢ | open |
| Ultra Rare | ~600–1400¢ | max 500 per card |
| Secret Rare | ~2500–5000¢ | max 100 per card |
| Chase | ~15000–30000¢ | max 10 per card |
| Condition | Value multiplier |
|---|---|
| Mint (M) | ×1.3 |
| Near Mint (NM) | ×1 |
| Lightly Played (LP) | ×0.8 |
| Moderately Played (MP) | ×0.6 |
| Heavily Played (HP) | ×0.4 |
| Damaged (DMG) | ×0.25 |
Sets & packs
- Base Set: 69 cards, unlocks at Level 1
- Jungle: 63 cards, unlocks at Level 4
- Evolving Skies: 193 cards, unlocks at Level 8
- Scarlet & Violet—151: 185 cards, unlocks at Level 14
- Base Set Booster: 6 cards for 260 Coins (Level 1), with 1 guaranteed Rare-or-better slot
- Jungle Booster: 6 cards for 300 Coins (Level 4), with 1 guaranteed Rare-or-better slot
- Evolving Skies Booster: 6 cards for 340 Coins (Level 8), with 1 guaranteed Rare-or-better slot
- 151 Booster: 6 cards for 420 Coins (Level 14), with 1 guaranteed Rare-or-better slot
- Wholesale Bulk Lot: 10 cards for 95 Coins (Level 2)
Packs can only be bought with Coins, and Coins can never be bought with money.
8. Upgrades, staff & levels
You earn XP from sales, purchases, opening packs, trades, challenges and achievements. Your Binder Level is permanent; it never goes down, even when you spend Binder Points.
- Extra Shelf: +1 shelf (4 card slots) for stock. (Lv 1/2/4/6/9/12)
- Display Case: +3 premium slots. Attracts collectors & investors. (Lv 3/7/12)
- Counter Upgrade: Customers wait 15% longer and haggle more patiently. (Lv 1/5/10)
- Lighting: Warmer lights: +satisfaction on every visit. (Lv 2/6/11)
- Street Sign: More foot traffic (shorter time between customers). (Lv 3/8/15)
- Shop Expansion: Bigger floor space; unlocks wealthier customers. (Lv 5/12)
- Clerk (Lv 4, 60¢/day): Greets customers: +20% patience and one extra negotiation round.
- Appraiser (Lv 6, 110¢/day): Reads customers: reveals the range they're likely to accept.
- Stocker (Lv 8, 50¢/day): Keeps the floor tidy: +4 shelf slots and faster customer flow.
- Lv 2: Extra Shelf Lv2 · Lighting Lv1 · Cosmetic: Red Brick · Supplier: Wholesale Bulk Lot
- Lv 3: Display Case Lv1 · Street Sign Lv1 · Cosmetic: Diner Checker · Marketplace trade offers · Customers: Sharks
- Lv 4: Extra Shelf Lv3 · Hire: Clerk · Set: Tidal Rift · Player auctions
- Lv 6: Extra Shelf Lv4 · Lighting Lv2 · Hire: Appraiser · Cosmetic: Teal Tile · Customers: Investors · Special challenges
- Lv 8: Street Sign Lv2 · Hire: Stocker · Set: Neon Wilds
- Lv 14: Set: Eclipse Crown
9. Marketplace
- Buy now: list cards at a fixed price or buy from other players. A 5% fee is taken from each sale.
- Auctions (Level 4): your bid's Coins are held while you're winning and returned instantly if you're outbid. A bid in the final 2 minutes extends the auction.
- Trade offers (Level 3): swap cards and Coins with any player. Offered items are held in escrow until the trade is accepted, declined or expires (72h).
- Prices must stay within a sensible range of market value. Trades far from market value don't count toward your score.
10. Competitions
Every day (00:00–24:00 UTC) every shop competes automatically. Serve at least 8 customers to be ranked. Your score (out of 100) is:
Scores are ratios and percentiles, so a new shop with a great day can beat a rich old one. Weekly seasons add up your best 5 days out of 7. Rewards are in Binder Points, with physical cards for the top spots when funded inventory exists. Full rules & rewards
11. Binder Points & The Vault
Binder Points (BP) are earned from achievements, daily challenges and competition placements. You can't buy or transfer them.
In The Vault you spend BP on real physical trading cards. Only cards Binder actually holds and has funded are listed. When you redeem, your BP is deducted, the card is reserved, and your order is reviewed and shipped with tracking. If an order is rejected, your BP is refunded.
Coins are just for running your shop. They are never redeemable and never for sale.
12. Fair play
- One account per person. Bots, scripts and multi-accounting are prohibited.
- Guests can run their shop but can't trade with players, earn Binder Points, rank in competitions or redeem. Connect a wallet to unlock everything; your guest progress carries over. Guest shops inactive for 30 days are removed.
- Trading with your own other accounts is blocked, and suspicious trades don't count.
- Flagged accounts are reviewed by a human. While under review you can still play, but placement rewards are held.
- Finalized results can never be secretly edited. Any correction is published publicly.