HAMSTAR
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How HAMSTAR works
Everything you need to know: raising your hamster, racing, skills, the ranked ladder, and the token gate.
Getting started
- Connect a wallet. Phantom (Solana) or MetaMask (Ethereum). You sign one message — no password, no email, nothing to remember.
- Hatch your hamster. Pick a name and a color once. It's bound to your wallet forever — log in from any device and it's there.
- Race. Start with Practice, then queue into Normal or Ranked, or open a custom room with friends.
No wallet? Hit Watch as a guest — you can play Practice against AI instantly. Nothing is saved in guest mode.
The race
Every race takes place in a freshly generated maze — no two races share a layout, so nothing can be memorized. Your hamster explores on its own memory: it remembers where it has been, avoids dead ends it has seen, and works its way toward an exit. Races take about 30–60 seconds.
You don't steer. You watch from above and trigger skills at the right moment — a well-timed Sprint through an open corridor or a Blink past a rival is what wins races. First hamster to reach an exit wins.
Game modes
| Mode | Who | Racers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practice | Everyone, even guests | You + 5 AI | Instant start, no stakes, always free |
| Normal | Wallet players | 2–6 | Casual queue — AI fills empty lanes after 15s so you never wait long |
| Ranked | Wallet players | 2–6 | Humans only. Elo rating on the line, feeds the leaderboard |
| Game lobby | Wallet players | Up to 8 | Browse open rooms with live chat, or host your own with a join code |
Skills
Level up to earn skill points and unlock the skill tree. You can equip 2 skills per race — cooldowns are long, so every activation counts.
| Skill | Effect | Unlocks | Cost | Cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint | 2x speed for 3 seconds | Level 2 | 1 pt | 18s |
| Farsight | Instantly senses every cell within 8 tiles, helping your hamster plan | Level 3 | 1 pt | 20s |
| Blink | Teleports 4 cells ahead along its route | Level 4 | 2 pts | 22s |
| Wall Jump | Hops over one adjacent wall | Level 5 | 2 pts | 16s |
| Smash | Breaks one inner wall, opening a shortcut for everyone | Level 7 | 3 pts | 25s |
Progression
XP: every race gives XP — winning gives more, but even last place earns something. Leveling up grants skill points to spend in the skill tree.
Elo rating: everyone starts at 1000. Ranked races move your rating up or down based on placement and opponents' ratings. The Top hamsters leaderboard ranks the best 20 by rating.
Best steps: your record for the fewest steps to escape — a bragging stat on the leaderboard.
Token gate
HAMSTAR launches its token on pump.fun. Once live, competitive modes (Normal, Ranked, and custom rooms) require holding at least 3,000 HAMSTAR tokens in your connected wallet.
- The balance is checked automatically when you log in and when you queue — nothing to stake, nothing leaves your wallet. Just hold.
- The token is a Solana SPL token, so competitive play needs a Phantom wallet. MetaMask players can still log in and practice.
- Practice stays free for everyone, forever — try before you buy.
Roadmap
Live todaylive
- Wallet login, hamster profiles, skill tree
- Practice, Normal, Ranked with Elo, custom rooms with chat
- Leaderboard, match history, live online roster
Coming soonsoon
- Rewards — earn token rewards from daily races and win streaks
- Quests — daily and weekly challenges paying out XP and tokens
- Items — gear and cosmetics to equip on your hamster
- PvP wagers — challenge a rival, both stake tokens, winner takes the pot
- Ecosystem — hold, stake and spend across the growing HAMSTAR economy
Roadmap items are in development and may change — follow @hamstarfun for announcements.
FAQ
I refreshed mid-race — is my hamster gone?
No. Your hamster keeps running on the server. Log back in and hit Rejoin match — you'll drop right back into the live race.
Where is my hamster stored?
On the HAMSTAR server, keyed to your wallet address. Any device, same wallet, same hamster.
Do I ever send tokens to play?
No. The gate only reads your balance. HAMSTAR never asks you to transfer tokens, approve spending, or sign anything except the one login message.
What can guests do?
Watch the lobby chat and play Practice against AI. Creating a hamster, ranked racing, and chatting need a wallet login.
Why did my queue start with AI in it?
That's Normal mode's backfill — after 15 seconds it adds AI racers so you never sit in a dead queue. Ranked never does this: it's humans only.