Zutchi

Zutchi is a Web3-native Tamagotchi reimagined for today’s users — fun, social, and useful. Players adopt a digital cat NFT whose well-being depends on four simple needs: food, sleep, work, and social-fun. These aren’t just game mechanics — they’re tied to real activity in the Zircuit ecosystem. Feeding uses ZRC, working means providing liquidity or joining governance, and social-fun comes from on-chain events or mini-games. The result is a playful, accessible experience that smoothly onboards Web2 users while driving real token utility and community engagement.

More than a game, Zutchi is a gateway into Web3. It simplifies complexity while rewarding exploration of DeFi, governance, and social interaction. Pets evolve, become tradable assets, and will soon even hold assets themselves through EIP-6551. With future layers like mini-games, AI companions, and deeper DeFi integrations, Zutchi is set to become the first product on Zircuit that’s not only engaging but also retentive, educational, and ecosystem-growing — the kind of experience people return to daily because it’s both fun and valuable. 😺💚

We forked the privy-io/create-next-app template — a Next.js app with Privy wallet integration — to provide seamless onboarding for Web2 users. On top of that, we build directly on Zircuit, leveraging its secure infrastructure and adopting its playful branding style for a smooth, chain-native experience. Our smart contracts are written in Solidity and developed with Hardhat, allowing us to move quickly, ensure reliability, and maintain a robust testing framework.

Each cat is an NFT whose attributes power the core gameplay, all maintained on-chain in an efficient and cost-effective way. We use precise calculations to determine how attributes decrease over time and how they’re replenished through player actions. Every interaction goes through our smart contracts, guaranteeing fairness and consistent rules for all players. For NFT storage, we rely on Lighthouse, while the frontend is hosted on Vercel under our own domain, zutchi.com.