In lieu of all of the recent changes in [Splinterlands](https://splinterlands.com?ref=moonthumb) gameplay, last week I started an experiment to see if a new player could build a viable account without any monetary investment (besides the Spellbook, of course). I created a brand new account for my wife and started playing it (you can read the first installment in this series [HERE](https://peakd.com/hive-13323/@moonthumb/starting-over-an-experiment)). Now that a week has gone by, I thought an update might be in order.

![image.png](https://images.hive.blog/0x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexis666/23t7YkG6fg88iz2jQcQ6wZgPcAvcVQquAi3WjG3hbxKCtiE4gjps4afdYX26n27cScKDJ.png)

### Brief History ###

When I created this account, with the emphasis from [Splinterlands](https://splinterlands.com?ref=moonthumb) on owning cards rather than playing *Starters*, I use my initial 3000 credits to purchase cheap, but frequently used cards. With **Chaos** cards being cheap right now, that is what I ended up with. Since I can win *Reward* cards in chests, I intentionally did not purchase any of those. I also tried to purchase at least a few card from each splinter (including *Neutral*). I ended up with 25 cards with a total of 325 CP. I didn't have as many *Fire* or *Water* card as the other splinters, but with the *Neutral* cards I purchase, hopefully I will be able to make some headway. As you might well imagine, none of these cards are _**Summoners**_.

### Current Status ###

When I started this account, the current season had already been going for a few days, so I will not be able to earn points for a full season this time around. As of this writing, there is about one day left in the season and this is how this account currently stands:

![image.png](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/moonthumb/23tvCet9mc8Bid9trxyZTweE9AAMzdo7asexg6RjvXsA8kSCqnCznYbj3xWm6eeCqksY1.png)

As you can see, I am not doing very well in my pursuit of Focus Chests, but that is to be expected. I have been able to progress to _**Bronze III**_, so I am accumulating Season Points. Only time will tell if I reach the threshold of earning a Season Chest before the season expires. It looks like it will come right down to the wire.

### What's Next? ###

Obviously, I hope to win a card from a Season Chest about this time tomorrow. Also, I am beginning to enter giveaways offered by generous members of the [Splinterlands](https://splinterlands.com?ref=moonthumb) community. Maybe I can add one or two of those before my next installment. I'll have to see how many giveaways I can join between now and then and how lucky I am. 

If you have any suggestions on how a new player can progress without having to invest any outside influx of capital, I'd love to hear it. Also, if you are a new player that has questions about anything I am doing with this account (or anything else, for that matter), leave me a comment below.