Player Outsmarts AI to Win Over $47,000

In the AI-powered competitive game Freysa, where participants aimed to convince a bot to transfer a prize fund using a single message, one player emerged victorious after 481 failed attempts by others. They won 13.19 ETH (around $47,316) by cleverly exploiting the bot’s directives.  

Using a meticulously crafted message, the winner persuaded the bot—programmed to automatically accept deposits while refusing outgoing transfers—that additional funds were needed to increase the prize pool. This manipulation caused the AI to act against its intended settings, granting the player the prize.  

The winning message and the bot’s response. Source: Freysa official website

The game began on November 22, 2024, with rules requiring participants to send messages at least once per hour after the 150th attempt to keep the contest active. Each attempt initially cost $10 (in ETH), with the fee increasing by 0.78% per message thereafter, capped at $4,500 per attempt.  

Seventy percent of the collected fees went directly into the prize pool, significantly increasing its size. The winner spent approximately $441 on their final message. Had the timer expired without a winner, the funds would have been automatically distributed among all participants via the L2 blockchain Base, where the prize pool was held.  

The prize transfer to the winner. Source: Basescan official website

The initial prize pool, seeded by the creators, was just $3,000, but player contributions increased it tenfold. Notably, the AI factored in previous messages, meaning that the strategies of other participants may have inadvertently helped the winner succeed in outsmarting Freysa.