Users start playing "Eve Online" by creating a free account (known as an Alpha account), being invited to the game as via the game's Recruit-A-Friend program, or purchasing the "Eve Online" Special Edition retail box. Alpha accounts are freely available through both the "Eve Online" website and the Steam content delivery system. The accounts through the Recruit-A-Friend program function identically to normal Alpha accounts, but start with some additional unallocated skill points (worth approximately 5–6 days worth of training time) on their first character. In addition, if the recruited account is subsequently converted to a subscription account (known as an Omega account), the referrer is rewarded with 30 free days of subscription time or the equivalent amount of PLEX.