Notcoin led to this year’s biggest and buzziest gaming token launch so far, but the Telegram mini app is no one-off sensation.
Hamster Kombat has already surged to greater heights in terms of pre-token players, claiming more than 300 million users already ahead of its launch on The Open Network (TON), while other games on Telegram are gaining steam with the same kind of model.
Like Hamster Kombat, games like PixelTap and Yescoin are expanding upon the basic “clicker” or screen-tapping premise in entertaining ways, all while teasing token rewards ahead for players who put in the time and invite their friends along.
Looking for the next big thing in Telegram tap-to-earn games? Here are the buzziest games at the moment, and we’ll be updating this list regularly with new entrants—so stay tuned.
Notcoin
Launched on mainnet at the start of the year, Notcoin is the O.G. of this list—the Telegram mini app turned crypto phenomenon that started it all. Notcoin spun simple screen tapping into a diversion tried by some 35 million players before the “mining phase” ended ahead of the airdrop, and then converted that into the NOT token with a nearly $3 billion peak market cap.
Notcoin is now evolving into what a co-founder described to Decrypt's GG as a Netflix-like platform for crypto games, currently hosting Lost Dogs: The Way and teasing more games to come—all with crypto token rewards. And the original tap-to-earn experience is apparently coming back too, at some point.
Hamster Kombat
Hamster Kombat begins with the core screen-tapping premise of Notcoin and takes it in a fresh direction, placing you as the CEO of a rising crypto exchange—and you’re a fuzzy hamster, of course. What does that mean? The game lets you invest in upgrades to grow your exchange, which in turn earns you more passive in-game income over time.
It’s simple stuff, yet that’s enough of a secondary layer on top of the tapping core that it gives Hamster Kombat more depth to keep you coming back. And it appears to be working: the game claims more than 300 million players now ahead of the planned TON airdrop, which was planned for July but has been pushed to sometime in the near future.
Catizen
Catizen takes a totally different approach than the other games on this list, scrapping the tapping gameplay in favor of something inspired by puzzle games like Threes and 2049. You’ll simply pair and merge similar cats, which gradually helps you earn more coins, all while people come and claim cats from what’s either a shelter or daycare up top.
It has a fun vibe, plus it’s gaining steam: Catizen says it has more than 20 million players now, plus it plans to launch on both TON and Ethereum layer-2 network Mantle. Catizen has increasingly been announcing a larger share of airdrop rewards for players as the hype grows, and says it’ll also donate 1% of revenue to nonprofits that help stray cats. Do it for the cats!
TapSwap
We can keep this one simple: TapSwap is, more or less, the version of Notcoin we saw before the game paused its gameplay ahead of the airdrop. It’s really all about tapping a golden coin, though you can shell out for upgrades to enable passive earnings or earn more coins per tap.
There wasn't a ton more to it, though now TapSwap has launched a new city-building mode called Tappy Town, where you'll upgrade buildings and enhance your little town all the while. It's expected to play into the airdrop as well, which is expected on The Open Network sometime in Q3 2024.
Yescoin
Yescoin riffs on the Notcoin premise not only in its amusing name, but also by swapping tapping gameplay for swiping. It's simple: You’ll see little pixel coins fill up the screen, and you can claim them by swiping over them. Every so often, you’ll grab a treasure chest that opens to reveal a pouring rain of coins. And then you repeat.
While not exactly reinventing the wheel, Yescoin does shake things up a little bit and has a cool vibe, making it an easy game to keep on your radar ahead of the TON token airdrop.
X Empire
Originally launching as Musk Empire, the recently rebranded X Empire is more or less an "Elon Musk simulator." Like Hamster Kombat, it's a tap-to-earn game at core, but then you spend your earned coins to unlock various upgrades for the world's richest man—including improving aspects like "Critical Thinking" and "Empathy," and building a team around him.
It'll all lead up to an eventual X Empire token launch and airdrop on TON that's currently planned for late September or early October. The game also features side activities like a faux stock market that can boost your coin tallies, and negotiations that play out like rock-paper-scissors games.
PixelTap
PixelTap is a clicker-meets-combat game from a project called Pixelverse, which is developing a larger cyberpunk-themed exploration and crafting game but first opted to launch this Telegram game. This mini app lets you earn in-game coins and then use them to buy and upgrade robots, which you can then take into battle.
It’s hands-on, too, as you’ll frantically tap parts of the screen to attack your opponent’s bot, as well as craft special attacks and try to defend yourself. Pixelverse launched its PIXFI token on Ethereum in July, with plans to expand to TON as well and continue rewarding players with in-game benefits.
Editor's note: This story was originally published on June 18 and last updated with new details on August 13.