Tap-to-earn games: everything your need to know [2024]

Projects like Hamster Kombat, Pixelverse, and Catizen are going absolutely wild right now. They’re using Telegram to make community engagement feel like a game and are attracting millions of users in 2024, all hoping to earn some cash just by playing. Here’s a quick guide to get you up to speed on this cool new trend.

So, what are tap-to-earn games?

Tap-to-Earn games are exactly what they sound like — games where you tap on your screen to earn rewards. Sounds simple, right? But there’s more to it! These games often come with extra features like daily missions, referral programs, and upgradeable boosters to keep you hooked and potentially boost your earnings.

Where can you play tap-to-earn games?

Most tap-to-earn games are integrated with popular platforms like Telegram, which has millions of users worldwide. This means you don’t need to worry about extra downloads or making new accounts. Just open Telegram and you’re good to go. Also, most of these games offer in-game currency and often have airdrops planned on The Open Network (TON) blockchain, which was initially developed by Telegram.

Three examples of tap-to-earn games

1/ Hamster Kombat

Launched on March 26, Hamster Kombat is a Telegram-based tap-to-earn game where you can mine coins by tapping your screen and completing tasks. They’re boasting over 100 million players.

2/ Yescoin

Yescoin is a super simple game you can play on Telegram, where you swipe your screen to win free gold coins. It launched in late May 2024 and has already blown up, with over 18 million users and nearly 8 million Telegram community members from all over the world.

3/ Catizen

Catizen lets you play the role of a mayor managing a virtual cat city. It’s been a hit since its launch in January 2024, raking in over $10 million in in-game revenue. With more than 15 million users and 3.5 million daily active users, it’s one of the fastest-growing games on Telegram.

Why are tap-to-earn games going viral?

These games are free to play — no need to spend any money upfront. All you need is a phone and Telegram. Tap-to-earn games are growing fast because they let you earn crypto rewards with little effort. This makes them very popular. In fact, 95% of players are brought in by others. The word spreads fast through direct messages, group chats, and social media. Some games, like Anon, have managed to gather 150,000 users in less than 24 hours. Talk about viral!

Is tap-to-earn the future of community building in web3?

Web3 quest tools like Tropee, Zealy or Layer3 help projects to reward early adopters with airdrops and gifts for referrals and completing tasks. Tap-to-earn games takes this to another level by focusing on user attention. The more you play, the more you earn, and the more engaged you become.

Here’s why we think tap to earn is a game-changer for web3 communities: these games keep you coming back, reward your time and effort, and keep the community sticky and engaged.

More and more web3 projects are seeing the potential of gaming to kickstart, engage, and grow their communities. It’s not just a trend—it’s a powerful tool that aligns perfectly with the interactive, user-centric spirit of web3.

How to create a tap-to-earn game?

Right now, there’s no easy, no-code way to make a tap-to-earn game. Creating a full game can take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars if you don’t have experience.

At Tropee, we’ve been getting a lot of requests to make tap-to-earn games for our web3 clients. So, we decided to start a beta program. We’re already working with top web3 clients on their first games! If you’re interested in joining the beta and creating your own tap-to-earn game, reach out to us at team@tropee.com