Tap-to-Earn Games: A Guide to the Tap and Earn Crypto Trend in 2024

Tap-to-earn games have quickly gained massive popularity, with hundreds of millions of people already trying out these crypto games in under a year. This simple game genre, which revolves around tapping on a screen to earn coins, was introduced at the start of 2024 and has since become a global phenomenon.

The birth of tap-to-earn gaming wasn't solely with the launch of the first tap-to-earn game, Notcoin, as many believe. Instead, it began with the launch of The Open Network (TON) blockchain, a layer-1 blockchain that was the first to integrate with Telegram. This integration opened up a huge potential user base of almost a billion potential players, many of whom are in developing countries seeking easy ways to earn money tapping.

Notcoin was the first game to pave the way for the tap-to-earn trend, offering a simple way to earn coins by tapping on a virtual coin within the game and completing small tasks. As Notcoin gathered traction, other projects joined the train, including Catizen, Dogs, Hamster Kombat, and X-Empire.

What is Tap-to-Earn (T2E)?

T2E is a simple crypto game mechanism where players make money by tapping on their mobile screens or clicking with their mouse on desktops. It’s a variant of play-to-earn (P2E) and part of the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, but instead of immersing the players into more complicated game narratives and mechanics, it allows players to collect rewards through minimal interaction.

Since tapping a screen repeatedly can be very boring, T2E games often include another layer of tasks for players to complete, offering more points and keeping things interesting. Each task earns a different amount of coins based on its difficulty and often supports the game, serving promotional purposes.

To seal the deal, and hook the players, T2E games include a narrative element, and storytelling that expands it and helps to make the gameplay more engaging—for instance, Hamster Kombat narrative is a hamster acting as the CEO of a virtual cryptocurrency exchange and the entire storytelling of the game is around this.

Tap-to-Earn Characteristics

Tap-to-earn gaming is a genre within crypto gaming, and these games share several common characteristics.

Ease of Use and Reach

Tap-to-earn games are incredibly easy to play. The games run as mini-apps within Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps worldwide. The basic game mechanics involve simple screen tapping, making the games accessible to just about anyone—even people with little gaming experience.

Gamification Elements

While these games do not offer the same depth as traditional P2E games, they make up for it with creative gamification elements. Players earn coins, complete tasks, progress through ranks, and compete on leaderboards. Each game contains different rewards and a storyline to make these seemingly mundane tasks more enjoyable.

Earning Incentives

Tap-to-earn is especially appealing to players from developing countries or those seeking an easy way to earn money without any upfront costs. The appeal of earning something simply by tapping or completing tasks is universal—after all, who doesn't like the idea of earning some extra easy money while playing on the phone?

The Mechanics of Tap-to-Earn Games

The most fundamental part of tap-to-earn games is the taps. In each game, there is usually a central place where the player can tap the screen to earn coins for a certain time until the character's energy runs out. The player can come back later to tap again when the energy refills, to further tap and earn more coins.

Another aspect most of these crypto games share is the tasks section, where users can complete tasks to earn more coins. Some tasks are one-time, while others are daily or weekly. Each task earns a different amount of coins depending on its complexity. Tasks can, of course, be removed or added to the game over time, or adjusted based on the player's progress in the game.

To make the game more interesting and give another layer of complexity, there are boosters and upgrades. Boosters are special in-game items that players can obtain for free, usually rewarded if they reach certain goals or connect to the game regularly. Upgrades are in-game items that players can purchase using already-earned coins. There are various upgrades, each with a different cost and effect, but in general, they all help to earn more coins within the same period of time. Since boosters and upgrades help gain more coins, people are incentivized to buy more of them, earn more coins, and then purchase even more powerful items, creating a never-ending loop.

How to Play Tap-to-Earn Games

If you want to start playing tap-to-earn games, follow these steps:

1. Download Telegram: Tap-to-earn games operate as mini-apps within Telegram, so the first step is to download and install Telegram on your phone.
2. Choose a Game: Decide what matters most to you—the story, game mechanics, or earnings—and pick a game that suits your preferences. Notable options include Notcoin, Hamster Kombat, Catizen, and TapSwap.
3. Join the Game’s Channel: Once you’ve selected a game, search for its Telegram channel and join it. This is where the game takes place, and it’s also where you’ll find updates and instructions.
4. Start Tapping: Once you're set-up, start playing by tapping the screen to earn coins or completing tasks to accumulate even more.

TON Blockchain and Tap-to-Earn

The Open Network (TON) is a layer-1 blockchain built specifically for integration with popular messaging apps like Telegram, enabling a seamless gaming experience. By combining Telegram's ease of use with TON’s blockchain capabilities, tap-to-earn games can easily reach a massive audience, many of whom may be new to cryptocurrency. This accessibility has contributed significantly to the rapid rise of tap-to-earn gaming.

TON's high-speed transactions and extremely low fees are key factors in its suitability for tap-to-earn games. While other blockchain networks may struggle with higher transaction costs or slow speeds, TON processes millions of transactions per second, allowing for real-time gameplay. This efficiency is crucial for keeping players engaged, especially in a game where quick feedback is essential.

Another advantage of TON is its integration with Telegram, which provides built-in cryptocurrency wallet functionality for players. This simplifies the connection to Decentralized Finance (DeFi) and makes managing in-game assets convenient, as users can seamlessly earn, store, and exchange coins all within the same platform.

Additionally, developers benefit from TON’s developer-friendly ecosystem, including access to SDKs, APIs, and templates for creating tap-to-earn games. These tools make it easier to develop and launch new games, further supporting the growth of tap-to-earn gaming on the TON blockchain.

Popular Tap-to-Earn Games

Notcoin

Notcoin was the first Tap-to-Earn game to launch and start this tap-to-earn phenomenon. With over 35 million players in a few months, the game became a big success. Players earn Notcoins by tapping a virtual coin and completing tasks while enjoying community-driven features like squads and leaderboards.

Hamster Kombat

Launched in March 2024, Hamster Kombat quickly became the most popular tap-to-earn game with over 350 million players. Unlike many other games in the genre, Hamster Kombat features a unique narrative where players manage a virtual crypto exchange as a hamster CEO, adding a strategic twist to the traditional tapping mechanism. Players earn coins by tapping and investing in upgrades like marketing and talent, making it more engaging compared to other games that rely solely on tapping.

TapSwap

TapSwap launched in February 2024 and attracted over 67 million players. It combines the simplicity of tap-to-earn with a marketplace concept. The game’s UI and mechanics are reminiscent of Notcoin, and given how closely the two games were launched, it seems more like they implemented similar ideas rather than copying each other. In TapSwap, players earn coins by tapping and completing tasks, which they can then use to trade within a virtual marketplace

Catizen

Catizen is another tap-to-earn game that features cute cat characters that players help navigate through simple challenges. The game combines adorable graphics with tapping mechanics, making it particularly appealing to casual gamers. Like other tap-to-earn games, Catizen rewards players for simple actions and tasks while adding a lighthearted storyline.

Pixelverse

Pixelverse is a visually rich tap-to-earn game featuring pixel art, which brings a nostalgic aesthetic to the gameplay. Players earn rewards by interacting with a virtual pixelated universe, completing tasks, and earning coins.

The Future of Tap-to-Earn

Today, players have a variety of tap-to-earn games to choose from, allowing them to select the ones they relate to most in terms of gameplay, narratives, and rewards. However, the current focus of tap-to-earn games is heavily skewed towards the earnings aspect, which may not be sustainable in the long term. Players are already expressing frustration about spending significant time and energy on these games, only to earn a few dollars after withdrawing from exchanges and paying various fees.

In the future, we can expect tap-to-earn games to evolve by offering more complex and engaging gameplay that keeps players interested beyond just financial incentives. These crypto games could also develop into a PvP model, where players compete against each other for pooled coins or rewards, or even a complex syndicated mechanism to help make the games more social.

We might also see these games expanding to other platforms, such as TikTok, to tap into even larger user bases and broaden their reach. This move would benefit both the games and the platforms, as they look to engage current users and attract new ones.