What is Telegram game Notcoin and how do you play it?

Notcoin is a Telegram-based game that utilized a "tap-to-earn" mining mechanic, engaging users in the Web3 ecosystem through playful interaction.

Initially, users would sign up and “tap” the image of a gold coin to earn in-game rewards, and could receive additional boosts and prizes by completing various quests and tasks. The game rapidly developed to have millions of users, who then received an airdrop when the Notcoin token was born.

How to get started with Notcoin

To begin with Notcoin, users can head to the Notcoin Telegram bot. From there, users can sign up and connect their existing TON +1.99% wallet, or follow the prompt to create one directly in the app.

Once inside the Notcoin app, with a wallet connected, new users can click to explore for active pools, but will see that there are currently none available. According to Notcoin documentation available here, Notcoin is now moving from a clicker game to an “explore-to-earn model,” which allows users to earn Notcoin as they discover and explore various web3 products.

Projects will get Notcoin from the market, add it to the campaign pool, where users will then complete campaigns to start earning Notcoin from the pool.

A tiered level system of Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum grants users access to campaigns with higher rewards. Users who staked their Notcoin balances before May 16 received upgraded levels that also increased their rewards.

The second option available to new users is “Explore & Earn,” where current reward campaigns reside. By clicking on it, various tasks appear for users to click on and complete — like joining a project’s telegram group, discord, following on X — in exchange for rewards and prizes. Once the tasks are complete, a small indicator will appear in the Notcoin app’s main interface showing the amount of Notcoin being earned per hour.

As projects appear, users can continue to complete tasks and earn rewards. This benefits new projects as they can offer bounties to users to interact with and learn about their projects, and users can earn tokens in exchange for doing so.

How was Notcoin developed over time?

After the initial “tapping” phase was completed, users received an airdrop of NOT, a real token based on the TON ecosystem, which itself has seen strong growth over the last year. 

NOT was then listed on major exchanges following the airdrop, including Binance, OKX, and Bybit. The total supply of Notcoin is around 102.7 billion tokens, all of which are currently circulating in the market. Despite its playful origins, Notcoin has seen significant trading volumes, which points to its popularity and the active engagement of its community.

Its rise was so notable that Telegram CEO Pavel Durov wrote about it, praising the game for reaching 35 million users — although this could include some bots — and saying “This amazing success story shows how powerful the Telegram/TON ecosystems are for app developers.”

NOT’s growth and success has spurred the growth of numerous other Telegram-based games, such as Hamster Kombat, which plans to airdrop a token to its users in July.