What Is GameFi? Exciting Crypto Games on TON Blockchain

GameFi: Meaning And Explanation

GameFi—which is the blend of the words “game” and “finance”—on TON are blockchain-based games available from the Telegram app. These games offer interactive and engaging activities that allow players to collect tokens or other assets with real-life value. The term refers to decentralized finance protocols with gamification. 

How Do GameFi Projects Work?

GameFi is all about earning while you play. Instead of just playing for fun, gamers can earn digital tokens and in-game items—like virtual property, characters, weapons, and outfits—by reaching goals and showing skill. These earnings are usually NFTs, meaning gamers truly own them and can safely trade or sell them on NFT marketplaces. No one can delete or take it away, and players can freely sell, trade, or use it without needing the game developer’s approval.

So, you’re not just playing games for fun; you’re earning GameFi tokens that can be exchanged for real money. Does it sound too good to be true? Let’s explore some of the unpopular drawbacks of playing games on TON.

Why GameFi Can Be a Bad Idea: Disadvantages of GameFi

💸 Pay to Start Playing

Some GameFi projects can ask you to purchase tokens or NFTs to start playing without a guarantee that you will get something. Expensive investments prevent many users from joining the game.

📊 Market Intricacies and Unpredictability

GameFi tokens or assets are not stable, just like any other crypto or NFTs. They’re tied to the cryptocurrency market, and their prices can change significantly from high to low. And when the price goes down, the value of your earnings reduces accordingly, making the game risky.

🕵🏼‍♀️ Suspicious and Scam Projects

As the GameFin industry is fresh and new, you can face games that are poorly managed or even scams. Many Telegram games launch with big promises but fail due to a lack of players or unstable GameFi tokens.

🫤 Limited Gameplay

Many GameFi projects prioritize financial rewards over gameplay quality. Some games feel repetitive or lack engaging mechanics, making them less fun compared to traditional games.

Why is GameFi Crypto Popular? GameFi Advantages

Bringing TON games into Telegram changes the way people play. There’s no need to switch between apps or download extra tools—everything works smoothly right inside Telegram. This makes games quicker to access, more secure, and cheaper to use. Plus, TON games can be played directly in group chats with built-in leaderboards that spark friendly competition. It turns regular chats into fun, interactive spaces where gaming and socializing go hand in hand.

🎮 Play-to-Earn Mechanics

In our modern world, such mini-apps can become a source of additional income. By playing games on TON blockchain, users get tokens or NFTs, which are tradable and can be sold.

🔄 Trading and Selling

Thanks to NFTs, their ownership is totally yours, and you can do whatever you want, either holding them or trading them.

🌐 Compatibility

Some GameFi projects build games where items or avatars can be used in different games (if built on the same blockchain or network)—a concept called the metaverse.

🏗 Decentralized Governance

Many GameFi platforms let players and token holders participate in how the game develops. Through a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), they can vote on updates, rules, and changes to the game’s system.

📈 New Investment and Earning Possibilities

GameFi provides a new and engaging way of investing in Web3 by blending games and DeFi (Decentralized Finance). Anyone with an Internet connection and a smartphone can participate.

🔑 Easy Access

Unlike traditional games, when you need to install the application, sometimes even to create an account and install additional extensions, with Telegram Mini Apps, you don’t need additional stuff. You just play within your Telegram account and your wallet.

Examples of Good GameFi Projects to Explore

Even though GameFi brings a new idea of earning money while playing, the most important thing about any game is still how fun, exciting, and engaging it is—and how it brings people together. 

Let’s see what projects became the most popular games on TON.

Notcoin—Viral Telegram Game

The Notcoin Telegram game was launched in 2024, and after a week, it had 4M players! It was the largest boom in the GameFi market. The game has no onboarding steps and allows anyone to start playing right away. The Notcoin game has a tap-to-earn mechanic: you need to tap on a coin icon to start mining. The NOT game also has additional leaderboards and quests to increase engagement. All GameFi coins (NOT token) you earn in the NOT game are tradable.

Hamster Kombat—Tap-to-Earn Game

Another tap-to-earn game within the TON blockchain. Here, you play as a hamster who wants to become a rich crypto exchange CEO. The gameplay is easy—tap on a hamster to get HMSTR coins. There are also minigames with different tasks. The coins you earn can be exchanged for HMSTR tokens and then tradable on exchange platforms. Hamster Kombat game has 10 levels with a unique number of coins you can get per tap and other capabilities. You need a billion coins to get to the 10th level.

The game was launched in 2024 and got over 300M players.

Catizen—For Cats-Enthusiasts

This cute Catizen game has simple gameplay mechanics: from taking part in fishing with other cats (you should pay FishCoin to participate) to running a cafe and buying helpful stuff for in-game FishCoin (FISH). You can stake your cats and coins to earn rewards in TON ecosystem. 

The game was launched in 2024, and it attracted over 39 million players in just a few months. Now, the game has its own token CATI, which is tradable on all exchange platforms. 

Dropee—Try Yourself as a Crypto Owner

Dropee is a unique Telegram Mini-App that makes airdrops fun and easy through a game-like Tap-to-Earn experience. 

You have the possibility to create your own token in this game. By tapping, you grow your token’s market value and trading volume. This gives users an understanding of how real crypto works in Web3. Also, Dropee game offers some quests and tasks that give additional rewards—DROPEE token, which is not yet listed. All in-game tokens can be used for gaming activities or withdrawn from the game and traded.

GameFi Development Solutions

TON’s developers have already shown they can create fun and exciting games that make the network stand out. TON is the best option for both Web3 developers and players.

GameFi gives game creators a new way to reward players who enjoy the game and put effort into leveling up. Of course, there are still challenges, like keeping the game economy fair and dealing with changes in the crypto market. But even with these issues, GameFi is growing fast and could become a $100 billion industry. This growth could also help other areas like DeFi, NFTs, and the metaverse, building a strong and connected GameFi world with more demand for gaming tokens.