Notcoin Review: Should You Play the Telegram Game Ahead of the Airdrop?

Buzzy Telegram game Notcoin has attracted 27 million players ahead of the NOT token drop. Here's why it has us hooked.

 I wasn't expecting to enjoy Notcoin. Initially, I was quite dismissive. The game involves tapping an image of a coin on your mobile device to earn in-game currency, with an energy bar that depletes as you tap and refills when idle. Ultimately, your tapping performance entitles you to an airdrop of an upcoming token.

It sounded pretty dull. So imagine my surprise when, three weeks after trying the game for the first time, I'm still opening it every morning and tapping away to earn my imaginary internet money.

Notcoin is integrated into the messaging app Telegram and is linked to a token being launched on The Open Network (TON), the blockchain originally created by the app. Despite some initial uncertainty about the airdrop, Notcoin's creator, Open Builders, confirmed that the token will indeed go on-chain via TON, with an estimated launch date in late March or early April.

The team also recently introduced an NFT-based voucher system, allowing players to convert their in-game currency into vouchers and trade them before the token's debut. Players who prefer not to participate in the pre-token voucher system can simply wait until their in-game currency becomes exchangeable for tokens.

 

There’s not much to the tapping—but what really grabbed me about this deceivingly simple game is the social aspect of it. Soon after setting up my Notcoin Telegram bot, I learned that a couple of my friends were also playing and immediately felt the urge to surpass them on the leaderboard.

 

The global leaderboard categorizes players into leagues based on the amount of Notcoin they've farmed: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. Additionally, each player has a ranking within their league. Discovering that some of my friends had higher rankings than me was surprisingly motivating, prompting me to take my tapping very seriously.

The timing of the boosts also kept me coming back regularly. In Notcoin, you get two free daily boosts to enhance your earnings. One boost briefly increases your earnings when you tap a little rocket ship that appears, and the other refills your energy when it’s depleted.

You can use three of each boost for free per day. The thought that I had free boosts available, and that these boosts may contribute to a future airdrop I’ll receive, were enough of an incentive to keep me coming back over and over again.

Beyond the free boosts, there are also "paid" boosts, but you can only spend earned Notcoin, as there's no option to buy it within the game. This approach makes Notcoin feel fair, avoiding any pay-to-win elements that could ruin the experience.

Players must decide between saving their in-game coins to maximize their airdrop or using their currency on paid boosts to enhance their overall earning potential. I quickly spent all my in-game currency on available upgrades. (You’re talking to someone with a level 10 energy limit—don't be jealous.)

 

What Is Notcoin? Co-Creator Sasha Plotvinov Explains the Viral Telegram Game and Token

Notcoin, a simple clicker-style game within messaging app Telegram, has racked up over 25 million players since the start of 2024 and plans to convert the trillions of virtual coins mined so far into a real crypto token on The Open Network. Open Builders founder Sasha Plotvinov joins Decrypt's Andrew Hayward to explain the viral phenomenon.

 Is Notcoin the best game I’ve ever played? No, far from it—but this game has me in its clutches.

There’s something about the simplicity, the incentives, and the social aspect of this game that keep me coming back despite its very one-dimensional gameplay. If you want a fully immersive gameplay experience, Notcoin probably isn’t for you. But if you want to have some fun playing a silly mobile game and potentially earn an airdrop, then I welcome a new rival to the league.