What are Snap Games, how do they work, and which titles are available?

Did you Snapchat has a gaming platform?

Back in 2019 at the Snap Partner Summit in Los Angeles, Snap announced games for Snapchat. It had six games to begin with, but the platform has been growing, and now, it includes something called "Minis" along with an ever-expanding catalogue of multiplayer games. Here’s everything you need to know about Snap Games and even Snap Minis.

• What is Snapchat, how does it work, and what is it used for?

What are Snap Games?

Snapchat's gaming platform is called Snap Games. Pitched as a "way to hang out with your friends on Snapchat", just about all the games and apps within Snap Games are multiplayer-based. Snap redesigned the chat feature on Snapchat to include a "rocket" button that you tap to jump into a game and play with friends.

Snap is likely hoping that its gaming platform will help keep users on the Snapchat platform, as recent reporting shows its users may not be using the app as much as they once did. Many services, including Instagram, have copied Snapchat's key features, like Stories. So, the onus is on Snapchat to continue to innovate and keep its users coming back.

All the games are based on HTML5, including Bitmoji Party game, which comes from Prettygreat, the studio that produced Fruit Ninja (it was purchased by Snap). Bitmoji Party reminds us of Mario Party, but with Bitmoji characters in place of the famous plumber and his friends. It features smaller game experiences that can be played with up to eight friends at a time, including a zombie game where players infect one another. There are five games in total in Bitmoji Party.

Which games are on Snapchat?

Aside from Bitmoji Party, Snap Games has steadily grown and now includes over 20 gaming titles. Here are some of the standouts:

• Alphabear Hustle from SpryFox: Think Words with Friends
• CATS Drift Racing from ZeptoLab: A multiplayer racing game from Zeptolab
• Snake Squad from Game Closure: A reimagining of the classic game Snake
• Tiny Royale from Zynga: A type of battle royale game from Zynga
• Zombie Rescue Squad from PikPok: Survive the zombie apocalypse with friends
• Aquapark from Voodoo: A racing game with waterslides for tracks
• Super Snappy Bowling by NOWWA: A 1v1 multiplayer bowling game

For a detailed description of all the games, check out Snapchat's FAQ hub.

What are Snap Minis?

Snap Minis are a new feature you will find in the same place you find games.

Instead of being fun games, though, Snap refers to Minis as "bite-sized utilities" to help friends. Once you click on the rocket ship icon in a chat, you'll be taken to a menu with both Games and Minis, so its worth knowing the difference. So far, there are only seven Minis, but some of them can be pretty useful.

Here's what they can do:

• Movie Tickets by Atom: Purchase tickets and pick seats with your friends
• Givingli: A way to request unique and special greeting cards from artists and creators
• Headspace: An app to help with meditation
• Prediction Master: Make predictions about the future and see who's right
• Let's Do It: Help decide what to eat or watch
• Flashcards by Tembo: Create flashcards to help study
• Register to Vote: Register to vote in US elections

How to play Snap Games and use Snap Minis

Snap Games and Snap Minis are accessible through a new rocket-shaped icon in the chat menu. It functions similarly to how Facebook’s Instant Games inside its Messenger service. By clicking the rocket icon, your friends in the chat will get a notification and will be allowed to join. For games, the person who starts the session is the game master.

To launch a Snap Game or Snap Mini:

1. Swipe right to the Friends screen.
2. Tap on a Chat or Group Chat.
3. Tap the Rocket icon to open the Game Drawer.
4. Tap on a game or Mini to start using it.

As we said, when you launch a game, everyone in the chat will get a notification. They’ll also see a message in chat about the game, and they can tap the game icon to start playing it live. (If no one’s playing, you can hide the game icon in chat by dragging the game icon and letting it go.) You can chat with your friends when you’re in a game, by simply tapping the chat bar at the bottom to bring up the keyboard. Tap the microphone once, and when you’re done talking, tap it again to stop sending audio.

For more tips and tricks, see Snapchat's FAQ hub.

Want to know more?

Snapchat has details about game data storage, how much each developer makes on its platform, and more, all on its FAQ hub here.

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