Ever since Bitcoin changed our lives in 2009, people have been exploring ways Satoshi’s creation can change our day-to-day lives—including video game developers looking to add BTC rewards into their video games.
With advances in technology bringing smartphones, these two worlds currently meet as mobile games. One company that’s leading the way is THNDR games, with several Bitcoin games in various genres.
So, I’ve decided to take a deep dive into everything they have to offer and test how they stack up against one another. Let’s jump in!
Club Bitcoin: Solitaire
Club Bitcoin: Solitaire is… well, solitaire!
Here, you can earn points and tickets for every move you make. Spending points will allow you to reset the deck while tickets will give you entries into the prize draw—a raffle that gives you the opportunity to earn from a prize pool of 12,200 satoshis.
The number of points you end with will depend on how smart you are with your moves, and the maximum amount of tickets you can earn per game is capped at 364 (assuming you make the right moves to clear the board, of course).
Satoshis (sats) are distributed every hour to everyone who enters the prize draw, meaning no one goes home empty-handed. The grand prize is set at 2,000 sats, so make sure you get as many tickets as you can to increase your chances of having the winning ticket!
Bitcoin Bay: Bitcoin Bubbles
Bitcoin Bay: Bitcoin Bubbles is a level and progression-based tile-matching Bitcoin game where your goal is to build combos and clear the board.
For each level, you’ll need to collect specific bubbles or items and get to that 3-star completion so that you can move on to the next stage. You only get a certain amount of bubbles per level, so make sure you use them wisely.
Luckily, you have a skill called the Energy Orb—which eliminates bubbles within a radius—that recharges a small amount for every bubble taken off the board. Completing each level will earn you tickets—your entries into the prize draw—and coins, which you can use to upgrade your various in-game skills.
You also get 5 hearts when you boot up the game, each regenerating every 10 minutes. This is what allows you to reset a level if you ever fall short of completing it—so if you don’t have the patience to wait for a new heart, make sure you use your bubbles wisely.
As for the amount of satoshis you can earn, the prize draw will vary per hour and will increase when more players enter the draw or when people make in-app purchases.
Bitcoin Bounce
Bitcoin Bounce is a high-paced, tap-to-bounce platformer Bitcoin game where you hop across the blockchain and collect tickets along the way, allowing you to earn from the prize draw.
Aside from gathering tickets, you can boost your score by bouncing on highlighted platforms to earn combo multipliers, making use of the power-ups you find, and avoiding the spikes that’ll end your run. As for the types of power-ups, you can find and what they do, lightning bolts will give you a speed boost, shields will protect you from falling, and magnets will automatically collect tickets within a radius.
In this Bitcoin game, missing a jump isn’t technically the end. You’ll get the chance to watch an ad so you can continue your run. However, falling a second time will bring up another ad-watching opportunity that’ll allow you to collect any tickets you’ve missed during your run.
Although the prize pool computations aren’t specified in the rules, the assumption is that it works similarly to Bitcoin Bay—the more players there are, the bigger the prize.
Satss – Bitcoin Snake
We all loved our indestructible Nokias in the late 90s, right? Well, Satss – Bitcoin Snake has taken that memory and paired it with Bitcoin, which will definitely hit you with a huge wave of nostalgia. It pays homage to the popular snake game found in most cell phones in the late 90s, including an interface modeled after the phones and handheld gaming consoles we had back in the day.
The main difference in this version is that instead of chasing 1×1 pixels (or apples, in some iterations) with your pixelated snake, you chase tickets for the prize draw—meaning that the higher level you reach, the more tickets you get.
If you find yourself bumping into yourself or any of the four walls, you’ll get a chance to collect all the tickets you’ve missed by watching an ad.
Turbo ‘84: Bitcoin Joyride
Are you a fan of the aesthetics of games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or shows like Stranger Things? If you are, you’ll love Turbo ‘84: Bitcoin Joyride.
This is an 80s-themed racing simulator that plays similarly to other mobile games like Subway Surfers where your goal is to avoid obstacles and collect both tickets and tokens along the way. Like the other Bitcoin games, tickets will enter you into the prize draw, while tokens will let you upgrade your car or even purchase brand-new ones.
High scores in this game are measured by speed and distance traveled, so be sure to pass through the dash panels (the green arrows on your track) to get a much-needed speed boost.
Like Bitcoin Bounce, you can watch an ad to continue your run if you hit an obstacle, and hitting one a second time will give you another ad to collect the tickets you’ve missed.
Straight into your Lightning wallet
Your earnings from each game can be cashed out quickly and easily into any Lightning wallet. All you need to do is hit the Claim button on whatever game you’re playing and it’ll send the satoshis to your wallet in literally a matter of seconds.
Just take note that satoshis kept on the games will eventually expire, so be sure to cash them out to your Lightning wallet as soon as you can.
My top picks
After getting a couple of hours in with each Bitcoin game, here are my top picks from what THNDR Games had to offer:
- The best looking: Turbo ‘84 Bitcoin Joyride
I am a sucker for the neon colors and retro feel of the 80s, making this game easily the most aesthetic in my eyes.
However, I feel that the gameplay can get clunky and despite how satisfying it is to go fast and get high scores, getting into a rhythm is much harder compared to the other games.
When I first downloaded this game, one of the first things I did was look at the cars available for purchase. My eyes went directly to the Back to the Future-esque Delorean available and I wanted it bad—I’ve still got a long way to go so I’m still working on it.
- The most fun: Bitcoin Bounce
Bitcoin Bounce is the most exciting. Building combos and getting into a flow is extremely satisfying and although power-ups kind of mess up that rhythm and throw you off a little bit, they also have their set of advantages.
My runs were pretty short at the start but after playing it for around an hour, I was able to get the hang of it and grab higher scores. On great runs, I would get into that “don’t bother me” zone and everything around me would start to disappear—so I probably wouldn’t recommend playing this in instances where you have to be attentive (like waiting in lines).
- The most bang for your buck: Club Bitcoin: Solitaire
I’m not much of a card player—aside from the games of pusoy dos I play with my friends—but this one felt different.
I found myself staying up until the early morning, obsessing over getting as many tickets as I could before the hourly draw struck. Each game will last around 4-6 minutes, making this a great timekiller if you’re waiting in line or if you just have a few minutes to spare.
Club Bitcoin: Solitaire also has the biggest prize pool compared to the others, so if you’re looking for one game to earn the most, I’d recommend this one.
The future of Bitcoin gaming
After testing these out, I can easily say that these are the best-made Bitcoin games out there. Everything from THNDR’s selection is fun and will appeal to different types of gamers, so if any of these look like they’re worth checking out, you should definitely do so.
My advice is to just find a game you enjoy and stick to it—because at the end of the day, all of these games earn you Bitcoin anyway!
