Telegram game bots: games that live in the chat

Games on Telegram come in two shapes. A mini app opens its own window with graphics. A game bot runs in a normal chat with text, buttons and the odd picture. This list is only about the second kind.

Why a bot when mini apps look nicer? A bot doesn't wait for a separate window to load, which matters on patchy mobile data. It sits in your chat list next to work and friends, so you can check in, give a few orders and get back to whatever you were doing. Text also leaves room for imagination, and slow strategy games and RPGs benefit from that more than you'd think.

Text isn't for everyone, of course. If you want animation, the mini apps are a better fit. If you remember browser games or MUD-style RPGs, you'll feel at home here. Ornest is a world birds took over after humans disappeared. Holop is an idle strategy where income from your buildings piles up between visits. Tamagochi Game turns a pet into a character you raise to level 60 and take on raids.

Not every bot on the page speaks English. The ones that do are Ornest, AniHunter, Tamagochi Game, PokerClub and Freelz. Freelz is the only gambling-style bot of the five and by far the mildest, since the coins you play plinko and limbo with are handed out free and never become money. Most of these bots sell something for Stars, but none charge you to start.

Expect smaller crowds than in mini apps. Some of the English ones feel more like a club than a game server. We don't see it as a minus. In a small text game people remember your nickname, and the admins often answer you themselves.

1. 

   1. Holop

   Strategy · 4 336 players

   Medieval idle strategy: estates, serfs, cave raids and a long road to the Tsar's throne. Progress keeps ticking while you're away, so a couple of check-ins a day is enough.

   Open
2. 

   2. Ornest

   RPG · 1 066 players

   Birds run the world here, humans having disappeared long ago. Raise a chick, build a flock, fight world bosses and trade at the Bird Bazaar. According to one write-up about the game, you can start a duel just by typing the word in chat.

   Open
3. 

   3. Tamagochi Game

   Simulator · 606 players

   A virtual pet that grew into a full RPG. You raise it to level 60, take it on world bosses, join a guild and send it off on adventures while you're busy elsewhere. Plenty to do, but the player base is thin and the arena can feel empty.

   Open
4. 

   4. PokerClub

   Cards · 1 350 players

   Poker as a bot. Your own club by invite code, cash NLH and PLO, bounty tournaments. Chips cost Stars and can't be cashed out.

   Open
5. 

   5. Freelz

   Gifts · 10 558 players

   Plinko and limbo on coins the bot tops up for free each day. They never leave the game as money, so the gambling costs nothing as long as you don't pay for extra coins.

   Open