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 did grow for a while.

However, Snapchat has since ended the initiative and you can no longer play Games or the later-added Minis on the app. Still, for those hoping to catch up, here’s everything you need to know about Snap Games and even Snap Minis.

What were Snap Games?

Snapchat's gaming platform was 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 were 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 likely hoped that its gaming platform would 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 were based on HTML5, including Bitmoji Party game, which comes from Prettygreat, the studio that produced Fruit Ninja (it was purchased by Snap).

Bitmoji Party reminded us of Mario Party, but with Bitmoji characters in place of the famous plumber and his friends. It featured smaller game experiences that could be played with up to eight friends at a time, including a zombie game where players infected one another. There were five games in total in Bitmoji Party.

Which games were on Snapchat?

Aside from Bitmoji Party, Snap Games grew until it included 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

What were Snap Minis?

Snap Minis were another new feature you could find in the same place you found games.

Instead of being fun games, though, Snap referred 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

To cut to the chase, you cannot play Snap Games or Snap Minis any more - they're no longer accessible.

Snap Games and Snap Minis used to be accessible through a rocket-shaped icon in the chat menu. It functioned similarly to how Facebook had Instant Games inside its Messenger service. By clicking the rocket icon, your friends in the chat would get a notification and be allowed to join. For games, the person who started the session was the game master.