Snapchat was launched in 2011 as a photo messaging app that allowed users to send photos that would disappear after being viewed. While Snapchat started out focused on photo sharing, the app quickly evolved to include additional features like stories, filters, lenses and more. One popular feature that Snapchat introduced early on was social games that users could play with their friends.
The Early Social Games on Snapchat
In the early days of Snapchat, there were a handful of basic social games that users could play. These games were designed to be quick, casual experiences that leveraged the app’s core mechanic of sending photo snaps back and forth.
Here are some of the first social games available on Snapchat:
- Snapchat Says – Players took turns making statements starting with “Snapchat says…” that their partner had to follow. This was a virtual version of the classic playground game “Simon Says.”
- Draw Something – Users took turns drawing simple pictures on Snapchat that their partner would try to guess.
- Caption Contest – Players took turns sending silly photos to each other that their partner had to caption.
- 20 Questions – One player thinks of a person, place or thing and the other has 20 questions to guess what it is.
These games were simple but engaging ways for friends to interact on Snapchat beyond just sending each other photos. They took advantage of the app’s core features like drawing, captions, back and forth messaging, and ephemerality.
The Introduction of Snapchat Games
In mid-2015, Snapchat stepped up their games offering by launching a dedicated Snapchat Games platform. This provided a home on Snapchat where users could find a selection of games to play that were high quality, fast loading, and easy to play with friends.
Here are some of the most popular Snapchat games that were available at the launch of Snapchat Games:
- Shooting Stars – Players had to tap falling stars at the right time to shoot them out of the sky. This game was developed by popular mobile game company Halfbrick.
- Snake Squad – A multiplayer version of the classic snake game where users competed to grow the longest snake.
- Tennis Mania – Players could enter into quick 1v1 tennis matches with their Snapchat friends.
- Zombie Rescue Squad – Users had to rescue civilians from zombies by tapping on the zombies to shoot them.
Snapchat made playing games even more social by including features like leaderboards so you could compare your high scores with friends. There were also options to send out snap invitations to challenge your friends to a game.
The Evolution of Snapchat Games
Since the launch of the dedicated Snapchat Games platform, new games have regularly been added to keep the selection fresh. Over time, the quality and complexity of games continued to improve as well.
Here are some of the popular Snapchat games that were added after the initial launch:
- Lucky Draw – Players scratched off digital scratch cards for a chance to win prizes.
- Bitmoji Party – Users could play mini-games starring their customizable Bitmoji avatar.
- Snake Battle – Up to 10 friends could battle simultaneously in this massive multiplayer version of Snake.
- Ready Chef Go – Players had to tap as fast as possible to help chefs prepare meals.
Snapchat also added additional gaming features like the ability to video chat while playing games. The continued evolution of games on Snapchat showed the company’s commitment to making the platform not just about photo sharing, but also about fun ways for friends to engage and interact.
The Removal of Snapchat Games
While Snapchat Games remained a popular part of the app for years, in late 2019 Snapchat suddenly announced they were removing the games platform from the app. On July 29, 2019 the dedicated Snap Games area disappeared.
Why did Snapchat decide to remove games from the app? Here are some of the likely reasons behind this decision:
- Wanted to refocus on their core features like messaging, stories, filters, etc.
- The Snapchat user base and usage patterns had shifted over time.
- Games were taking up significant data storage space within the app.
- Removing games improved performance and loading speeds.
- Some games still remained accessible through Mini Apps.
While games went away, the Snapchat app continued evolving in other ways like adding more augmented reality features. But for long-time Snapchat users, the disappearance of Snap Games marked the end of an era.
List of Popular Snapchat Games
Here is a more comprehensive list of many of the games that used to be available on Snapchat between 2015-2019:
| Game Name | Game Genre |
|---|---|
| Shooting Stars | Arcade |
| Snake Squad | Arcade |
| Tennis Mania | Sports |
| Zombie Rescue Squad | Action |
| Lucky Draw | Casino |
| Bitmoji Party | Mini-games |
| Snake Battle | Arcade |
| Ready Chef Go | Arcade |
| Cube Crush | Puzzle |
| Color Match | Puzzle |
| Pirate Treasures | Adventure |
| Stranded | Adventure |
| Orb Mania | Arcade |
| Swipe Skater | Sports |
| Pirate Treasures | Adventure |
| Hamstermon | Simulation |
| Bumped Out | Arcade |
| 3 Diamonds | Arcade |
| Monster Master | Strategy |
| Soccer Shootout | Sports |
Conclusion
For a few years, Snapchat Games provided a way to enjoy casual, social gaming experiences right within the Snapchat app. Simple games like Snapchat Says eventually evolved into a robust selection of high quality titles across genres like sports, puzzle, adventure and more.
While Snapchat may no longer have games, they were an important part of the app’s growth and development. For those who loved playing Snapchat Games, they will be remembered as a fun piece of the app’s history.