Challenge
Following Spielworks' acquisition of Chainmonsters, they wanted to expand into Telegram Mini Apps — a fast-growing platform for casual games. The brief: create a game that could build marketing momentum for an upcoming Chainmonsters token sale while staying true to the universe players already knew.
The constraints were tight: ship fast, retain players in short mobile sessions, and design systems that could eventually connect back to the main Chainmonsters MMO.
Solution
Game Concept: TapMonsters was an idle game where players managed a research lab discovering Chainmons. The core loop:
- Tap a crystal to generate energy
- Spend energy on lab upgrades
- Upgrades generate passive energy over time
- Higher-tier labs unlock rarer Chainmons through a discovery mechanic (non-monetized lootboxes)
Simple to learn, deep enough to retain. The Chainmonsters IP gave it identity; the idle mechanics gave it stickiness.
Design Methodology: I used Machinations.io extensively for predictive economy simulations — modeling energy curves, upgrade pacing, and long-term progression before writing a single line of design documentation. This let us validate the entire economy mathematically and iterate on paper rather than in production.
Key design targets:
- 10-minute session length — optimized for mobile/Telegram context
- Pre-determined 2-week player journey — carefully paced unlocks to maximize early retention
- Progressive discovery hooks — new Chainmons revealed at calculated intervals to sustain engagement
Cross-Game Vision: The long-term design included players' labs appearing inside the Chainmonsters 3D world, with cross-game progression unlocking passive benefits (increased XP gain, rare spawns, etc.). These features were fully designed but never shipped.
Timeline: From concept to launch: 3-4 weeks. Initial release was a webapp; later migrated to a different game engine for higher graphical fidelity.
What I'd Do Differently
Management opted against using our established technology stack (Unity, PlayFab) in favor of Construct 3 for the migration. This delayed the project by months post-launch. Given the choice again, I would have pushed harder for proven infrastructure over experimental tooling — especially on a project where speed-to-market was the primary goal.
Results
- 400,000 registered players
- 30,000 DAU at peak
- 3-4 weeks from concept to initial launch
- Cross-game systems designed (not shipped)
- Status: Development paused when Spielworks GmbH ceased operations in August 2025; game was acquired by another company and remains live
Art Direction: Lysander Haupt
