Scor on Sweet, a Telegram mini-app ecosystem, has launched a clone of the classic mobile game Flappy Bird—but this time with a tennis twist, featuring stars of the real-world game. Flappy Racquet arrives as the sport’s most prestigious Grand Slam tournament, Wimbledon, is just getting into full swing.
The game appears simple: tap on the screen to hit tennis balls away and avoid drones as your character flies through the sky. Miss a ball, and your progress is reset.
Top players will be rewarded by being airdropped their favorite pro athletes as playable characters, all with unique boosts, minted as NFTs on The Open Network. The players will also be sold in the app, although Sweet did not confirm how much each one will cost.
Through a licensing partnership with Winners Alliance, Sweet said, the game is set to include the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Aryna Sabalenka, Naomi Osaka, and more.
Nick Kyrgios in Flappy Racquet. Image: Sweet.
“From day one, using a pro athlete gives players an edge. Specifically, increased gem earnings per match,” Tom Mizzone, CEO of Sweet, told Decrypt. “We’ll soon reveal unique in-game ‘super powers’ for each athlete, like temporary invincibility from birds, drones, and other in-game hazards.”
On top of being airdropped NFTs, the top players will also earn “gems” within the Scor on Sweet ecosystem. Once the SCOR token generation event takes place on TON, players will be able to convert these gems into SCOR tokens.
Scor on Sweet is also home to three other sport-related mini-games: a basketball Doodle Jump clone called Sky Slam, a soccer Space Invaders-like mini-game called Glove Hero, and an ice hockey version of Snake called Ice Snake.
The release of Flappy Racquet comes in the same week as Wimbledon rallies into action in London. Predictors on Myriad Markets believe that Carlos Alcaraz is 41.8% likely to win the men’s singles title, down from 47% after a tense victory for the Spaniard on day one.
(Disclaimer: Myriad Markets is a product of DASTAN, the parent company of an editorially independent Decrypt).
Telegram gaming was all the rage last year, with tap-to-earn titles amassing huge player bases while promising fruitful airdrops to their users.
The Flappy Bird Foundation, the entity that acquired the smash mobile game’s trademark, launched a Telegram mini-game last year, in collaboration with Notcoin—the original crypto Telegram tap=to-earn game. But the game closed down in spring, with no sign of its planned token launch.
But in June, the Flappy Bird Foundation reconfirmed that it has plans in the world of crypto, but did not offer any details regarding the new game or a potential token.
The most successful Telegram game was Hamster Kombat, which amassed over 300 million players that furiously tapped their screens in hopes of a future airdrop. However, many players were disappointed by the “dust” they received in the airdrop, following months of grinding for a token bounty.
Since then, the Telegram gaming scene has fallen in terms of mind share as top games fail to keep players engaged, and their tokens plummet in value after launch.
“It still represents a large, active user base that’s deeply familiar with blockchain, gaming, and token economies,” Mizzone told Decrypt. “A lot of early projects may have missed the mark, whether due to lack of product depth, the wrong team, or short-term thinking.”
He believes that Scor on Sweet won’t fall victim to the same fate, because it has developed a long-term plan to reward players. Plus, its integration of notable tennis stars into the game, Mizzone said, is opening the door for a new way for fans of the sport to engage with their favorite players.
Still, despite all of Telegram’s strengths, the project is eyeing a move beyond the mobile superapp.
“While Telegram is a strong on-ramp, it’s just the starting point,” Mizzone finished. “The Scor on Sweet ecosystem will extend across mobile, web, and integrated messaging platforms, reaching gamers and fans wherever they are.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
