How To Create A Game As A Telegram Mini App

I’ve always been fascinated by how simple ideas turn into fun, interactive experiences.

A few years ago, I stumbled on Telegram Mini Apps and realized you can build a lightweight game and share it right inside a chat. It’s like making your own tiny, interactive world that people can play without leaving Telegram.

That got me excited—no complicated installs, no heavy interfaces, just a quick click and people are playing your game.

Here’s what’s great: Telegram has over 1 billion monthly active users as of mid-2025. With numbers like that, creating a mini game there means you can reach a huge audience instantly (source: Telegram’s official announcement of user growth).

Building a game inside Telegram lowers the barrier for players—you don’t need them to install anything extra, just tap and play.

For someone like me who loves coding and seeing friends try something new right away, it’s a powerful opportunity.

In this article, I’ll walk you through how I’d go about creating a game as a Telegram Mini App. We’ll cover everything step by step—from setting up and understanding the key concepts, to writing code, testing, and launching.

I’ll even share personal tips and answers to common questions I’ve come across.

By the end, you’ll feel confident to build your own Telegram game and share it with friends or a wider audience.

Why a Telegram Mini App Game?

Building a game as a Mini App offers several sweet advantages:

Instant access. Players just tap an inline button or link within Telegram and the game loads in seconds. No app store, no downloads.
Wide user base. Telegram’s growing user base—over a billion monthly active users—means your game can easily reach a big and diverse audience. (See Telegram’s growth announcement).
Easy sharing. Players can forward your game to friends, groups, or channels, and the bot/storefront can show leaderboard or play link.
Lightweight format. Mini Apps are built with simple web technologies—HTML, CSS, JavaScript. No heavy frameworks unless you want them, and you keep loads of flexibility.

I got hooked when I tried a simple quiz game someone shared with me via Telegram.

It loaded instantly, required no installation, and I was chatting with friends about our scores while still inside the app.

That’s when I thought, “I could build this!”

Before You Start: What You’ll Need

I like to gather tools first, so here’s my checklist:

Telegram account. You probably already have one. Great.
Bot setup. You need a bot to serve your Mini App. If you haven’t made one before, talk to BotFather in Telegram, use /newbot, and you’ll get a token.
Server or hosting. You need a place to host your Mini App. It can be a free static host like GitHub Pages or Netlify if your game is simple. For server-side logic (like leaderboards), you might choose a basic VPS or serverless setup.
Basic web skills. Just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. That’s all.
HTTPS support. Telegram Mini Apps require your host to support HTTPS (TLS), which virtually all modern hosts do for free.

Once I have those, I feel ready to build.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create Your Bot

Open chat with BotFather in Telegram.
Send command /newbot and follow the prompts: pick a name, pick a username, get your bot token.
With that token, Telegram’s API methods let you link the bot to your Mini App.

2. Set Up Your Web Files

You’ll create three main files:

index.html – the game interface (canvas, buttons, etc.)
app.js – game logic and Telegram Mini App SDK integration
style.css – layout and styling

Here’s how I often structure index.html:

The <script> reference to telegram-web-app.js gives you access to the Telegram Web App SDK (still packaged as telegram-web-app.js).

3. Write Your Game Logic

In app.js, I start by initializing the Telegram Web App API:

const tg = window.Telegram.WebApp;

tg.expand(); // optional, makes it full-screen

const user = tg.initDataUnsafe?.user; // info about who’s playing

// Example: very basic game logic const canvas = document.getElementById('gameCanvas');

const ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');

let x = 200, y = 200;

function draw() {

ctx.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);

ctx.beginPath();

ctx.arc(x, y, 20, 0, Math.PI * 2);

ctx.fillStyle = '#0095DD';

ctx.fill();

}
function update() {

x += (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10;

y += (Math.random() - 0.5) * 10;

draw();

requestAnimationFrame(update);

}

draw(); update();

That’s a fun little “ball bouncing randomly” game. You can add interactivity—touch or click to change direction—or build a complete puzzle or quiz.

4. Add Interaction with Telegram

Let’s say you want a “Finish Game” button that sends the user’s score to the bot:

<button id="finishButton">Finish</button>

And in app.js:

Then, in your bot’s server logic (using Python with python-telegram-bot, for instance), intercept the message event when message.text contains the game data and save or respond accordingly.

5. Host Your Game Files

Pick a host. I often use GitHub Pages for static games, or Netlify. For example:

Create a GitHub repository and push your files.
Enable GitHub Pages for the main branch.
You’ll get a URL like https://username.github.io/my-telegram-game/.

Make sure it uses HTTPS. Now your files are live and accessible.

6. Register the Mini App with Your Bot

Use Telegram’s setWebhook method or send the /setwebhook command to your bot.

Then use the Bot API method setGame or setChatMenuButton to point to your Mini App. For example, from your server:

Now users see a “Play My Game” button in the bot chat or menu, and tapping opens your Mini App.

7. Test and Iterate

I like to test with a close friend or myself:

Tap the button in Telegram.
Confirm the game loads properly.
Check that sendData works and your server receives data.
Ensure responsive layout on phone and different screen sizes.

Fix bugs, polish visuals, test again.

8. Optional: Leaderboard or Shared Scores

If you want players to see a leaderboard, you’ll need server logic and a database.

When the user finishes, you sendData(score).
On your server, extract the user ID and score, save to a database (even a simple JSON file if it’s low-traffic).
Build an endpoint like /leaderboard returning top scores as JSON.
Inside your Mini App, fetch that and render it:

That way, players see their rank, and it makes things more social and rewarding.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need to be an expert coder?

Not at all. If you’re comfortable with basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you can build a simple game. The Telegram part is just one extra API to include.

Can players share the game?

Yes. They can forward the bot or mini-app link in chats or groups, or click the shared inline button.

Is there a size limit?

Telegram doesn’t impose a size limit on Mini Apps. But be mindful of load times. Keep your game lightweight so it loads fast on mobile networks.

Does it work on desktop and mobile?

Yes. Telegram Mini Apps run on both, although mobile is common. Make sure layout adapts to screen size.

What about analytics?

You can include something like Google Analytics or your own tracking in the Mini App to collect simple metrics: loads, button clicks, game plays, etc.

Helpful Links

Telegram Mini Apps documentation (official): details SDK and integration steps
telegram-web-app.js reference (to understand API methods)
Tutorials on the Bot API and hosting options like GitHub Pages or Netlify

Wrap-Up

Creating a game as a Telegram Mini App is a great way to share interactive content with a wide audience quickly. You get the thrill of building something fun, your friends can play without installing anything, and you can add social features like scoreboards or leaderboards.

I started with a simple bouncing ball demo and ended up with a mini-quiz game people still tag me about weeks later. It’s low effort, high reward. The learning curve is gentle, and the reach can be massive.

Are you ready to start building your own Telegram game?