A PWA game is a browser game that uses a few web-platform features — a manifest, a service worker, and a responsive shell — to behave more like an app. It is still a web page. The difference is what the browser can do with it after the first visit.
The three pieces
A manifest tells the browser the game’s name, icons, and display mode, which is what allows an “Add to home screen” prompt. A service worker is a small script that can cache files and answer requests when the network is unavailable. A responsive shell is the part that makes the same page work on a phone without a separate app build.
What PWA does not mean
It does not mean the game is installed from an app store, and it does not mean every PWA works offline. A service worker has to be written and tested. If a game loads a third-party iframe or a remote API, that dependency can still fail.
Where Tapminute is today
Tapminute is browser-first: every game opens from a URL, with no account. The manifest and service worker shipped in October 2026. The shell and four first-party games — Stack, Tap Rush, Lights Out, and Echo — are precached; the embedded open-source games are deliberately left out and fall back to an offline page. A browser may offer an install prompt after a second visit or three finished games, and iOS gets a Share → Add to Home Screen hint instead.
Try the groundwork
Stack, Tap Rush, Lights Out, and Echo are first-party games with local scores and offline caches. If you want the longer version of this argument, read the offline-ready collection and the commute collection.
