Oh man, World Emoji Day. I mean, were emojis always such a big deal? Anyway, Apple’s all in on the celebration with this new thing—a puzzle game—on their Apple News+ app. Let’s call it creatively named: Emoji Game. Only for the U.S. and Canada, though. Sorry, world.
So, here’s the lowdown. Imagine word games where you fill in blanks with emojis instead of letters. That’s it. Built right at Apple’s secret lair (or headquarters, if we’re being formal), this Emoji Game is the fifth puzzler they’ve thrown at Apple News+ folks. They’ve already got Crossword, Mini Crossword, Sudoku, and something called Quartiles. Emoji Game kinda stands out, probably because it screams iOS weirdly.
How’s it work? Every day, a fresh puzzle drops. Six words or phrases need your genius touch—or emoji drag-and-drop skills. Like, you see Disap_ _ _ _, and you’ve got a little pear emoji. Bingo—“Disappear.” But don’t just go pear-happy. That fruit might play double duty as “fruit” too. It’s a bit like that Blue Prince thing…if you know, you just know.
Things get, uh, brain-busting when phrases need emojis in multi-meaning mode. Picture this: _ _ _ _ _ _ Year _ _ _ k. Got a fish and ghost emoji? Ghost goes “boo” in “Yearbook” and fish swims into “school.” I mean, “School Yearbook”—who knew ghosts and fish were academics? If your head’s spinning, don’t worry. They toss in a hint just when you might toss your phone.
Alongside this emoji decoding conundrum, you’ve got iOS 18’s Genmoji plaything to mess around with. Picture it: an apple emoji that’s seen better days stands in for “core.” Like, deep, right?
Apple’s really leaning into that Wordle vibe. Emoji Game’s all daily-like, with an archive going back to July 1—mark your calendars. They’ve got stats, streaks, and some social showdown mode with 16 players thrown in. It echoes Wordle’s “solve in six tries” drama. Not necessarily a reason to download the app, but hey—one more way to avoid reality if you’re already Team Apple News+.
So, go grab it. Apple News+, iOS, today. That’s your cue.
