I didn’t expect to like Apple’s new Emoji Game, but now I’m hooked ‣ Diverse Daily

Summary

Apple has released a new Wordle competitor called the Emoji Game on Apple News+.
The Emoji Game challenges players to decode phrases using emojis. The twist is that emojis can have different meanings, and can cross letters and words, making it more challenging.
Apple will update the Emoji Game every day with a new puzzle for players. The game is only available to Apple News+ subscribers in the US and Canada.

Puzzle games can be a fun way to pass the time and put your critical thinking skills to the test. If you’re tired of playing Wordle, Sudoku, or Crosswords every day and want to try something new, then the latest Apple News+ game might be what you’re looking for.

The new puzzle game, called the Emoji Game, is now available to all Apple News+ subscribers in the US and Canada. Unlike Wordle, which requires guessing the daily word directly, the Emoji Game challenges you to decode phrases using emojis.

Each game has three short phrases, and the challenge is to solve them using the emojis provided to you in as few moves as possible. The twist with the game is that the emojis can have different meanings. While the direct definition may be the solution to solving the phrase, so could the associations with the emoji.

“Emoji Game is the perfect addition to the Apple News+ suite of word and number puzzles, turning the emoji we use every day into a brainteaser that’s approachable and fun,” said Lauren Kern, editor-in-chief of Apple News, in a press release.

Price: $13 a month
Free trial: Yes

Apple News+ provides users with access to the world’s top stories from over 400 leading publications. You can read local, national and international news and solve daily puzzles.

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Is Apple’s new Emoji Game any good?

I found the game fun, and I like how it broadens the meaning of emojis

I have to admit that, initially, I thought the idea of an Emoji Game seemed a bit silly. But after trying the game for the first time, I’m impressed by what Apple has developed. It’s not as simple as just dragging and dropping matching emojis to spell out a word or phrase, and some of its puzzles can be a real brainteaser.

Each game has three phrases, which include partially spelled words, and a clue. The clue hints at what the phrase might mean, but it is only partly complete. You can expand the clue to see its whole meaning, but doing so counts as a move. The goal is to finish the game in as few moves as possible, with six moves as the target to beat. Dragging an emoji to a phrase and getting it correct counts as one move, but so does trying to add it to a phrase and getting it incorrect.

I recommend giving the Emoji Game a shot. It’s not as simple as one might think, and after learning the ropes of the game by doing its first puzzle, I found it to be fun and a unique twist on all the other daily puzzle games out there.

At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see all the emojis you can use to solve the clue, which includes individual emojis and groups of emojis. For example, in the first game I played (spoiler alert), the calendar emoji represented the word ‘date’ in one of the phrases I had to solve. In contrast, the sun emoji and the arrow-down emoji represented the word set, instead of sundown. To add even more challenge to the game, emojis can also cross letters and words to solve a phrase.

Just like Apple’s other games available on Apple News+, Emoji Game will be updated daily with a new puzzle for players to solve. If you’re looking for a new daily puzzle game and have Apple News+, I recommend giving the Emoji Game a shot. It’s not as simple as one might think, and after learning the ropes of the game by doing its first puzzle, I found it to be fun and a unique twist on all the other daily puzzle games out there.

Emoji Game is available now to Apple News+ subscribers. The subscription service costs $13 a month individually. You can also get it through an Apple One subscription. Emoji Game joins four other daily puzzle games available on Apple News+: Crossword Mini, Quartiles, Crossword, and Sudoku.