Facebook Messenger introduced a few hidden games early this year before announcing Instant Games in November. Here’s our round-up of the top 10 Messenger games you can play right now.
Basketball
This one’s a hidden game, meaning you won’t find explicit buttons telling you how to start or play the game.
- Send the basketball emoji to a friend.
- Tap on the emoji you sent and it will launch the game.
- You’ll see a basketball and a hoop. Flick your finger to put the ball through the hoop. You’d get a point for every time you make a shot.
It’ll seem easy at first but after you reach 10 points the hoop moves sideways making it harder to score. If you score, though, happy emojis will pop up on your screen. And if you lose, you’ll get sad emojis.
Football
- Send the football emoji to a friend.
- Tap on the emoji you sent to launch the game.
- Keep tapping on the ball to keep it in the air. You’ll find your scores in the chat window.
Chess
- Type in “@fbchess play.” The chess board will show up.
- Make your moves by prefixing your command with “@fbchess.” However, you need to know the descriptions of all the pieces: “K” for king, “Q” for queen, “B” for bishop, “N” for knight, “R” for rook, and “P” for pawn.
- “@fbchess help” returns a help documentation.
- To end the game, type in “@fbchess resign.”
- See the overall statistics of both players. Just type in “@fbchess stats.”
- Type in “@fbchess play white” or “@fbchess play black” to choose which color you want to play. The default is white.
Apart from these games, there are also the games that Facebook Messenger announced with its games launch.
Galaga and Space Invaders
The vintage games we all grew up with. However, Messenger has revamped the spaceship shooter Galaga so that you get only one life.
EverWing
Another spaceship shooter game with a vertical scroll, impressive graphics, and a retro 1942 style.
Endless Lake
Help an endless runner cross the sea from the right bank to the left bank. Jump over gaps and collect coins. A mash-up of our favorite Temple Run and Monument Valley runner with brilliant art and mesmerizing visuals.
Arkanoid
The age-old brick breaking game remade and refurbished for the mobile world.
Words With Friends Frenzy (Zynga)
A super-fast scrabble game that is paradise for every word-lover. One of the more complex games and you’ll need some time to master it.
Hex FRVR
Form lines until you lose all your moves in this puzzling game. With a style that looks like a mash-up of Tetris and Candy Crush Saga.
Shuffle Cats Mini
Set in 1920s London, this is a game where cats play illegal card games. With enhanced functions for the touch screen, you have to be fast if you want to win.
