Wordle is one of the biggest things on the internet. Every day, millions of players flock to the NYT to solve the word puzzle, and Apple wants a piece of that daily attention. To combat Wordle, Apple has launched Emoji Game, a daily word puzzle that involves slotting emoji into a puzzle to fill the blanks in various words and phrases.
“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.
It's not just the standard emoji, as Apple is also including Genmoji, created using Apple Intelligence, into the game. This enables the company to create puzzles that are beyond the reach of the existing emoji library.
Like Wordle, Apple News+ members go on each day to play the game. I'm not an Apple News+ subscriber, and I tested the game today, so it appears Apple is offering a sample of the game to get people hooked (or, like Wordle, you can play the game daily, but the archives are limited to News+ members).
Considering other games, such as the mini crossword, don't let you play them without a subscription, I'm thinking it's just that Apple is letting the first one out for free.
Either way, you must have iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4 or macOS Sequoia 15.4 or later if you want to play the game. I do think it's worth updating for, as I enjoyed playing it today and might consider signing up for Apple News+ to continue.
In the future, Apple says Apple News+ subscribers will also be able to access Emoji Game this fall through the Apple Games app, which is a sensible place for it to live.
Apple News+ is free for the first month for new subscribers, and then $12.99 per month thereafter. It offers a lot, though, with magazines, news articles and the games we mentioned earlier. You can sign up and find Emoji Game on the Apple News+ website or through the app.
