Facebook Messenger adds a fun new basketball game – Here’s how to play

Last month we found out you could play chess from inside Facebook Messenger. Now it turns out the social network’s hidden another fun game in its popular chat app.

If you want to shoot some digital hoops in Messenger, just send a basketball emoji to your friend. Then tap on the ball and you’ll launch the simple game, which challenges you to get as many shots in a row as possible by flicking the ball with your finger.

An emoji will pop up to congratulate you each time you score a point but, if you miss, you’ll get a dismissive sad face. If you manage to get ten points in a row, the basket will start moving to increase the difficulty. That’s according to Android Central, I personally wasn’t able to get more than four in a row.

Messenger will also keep track of the current high score in your chat so you can compete with friends over time to see who makes the most shots in a row. To start playing, just launch Messenger and go, or download the app via the source links below if you don’t already have it.