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This hidden game in Facebook Messenger is more interesting than anything you have to say

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 9:14PM EST

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As much as we’re sure your friend wants to decipher a string of 17 emoji that represents your feelings after a day spent shopping for pants at the mall, there’s something far more interesting the two of you could be doing with Facebook’s popular messaging app. In the most recent update released for both iOS and Android, Facebook snuck a fun little game into Messenger that’s a secret unless you know how to find it.

Of course, once you’re done reading this you’ll know exactly how to find it.

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March Madness kicked off on Thursday and to help celebrate the tournament college basketball fans have been waiting for all year, Facebook pushed out a nifty little hidden game in a new updated version of its popular Messenger app. As you might’ve guessed, it’s a basketball game.

The new secret game isn’t quite as complex as basketball games you’ll find on consoles, but it is a fun way to pass the time. It’s probably also a whole lot more interesting than whatever you were using Messenger to chat about before you learned about the new game.

Here’s how to unlock it — and make sure you pay attention because it’s pretty complicated:

  1. Send someone a basketball emoji
  2. Tap the basketball emoji you just sent

Pretty tricky, no? Once you’ve done that, you’ll see a hoop and a ball appear on the screen. Flick up to shoot and with each basket you make, you’ll see a little emoji pop up as your reward. Nail 10 in a row and the hoop will start moving around.

Click here to download Facebook Messenger for iOS, and click here to grab the Android version.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.