Apple News+ Adds a New Daily Emoji Puzzle Game

Surprising its users on World Emoji Day, Apple has rolled out its much-anticipated “Emoji Game” for Apple News+ subscribers. First teased at WWDC 2025 as a part of the iOS 26 suite, the game is now available to users running iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, or macOS 15.4 and newer.

What is Apple’s Emoji Game?

It’s like a fill-in-the-blanks puzzle game. The game challenges users by displaying incomplete words with blank spaces that need to be filled in by selecting or combining emojis instead of letters. All a player needs to do is drag and drop the right emoji into the blank spot to pass the challenge.

For example, to solve the word “disappear,” you might need to drag a “Pear emoji” into the blank.

Moreover, players with Apple Intelligence-powered devices are in for a treat, as the game cleverly integrates Genmoji—Apple’s customizable emoji—adding a fresh twist to traditional emoji use.

Currently, access to the game is limited to Apple News subscribers. Apple News+ is available for $12.99/month. However, your whole family can access the game if they are a part of your Family Sharing group.

Key Highlights

• Available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
• Daily puzzles with Game Center leaderboard integration
• Brain-teasing fun with a mix of emoji logic and wordplay
• Access with Apple News+ family sharing
• Currently available in the U.S. and for English-speaking users in Canada

How to Access It?

Like other games such as Crossword, Quartiles, and Sudoku, the Emoji game is also available under the “Following” tab in the Apple News+ app. This is Apple’s latest step toward gamifying the News+ experience and keeping users engaged with fun, casual challenges.

Tried today’s puzzle yet? Drop your best emoji-word combo or leaderboard score in the comments below.