Here’s How To Pat The Rock With Facebook Messenger’s Basketball Game Easter Egg
Middle Tennessee State's upset win over Michigan State combined with Yale's surprise victory over Baylor pretty much decimated everyone's March Madness bracket this year. Then there was Northern Iowa's half-court buzzer beater to topple lower ranked Texas, just in case your bracket was somehow still intact. It's been an exciting tournament and if you just can't get enough hoops action, Facebook has your back with a hidden basketball game in its Messenger application.
The hidden gem isn't quite as exciting as college hoops, but it's addicting. It's also simple—there's a basketball on the bottom of the screen and a hoop up above. To shoot the rock, you just swipe upwards towards the middle of the basket. It takes just a tiny bit of practice, but once you've cleaned up your swipe motion, it's not that tough to make a basket. Well, not at first.
Once you reach 10 points, the hoop starts moving side-to-side for an added challenge. That means you'll have to take extra care to time your shot, in addition to swiping straight. The basket doesn't move all that fast, yet it's tougher than it sounds to nail a jay once you reach 10 points. If you make it to 20 points, the hoop moves even faster.
So, how do you unlock this Easter Egg? Just fire up Messenger (make sure you have the latest version), pick a contact, and send them the basketball emoji. Once it's sent, click on the basketball and it will fire up the game and keep track of your high score. And that's it!
This isn't the first time Facebook has hidden a game in Messenger. You can also play chess in Messenger (type @fbchess play), which was added last month.
The hidden gem isn't quite as exciting as college hoops, but it's addicting. It's also simple—there's a basketball on the bottom of the screen and a hoop up above. To shoot the rock, you just swipe upwards towards the middle of the basket. It takes just a tiny bit of practice, but once you've cleaned up your swipe motion, it's not that tough to make a basket. Well, not at first.
Once you reach 10 points, the hoop starts moving side-to-side for an added challenge. That means you'll have to take extra care to time your shot, in addition to swiping straight. The basket doesn't move all that fast, yet it's tougher than it sounds to nail a jay once you reach 10 points. If you make it to 20 points, the hoop moves even faster.
So, how do you unlock this Easter Egg? Just fire up Messenger (make sure you have the latest version), pick a contact, and send them the basketball emoji. Once it's sent, click on the basketball and it will fire up the game and keep track of your high score. And that's it!
This isn't the first time Facebook has hidden a game in Messenger. You can also play chess in Messenger (type @fbchess play), which was added last month.
