GamePigeon offers more ways to play

Hunter Wieckowski

Display of games provided by GamePigeon

HUNTER WIECKOWSKI, Staff Writer

One of the lesser known features introduced in iOS 10 has resurfaced among the students of GHS. The ability to play games through iMessage.

For those unaware, iOS 10 added a plethora of new features and ways to communicate with your friends by download apps specifically for iMessage. These include stickers, sound effects, and games. The most popular in GHS by far is GamePigeon, which allows you to play a variety of classic games over the phone with your friends.

The app boasts an impressive thirteen games with more promised on the way. This variety of games puts GamePigeon in a league above it’s competitors, as most other apps of this kind only include a single game.

GamePigeon is not humanity’s saving grace by any means. The app, while a great way to kill time and eliminate some boredom, is not perfect. While it is true that there are thirteen different games, their quality varies. Some of the games, 20 Questions in particular, take too long to play and are more of a chore to play.

The main reason GamePigeon is so successful is because of its most popular and enjoyable game – pool. There are two versions of pool on GamePigeon, nine and eight ball respectively.

Eight ball is the more popular of the two by a wide margin, as it is more conventional version of pool most people are used to. Where you and your opponent take turns trying to knock all your own balls into the pockets first, while avoiding the black ball until the end. Nine ball is a different version of pool where the objective is to get as many of the nine balls into the pockets in order of their given number.

These two games are by far the best GamePigeon has to offer, and the biggest reason to use this app with your friends. Both versions of pool are extremely enjoyable and provide a sense of satisfaction when you make a tough shot or beat your friends.

If you need a break from the intensity and rage that pool can cause, there are other games on the app that are not half bad. Poker, Sea Battle, and Four in a Row are all versions of well known games that play well through iMessage, although Sea Battle can take a long time to complete.

There is no risk to downloading GamePigeon, as the app is completely and totally free. Anyone with iOS 10 can download and play, and seeing as the software update has been out for a few months, now is the perfect time to invite your friends to a nice game of online pool.