You Can Play This 'Hidden' Game in Your TikTok DMs

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TikTok has gone through a lot of changes as of late, especially since U.S. companies took a majority stake in the company. But while users have had to decipher new terms of service, some of which raise alarm bells, they've also had some innocuous adjustments to contend with as well. Case in point: TikTok now has a game, built right into your DMs. You just need to know where to find it.

TikTok told TechCrunch about the game on Tuesday. While you might assume the gameplay has something to do with TikTok itself—short-form videos, influencers, etc.—the game itself is a very basic platformer. In fact, it strongly resembles "Doodle Jump," if you ever played that on your iPhone or Android. The goal is simple: Your "character" bounces automatically, and you drag it left or right across the screen to try to bounce on ascending alligator platforms. If you fall, you lose. If you land on a skeleton instead of a crocodile, you lose. Otherwise, you keep going up and up, racking up more and more points until you do stumble. You can also hit speed boosts to soar through the game for a few seconds (more on that in a moment).

The game is meant to be played solo or against other players. As this game is hidden in DMs, you can play against your friends one-on-one or in group chats. When you start up a game, your "character's" icon is actually the profile picture of your friend, which is a fun touch.

If you head to a DM with a friend, you won't really have an indication that you can play the game. In order to play it, you'll need to send a single emoji—any emoji. When you do, you'll see small text at the bottom of the thread that reads: "Tap emoji to play emoji game." Do so, and the game launches. The quirk is, the emoji you sent turns into the speed boost that occasionally appears throughout your game.

TikTok isn't the only social media app to offer a hidden DM game. Instagram rolled out its own version two years ago. It, too, can be found by sending a single emoji, which in turn dictates the emoji-theme of the game.