*"Gomoku" scored 4.6 points on the App Store. Supports iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and iMessage App, size is 11.1 MB, free to download, no in-app purchases.

Perhaps in the eyes of many iPhone users, iMessage is just a tool for receiving messages (mostly spam messages). In fact, through some third-party applications, it can achieve some very interesting functions.

For example, play a game of backgammon with your iPhone friends.

The operation is very simple. Just open the iMessage dialog box with a friend, click the App Store icon below, search for "Gobang" and install it.

Click on the Gobang app in the iMessage interface, and you can see that it has two of the most basic board games built in: Gobang and Tic-Tac-Toe. Take backgammon as an example. Place the chess piece in the appropriate position, click Confirm, and then click Send to start the game.

▲ You can regret your move before clicking Send, and you can start again after crossing out the upper right corner. There is no way to regret it after sending it.

Maybe after seeing this you will ask, why do you need to use text messages to play games? It’s great to use a small program or online backgammon game, and there are many professional rules to choose from.

Such a simple and almost original game design is the charm of iMessage games.

Do you still remember the scene you were in when you first felt the joy brought by backgammon and tic-tac-toe? Are you sitting in front of the chessboard, thinking seriously, and playing a chess game seriously? If so, then the professional backgammon game is indeed more suitable for you.

But I believe that for many people, the best memory about backgammon is that when they were children, they tore off a small piece of paper and scribbled it into a grid, and started passing it around with their classmates. Besides being busy drawing Othello, they also attached Leave a few messages. And iMessage perfectly restores this scene.

In a sense, this game has a high degree of freedom.

There is no need to match friends or download software... Whenever you have a sudden impulse, open a friend's dialog box and send a game, and a short or long game will begin. There is no limit on game time here. You can just take a moment to play a chess piece or kill a few games quickly.

As long as you want, you can also play with multiple friends at the same time. Just send them game information. Of course, it is also possible to play backgammon and tic-tac-toe with the same person.

If you feel the joy of iMessage games after experiencing it, you can also try some more complex and gorgeous games. For example, this GamePigeon has a collection of as many as 23 games including billiards, shooting, tanks, checkers , naval battles, etc.

▲ GamePigeon is not available in China yet. You can go to the US or other regions to download

. Click on your friend’s iMessage dialog box and send him a good chess game. The simplest happiness is waiting for you.

* "Gobang" scored 4.6 points in the App Store. Supports iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and iMessage App, size is 11.1 MB, free to download, no in-app purchases.

* GamePigeon scored 4.1 on the App Store. Supports iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, size is 81.4 MB, free download, with in-app purchases, central zone download is not supported.