Game Pigeon, a mobile, collaborative game for iOS devices released in 2016, consists of 23 games that are shared between 2 or more players on different devices. Writers for The Falcon share their favorites.

Lily – Mini Golf

Mini golf is an extremely competitive and athletically demanding sport in real life. In the digital world, the intensity only skyrockets. You have to be focused and locked in to get the most precise aim. Mini golf has and will always be one of my favorite Game Pigeon games. 

Basketball allows for people to test their skills when it comes to precision and timed exercises. Last school year, I often played basketball with my friends who I didn’t see often due to Covid. It helped to build a connection with friends while not seeing each other in person.  Basketball consists of 3 different rounds, all of the rounds being 45 seconds. You must be quick when throwing the basketball, and a quick recovery in case you miss the basket. It is an enjoyable game to play with friends while waiting for the bus, bored in class, or procrastinating on homework.  

Crazy 8 is a game that allows fun competition with friends from anywhere. Yes, other Game Pigeon games are great as well, but none of them allow more than two people to play except Crazy 8. It’s a simple game -nothing different than the classic Uno card game, except a different look on the cards. Crazy 8 is also great because it is a live game. Other Game Pigeon games require players to send “turns” back and forth, but Crazy 8 requires action on the spot. With other games, you could have a friend forget to respond or get distracted in the middle of a game, but with Crazy 8 that won’t happen. A fun, competitive, and virtually accessible card game cannot be beat in terms of Game Pigeon games.

You could say Word Games are the Wordle of Game Pigeon. As someone who does not take part in the Wordle craze, I prefer these games, which came before it. This choice offers 3 different games to choose from within the title. Word Bites is Scrabble-like with a digital board, as well as Anagrams with a selection of letters you can make words out of. Word Hunt resembles a word search or Boggle and is probably my most played (and most won) out of the 3. Word Hunt is only one turn each for you and your opponent, making it a quick and intense game, as well as an alternative to the sports games if you don’t have enough coordination (like me). I don’t play Game Pigeon often, but I enjoy Word Games thoroughly when I do end up playing. 

Game Pigeon’s Tanks is the perfect mobile video game: easy to learn, hard to master. The game’s premise seems initially simple. You and one friend each have a tank on different sides of the tower, with the goal to shoot rounds at your opponent. However, once you factor in the elements of wind and the position of the tanks, which are randomized every game, it can be pull-out-your-hair frustrating. The sound design of the game is also fun, with hits giving both a nice resonant “boom,” and a 3D rumble effect. The game expertly combines skill and luck, with some starting positions being much harder than others, and creates a fun-to-play multiplayer experience.

Darts is a game that requires extreme focus in reality, and in Game Pigeon. It requires short and quick movements that are precise and accurate in order to reach a small target right in the middle. The surrounding parts of a darts board are still important, yet worth fewer points. The overall goal is to hit the bullseye, or the center, each round. Darts is a three round game in which two players play a round back and forth and whoever can reach the lower score quicker wins, meaning each time you hit a section of the board, your score goes down as you attempt to reach zero points remaining. It’s a great game to play with your competitive friends that requires little movement. 

Last year, upon the merging of Brown and Gold groups back to in-person school together for the first time that year, my friends and I took up a running hallway tournament of Mancala. This game, simple yet tasteful, can bring about both mindless and competitive entertainment. The game is so simple, the clattering of the glass beads against the wood making a nice background noise for a relaxed hallway environment. This game is easily transferred virtually, making it convenient, portable, and playable with friends in a different location for you. (Sound effects also transfer nicely as well).