GamePigeon is a popular gaming app designed for Apple iMessage that has been a fan favorite since its release with iOS 10—at least for Apple users. Despite calls for iMessage to be available on Android, the service is still limited to Mac, iOS, and iPadOS users. Traditional messaging services have come a long way since the launch of the Short Message Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) standards, but they still fall short of iMessage in some key areas. The industry’s new standard, Rich Communications Services (RCS), brings significant improvements, but it still doesn’t offer compatibility with iMessage — because Apple won’t add support for it.
Since GamePigeon is basically an extension for iMessage, it’s not natively compatible with Android. Using GamePigeon on Android is technically possible (there are guides available), but it’s cumbersome for the average person. This process requires modifying the code of the app itself, which is more than just downloading the app from outside the Google Play Store. Having said that, there are some options on the Play Store that offer competition between friends similar to GamePigeon.
Android alternatives to GamePigeon
Once a user downloads and enables GamePigeon, it is integrated directly into the user’s iMessage chats. It offers a range of multiplayer games, such as basketball, checkers, and eight-ball, that iMessage users can initiate within text conversations. Android users can use third-party apps to get the experience of playing real-time games with friends.
Hago is an application available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, with over a hundred online games for users to play. While getting friends to start using the app isn’t as easy as with iMessage group chats—everyone has to download the app outside of their preferred messaging service—it does offer some benefits. Hago has a large network of users outside of the people they already know. This means that if someone is looking to compete with other similarly skilled players from around the world, a third-party gaming app could be the perfect choice.
Plato is another option, offering 45 online games. Like Hago, Plato also allows users to play with friends, or the app matches them with others based on their skill level. Of course, there’s Facebook. Facebook now has an extensive library of single-player and multiplayer games built into its main app, many of which offer a similar experience to GamePigeon. There are currently countless sports-themed games, card games and word puzzles with millions of players. Users can send invitations through Messenger to play against friends or match with strangers.
All of the above apps are available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, but there may be some differences between products. However, this means that Android users can also play with their iOS friends, as long as everyone has the apps.
What games can be played on GamePigeon?
GamePigeon started with just a handful of games, but now has over 20 games to choose from. While most games on the app are designed for two players, some can be played with more people, making them perfect for group chats.Some popular games include 8 ball, mini golf, basketball, anagram word, darts, cup table tennisand archery.Other games available are tank, naval battle, Mankara, knock out, Shuffleboard, chess, checkers, four in a row, five eyes, Reversi, 20 questions, dots and boxes, 9 balls, text search, word bite, fillerand Crazy 8. There is a huge variety of games to suit just about everyone.
While GamePigeon is free to use, it does come with in-app purchases. GamePigeon+ is an enhanced version of the app and costs $4.99. The premium version includes avatar accessories, different game modes (opponents are free) and an ad-free experience.In addition, GamePigeon also offers add-on purchases for games such as 8 ball, cup table tennis, darts, naval battleWait, prices range from $1.99 to $4.99.
Running GamePigeon on Android isn’t worth it
It’s not easy, but iMessage actually works on Android devices with third-party apps. The process typically requires a Mac computer running continuously as a server, which relays messages from Android devices to iCloud’s servers and vice versa. No matter which third-party service is used, the end result is a product that cannot compare to Apple’s products.
iMessage’s simple commodities, such as pushback reactions and replies, are not compatible with these services. The iMessage App Store, which hosts add-ons like GamePigeon, is also not compatible. Even if an Android user does use complex workarounds to get GamePigeon up and running, it will encounter serious incompatibility issues with Android because GamePigeon is designed specifically for the iMessage platform.
Source: GamePigeon/App Store, Hago/Play Store, Plato/Play Store, Facebook/Play Store